Owens embarrassing Hitler?
I’m always amused when I read this sort of nonsense - like Jesse Owens destroyed the myth of Aryan superiority!
So Jesse’s run the in 100mts or the inclusion of a Jew in the relay, persuaded Adolph to transform the SS into the Peace Corps and abandon thoughts of world domination?
I don’t think so.
Who on earth does one imagine Hitler and the spectators at the stadium expect to win the 100mts?
Germany was hardly isolated from the rest of the world and they did possess stopwatches - who does one imagine they thought would win the sprints, other than an American sprinter?
The German’s by contrast had no fast runners and they knew it.
As Owens had broken or equalled about six world records in one afternoon the year previously, his victories hardly came as a huge surprise to the Germans, or the rest of the world.
The crowd also hardly sat on their hands during Owens’s triumphs either, in fact he was cheered as much as any victor during the Games.
The fact is, that contrary to the 1936 Games ‘destroying the myth of Aryan superiority’ fairy tale - ironically, the Games actually confirmed it!
How does a country, even up to the present day, as with the USA and China, judge success at the Olympics - yes, of course, by how many gold medals that country brings home.
By that criteria, Nazi Germany was by far the most successful nation at the Games, winning far more gold medals than any other nation - 33.
Only the USA came anywhere close, winning 24.