Los Juegos Olímpicos de Berlín, en 1936, están rodeados de muchos mitos, pero ninguno tan verdadero como lo ocurrido con el campeón Jesse Owens y el entonces presidente alemán, Adolfo Hitler. Owens no sólo es recordaro en la historia del deporte por ser el primer estadounidense en ganar cuatro medallas en una sola disciplina, también por marcar pacíficamente y sin que él lo supiera, la lucha contra el racismo imperante en esos momentos en Europa.

La historia señala que Adolfo Hitler había intentado utilizar esta justa, conocida también como las "Olimpíadas de Hitler", para demostrar sus teorías sobre la superioridad racial aria, aunque hay otra versión que es algo diferente. Se rumora que Hitler rehusó dar la mano a Owens, uno de los atletas más populares de los juegos de ese año fue Jesse Owens, ganador de las pruebas de 100m, 200m, 4x100m y salto largo.

También se dice que Hitler sólo felicitó personalmente a los dos primeros ganadores de los juegos, violando el protocolo ya que no debía felicitar en persona a nadie. Después de estas dos felicitaciones, no tuvo este gesto con nadie más, ni siquiera con los propios alemanes.

No obstante, el propio Jesse Owens afirma en sus memorias publicadas hace unas décadas, que recibió una felicitación oficial por escrito del gobierno alemán, pero, el presidente Franklin Delano Roosevelt no invitó al atleta a las celebraciones en la Casa Blanca, puesto que estaba inmerso en las elecciones y necesitaba el voto del sur estadounidense.

Históricamente se cuenta que cuando Jesse Owens pasó frente al palco de Adolf Hitler, el führer ni siquiera hizo un gesto para saludarlo. Sin embargo en su biografía el atleta comentó que:

Cuando pasé, el Canciller se levantó, me saludó con la mano y yo le devolví la señal. Pienso que los reporteros tuvieron mal gusto al criticar al hombre del momento en Alemania.

También se especuló por mucho tiempo que la Olimpiada de Berlín 1936 fue un momento de humillación para el régimen nazi porque algunos atletas negros consiguieron un gran número de medallas. En realidad, la competencia no constituyó una humillación para la Alemania Nazi, ya que el país anfitrión logró recoger más medallas que los demás países y Hitler se mostró satisfecho con el resultado.

En un cable publicado por la agencia mexicana Notimex, se narra que el atleta estadounidense Jesse Owens marcó la historia de los Juegos Olímpicos Berlín 1936, al conseguir cuatro medallas de oro en diferentes pruebas, pero lo más importante, por los mitos en torno a él y a Hitler.

Sin duda sorprendió a propios y extraños, cuando se convirtió en el deportista de color con más preseas conseguidas durante la cita olímpica celebrada en un territorio donde la ley de Adolfo Hitler imperaba, no sin antes disfrazar las bondades de su régimen.

James Cleveland Owens fue reconocido por sus logros en la justa olímpica de 1936, donde más de 110 mil personas presenciaron su notable participación durante varios días de competencia, tras lo cual regresó a la normalidad en su trabajo como botones del hotel Waldorf-Astoria, en Nueva York.

Jesse Owens ganó ocho campeonatos de la Asociación Nacional Atlética Colegial (NCAA), los cuatro primeros los obtuvo en 1935 y los restantes en 1936, tras lo que comenzó a ser conocido como "El Antílope de Ébano", con cuatro récords mundiales.

La USA Track and Field, máximo organismo que regula el atletismo en Estados Unidos, creó en 1981 el Premio Jesse Owens, que se entrega cada año a los atletas nacionales con mejor desempeño tanto en la rama femenil como varonil, como reconocimiento a esta leyenda del olimpismo mundial.

Una calle en Berlín y una escuela primaria de Lichtenberg recibieron su nombre en 1984, terminando con el mito de Owens. Para el 28 de marzo de 1990, a 10 años de la muerte del atleta, recibió de manera póstuma la Medalla de Oro del Congreso de Estados Unidos.

Owens, un atleta único para los Estados Unidos, murió en Tucson, Arizona, debido a cáncer de pulmón.

Loading Slideshow...

  • Jesse Owens, Hitler reaction

    School project The song is: Time composed by Hans Zimmer

  • jesse owens 1936 olympics adolf hitler

    jesse owens 1936 olimpics wins gold

  • Jesse Owens Wins 100m Olympic Gold in front of Hitler at 1936 Olympics

    Jesse Owens Wins 100m Olympic Gold in front of Hitler at 1936 Olympics. Jesse Owens was an American track and field athlete who won international fame by winning 4 gold medals at the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, Germany. These Olympics were especially significant because Adolf Hitler was using the the games to show the world a revival of Nazi Germany. At the time, blacks were denied equal rights in many parts of the United States. Owens went on to say: "Hitler didn't snub me -- it was FDR who snubbed me. The president didn't even send me a telegram."

