James "Jesse" Owens was an American track and field athlete and four-time Olympic gold medalist. As a boy, he took different jobs in his spare time: he delivered groceries, loaded freight cars and worked in a shoe repair shop. In this period he discovered the passion for running. Owens first came to national attention when he equalled the world record of 9.4 seconds in the 100-yard (91 m) dash and long-jumped 24 feet 9 1⁄2 inches (7.56 metres) at the 1933 National High School Championship in Chicago. 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. Owens won the 100m sprint with a time of 10.3s, the long jump, the 200m sprint with a time of 20.7s. On August 9, Owens won his fourth gold medal in the 4x100 sprint relay when the coach replaced Marty Glickman with him. Adolf Hitler viewed Olympic games as an opportunity to show his country and prove to the rest of the world that his Aryan race was superior. On the first day of competition, Hitler shook hands only with the German victors and then left the stadium. Olympic committee officials insisted Hitler greet every medalist or none at all. Jesse didn't care much for Hitler's politics, he just wanted to show his skills. Hitler viewed African-Americans as inferior and chastised the United States for
stooping to use these "non-humans." Despite the endless racial epithets and the constant presence of the red and black swastika, Owens made Hitler eat his words with four gold medals.
Hitler left the stadium furious that his Ayran supermen had been beaten by their supposed racial inferior.
1⁄2 inches (7.56 metres) at the 1933 National High School Championship in Chicago.[8]
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