The Spanish and Soviets boycotted the event but they were not missed as the largest number of teams so far from around the world participated in these Games, 49 nations in all and it began with a nice touch from the organisers, coming up with the idea of the torch being run from ancient Olympia to the host city which was kept for all future Olympics.
Germany topped the medal table with United States second and Great Britain finishing down in 10th place with four golds but especially pleasing was Jesse Owens 4 golds and 3 world records but he did say that he was shown more respect as a black man in Nazi Germany than he ever was in his own country
where he was viewed as a second-class citizen, having to ride in the back of the bus and use the back door at restaurants and even after returning victorious, he had to take the freight elevator to his own reception.
He also received a telegram from Hitler congratulating him on his Olympic glory which is more than he got from his own President, FDR, who didn't send squat because he didn't want to offend Southern voters being seen mixing with a black man.
The guy who orchestrated the greatest racially motivated genocide in history behaved better towards Owens than his own countrymen, in Germany he had been allowed to travel with and stay in the same hotels as whites, at a time when African Americans in his own country had to stay in blacks only hotels.
After he died of lung cancer in 1980, the President said: 'Perhaps no athlete better symbolized the human struggle against tyranny, poverty and racial bigotry' which is true but as Owens himself may have said, the greatest struggle against racists and bigots was in his own country.
No comments:
Post a Comment