  • Jesse Owens gold - The black man vs Hitler - The Truth Germany Deutschland 德國

    USA in the Nazi Olympics 1936 olympics Adolf hitler - Olympia-The Nazi Olympics-Fest der Völker James Cleveland "Jesse" Owens (September 12, 1913 -- March 31, 1980) was a popular African-American athlete and civic leader. He participated in the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, Germany where he achieved international fame by winning four gold medals; one each in the 100 meter dash, the 200 meter dash, the long jump, and for being part of the 4x100 meter relay team. In his autobiography (The Jesse Owens Story, 1970) Owens recounted how Hitler later stood up and waved to him anyway: -Jesse Owens: "When I passed the Chancellor he arose, waved his hand at me, and I waved back at him. I think the writers showed bad taste in criticizing the man of the hour in Germany." Owens was cheered enthusiastically by 110000 people in Berlin's Olympic Stadium and later ordinary Germans sought his autograph when they saw him in the streets. Although, had he lived in Germany. Owens was allowed to travel with and stay in the same hotels as whites in Nazi Germany, an irony at the time, since Africans in the United States were denied equal rights. After a New York ticker-tape parade in his honor, Owens had to ride the freight elevator to attend a reception for him at the Waldorf-Astoria. He later recounted: -Jesse Owens: "When I came back to my native country, after all the stories about Hitler, I couldn't ride in the front of the bus. I had to go to the back door. I couldn't live where I wanted <b>...</b>

  • Jesse Owens Interview (1960)

    thefilmarchive.org DVD: www.amazon.com James Cleveland "Jesse" Owens (September 12, 1913 -- March 31, 1980) was an American track and field athlete who specialized in the sprints and the long jump. He participated in the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, Germany, where he achieved international fame by winning four gold medals: one each in the 100 meters, the 200 meters, the long jump, and as part of the 4x100 meter relay team. He was the most successful athlete at the 1936 Summer Olympics, a victory more poignant and often noted because Adolf Hitler had intended the 1936 games to showcase his Aryan ideals and prowess. He has the Jesse Owens Award accolade named after him in honor of his significant career. In 1936, Owens arrived in Berlin to compete for the United States in the Summer Olympics. Adolf Hitler was using the games to show the world a resurgent Nazi Germany. He and other government officials had high hopes that German athletes would dominate the games with victories (the German athletes achieved a "top of the table" medal haul). Meanwhile, Nazi propaganda promoted concepts of "Aryan racial superiority" and depicted ethnic Africans as inferior. Owens surprised many by winning four gold medals: On August 3, 1936 he won the 100m sprint, defeating Ralph Metcalfe; on August 4, the long jump (later crediting friendly and helpful advice from Luz Long, the German competitor he ultimately defeated); on August 5, the 200m sprint; and, after he was added to the 4 x 100 m <b>...</b>

  • Leni Riefenstahl | Olympia I - 4x100m relay: female and male's with Jesse Owens

    Jesse Owens and the raction of Adolf Hitler, Goebbels and Goring.

  • Jesse Owens - 1936 Olympics

    Jesse Owens of the United States wins 4 gold medals in the 1936 Berlin Olympics. He wins gold in the 100m, 200m, 4x100m relay, and the long jump.

  • 1936 Olympics Berlin, Germany

    Jesse owens domination in a world full of hate

  • 1936 Berlin Nazi Olympics Opening Ceremonies Original Music Hitler

    Narrated by Jesse Owens, with the orginal music. The Nazis went to great lengths to pretend that they were the 'master race', but in the end the only ones they fooled were themselves. They looked cool, but little else. Their movement was self-destructive and doomed from the start. Even if WWII had not occurred the Nazi regime would have disintegrated upon Hitler's death. Nixon may have summed it up the best, with a similar self realization, in a final speech as he departed the White House in disgrace: "others may hate you, but they don't win until you hate them, and then you destroy yourself".

  • 1936 Olympics: Jesse Owens Becomes A Legend

    There are so many story lines from the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, Germany. Jesse Owens was one of the biggest. Hitler's "superior" Aryan race was trounced by Owens' superior athleticism. However, Len Berman points out that upon returning home to America, Owens had to take the back freight elevator to his own celebratory dinner!

  • The Nazi Olympics: African-American Athletes (Part 2)

    Part 2 of 2. Eighteen Black athletes represented the United States in the 1936 Olympics -- triple the number who had competed for the United States in the 1932 Los Angeles Games. African-Americans dominated the popular track and field events, and in the end, Black athletes brought home 14 medals, nearly one-fourth of the 56 medals awarded the US team in all events. Many American journalists hailed the victories of Jesse Owens and other Blacks as a blow to the Nazi myth of Aryan supremacy. However, the continuing social and economic discrimination the Black medalists faced upon returning home underscored the irony of their victory in racist Germany. In this video, athlete John Woodruff, professor David Wiggins, professor Clayborne Carson, and author Jeremy Schaap reflect on the history of black athletes in American sports and the relevance of their achievements at the 1936 Olympics. To learn more about the 1936 Olympics, visit the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum at www.ushmm.org

  • Jesse Owens Return to Berlin 1936 Olympics

    One of the greats.

  • American Experience: Jesse Owens | PBS UK

    American Experience: Jesse Owens 10.15pm, Wednesday 6 June 2012 PBS (UK) Sky 166 Virgin Media 243 He became the shock star of the 1936 Olympics, feted as the "untermensch" who put the Fuhrer's nose out of joint by beating the Third Reich's Aryan heroes and claiming four gold medals. But what became of Jesse Owens? James Cleveland Owens was born in segregated Alabama in 1913, and his family joined the Great Migration north for a better life, settling in Ohio where a teacher misinterpreted his nickname JC, and "Jesse" stuck. At high school and university, Jesse shone as an athlete, setting several world records. Away from the track, though, he was still limited by segregation and could not even live on the college campus. In Berlin, the 22-year-old Owens won gold in the 100m (equalling the world record), 200m (new world record), 4x100m relay and long jump, in which he set an Olympic record that lasted for 24 years. Contrary to popular belief, however, Owens was not personally snubbed by Hitler, and was cheered by the German crowds. He even credited his long jump win to some helpful tips from his German opponent, Luz Long. It was only on his return home that he felt sidelined. He had no congratulation from the US president, Franklin Roosevelt, and had little opportunity to cash in on his success through media appearances or sponsorship. Three years after his Olympic triumph, Jesse Owens declared himself bankrupt and performed sporting stunts to make ends meet. It was not <b>...</b>