My Greatest Olympic Prize by Jesse Owens

MY GREATEST OLYMPIC PRIZE 

Jesse Owens

Introducing the author 

James Cleveland "Jesse" Owens (1913 -1980) was an American track and field athlete who specialized in sprints and 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, 200 meters,long jump, and as member of the 4x100 metre relay race team.

Unit I

Warm up 

The Olympic Games is the world‘s foremost sports competition featuring summer and winter sports, in which athletes from all over the world participate in a variety of competitions. In this essay, Jesse Owens shares his experiences of 1936 Summer Olympics held in Berlin when patriotic feelings were running high in Germany.However, Owens did not bother, as he trusted in his abilities. He tells his stunning story about forging a lasting friendship with a German, putting differences aside for the love of the Games. Read the following unit of the text and note how Owens reacted to the performance of his rival:

The Text 

It was the summer of 1936. The Olympic Games were being held in Berlin.Because Adolf Hitler childishly insisted that his performers were members of a''master race,'' nationalistic feelings were at an all-time high. I wasn't too worried about all this. I'd trained, sweated and disciplined myself for six years, with the Games in mind. While I was going over on the boat, all I could think about was taking home one or two of those gold medals. I had my eye especially on the long jump. A year before, as a university student, I'd set the world record of 26 feet 8 1/4 inches. Everyone kind of expected me to win that Olympic event hands down. I was in for a surprise. When the time came for the long-jump trials, I was startled to see a tall boy hitting the pit at almost 26 feet on his practice leaps! He turned out to be a German named Luz Long. I was told that Hitler had kept him under wraps, evidently hoping he would win the jump. I supposed that if Long won, it would add some new support to the Nazis'Aryan-superiority theory. After all, I am a Negro. A little hot under the collar about Hitler's ways, I determined to go out there and really show Der Führer and his master race who was superior and who wasn't. 

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Questions and Answers

1. Why were nationalistic feelings running high during the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin?

Ans: Hitler had whipped up extreme jingoism in Germany declaring that Germans, because of their Aryan lineage, were inherently superior to other races on earth. Such air of German supremacy pervaded the 1936 Olympics.

2. 'I wasn't too worried about all this'. What does "this" refer to - Hitler's beliefs or winning a gold medal? 

Ans: Here this refers to Hitler's beliefs. Jesse Owens remained unruffled by the air of German supremacy that Hitler had preached so assiduously. Owen really didn’t care much about such propaganda.

3. Why wasn't Owens worried? 

Ans: Owens had worked very hard for six years for the Olympics. His training had shown results at home. He knew athletic prowess gets glory, not superficial supremacy.

4. Why did everyone expect Owens to win the long jump easily? 

Ans: Owens had notched up a spectacular leap of 26 feet 8 ¼ inches in one of his college meets. This was a world record. Owens based his confidence on this performance.

5. What was the surprise that awaited Jesse Owens in Berlin? 

Ans: A hitherto German athlete named Luz Long appeared from nowhere and registered a jump of 26 feet in the Long Jump trials. Jesse Owens never knew there was one such competitor waiting to challenge him. This surprise Jesse Owens.

6. What did he learn from people about Luz Long? 

Ans: Jesse got to know that Hitler had deliberately kept Luz Long away from limelight , so that his spectacular show would make other competitors like him nervous.

7. Do you think Nazis' Aryan-superiority theory meant that Germans were superior to Negroes? How did Owens feel about it - angry or bothered? 

Ans: Hitler’s assertion of German race’s superiority over others, particularly the blacks, was borne out of his wild xenophobic mindset. It was, clearly, hogwash and wicked. Owens knew the incipient hostility towards him for his black skin, but chose to ignore it altogether.

8. What made Owens determined to beat Luz Long?

Ans: Jesse Owens resented Hitler’s claim of German race’s superiority. Instead of protesting against such highhandedness verbally, he chose to rebut it in the tracks using his power and skill. This was the best way to counter Hitler’s loathsome attitude to other races, particularly Negros.

Unit II

Warm up 

Anger is the worst enemy of an athlete. Read the following unit of the text and find out how Owens suffered for his anger, and who bailed him out:

The Text 

An angry athlete is an athlete who will make mistakes, as any coach will tell you. I was no exception. On the first of my three qualifying jumps, I leapt from several inches beyond the take-off board for a no-jump. On the second jump, I was even worse. ''Did I come 3000 miles for this?'' I thought bitterly. ''To fail in the trials and make a fool of myself?'' Walking a few yards from the pit, I kicked disgustedly at the ground.Suddenly I felt a hand on my shoulder. I turned to look into the friendly blue eyes of the tall German long jumper. He had easily qualified for the finals on his first attempt. He offered me a firm handshake. ''Jesse Owens, I'm Luz Long. I don't think we've met.'' He spoke English well, though with a German twist to it. ''Glad to meet you,'' I said. Then, trying to hide my nervousness, I added,''How are you?'' ''I'm fine. The question is: How are you?'' ''What do you mean?'' I asked. ''Something must be eating you,'' he said - proud the way foreigners are when they've mastered a bit of American slang. ''You should be able to qualify with your eyes closed.'' ''Believe me, I know it,'' I told him - and it felt good to say that to someone. For the next few minutes, we talked together. I didn't tell Long what was'eating' me, but he seemed to understand my anger, and he took pains to reassure me. Although he'd been schooled in the Nazi youth movement, he didn't believe in the Aryan-supremacy business any more than I did. We laughed over the fact that he really looked the part, though. An inch taller than I, he had a lean, muscular frame, clear blue eyes, fair hair and a strikingly handsome, face. Finally, seeing that I had calmed down somewhat, he pointed to the take-off board. ''Look,'' he said. ''Why don't you draw a line a few inches at the back of the board and aim at making your take-off from there? You'll be sure not to foul, and you certainly ought to jump far enough to qualify. What does it matter if you're not first in the trials? Tomorrow is what counts.''

Suddenly all the tension seemed to ebb out of my body as the truth of what he said hit me. Confidently, I drew a line a full foot behind the board and proceeded to jump from there. I qualified with almost a foot to spare. 

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Questions and Answers

1. What does a coach say about an angry athlete?

Ans: Coaches always ask their trainees to shun anger during competition, as such feelings undermine their performance.

2. What were the results of the first two qualifying jumps for Owens?

Ans: Owens overshot the starting line by nearly seven inches in his first qualifying attempt. The second jump was also technically wrong. Owens stood there very worried, as he had just one more chance to go to the finals.

3. Why did Owens kick the pit?

Ans: Jesse Owens had goofed up his first two trial jumps. He was tense, and very angry with himself. To vent his frustration, he kicked the pit.

4. Who offered Owens a firm handshake? Was he friendly or hostile?

Ans: Luz Long, who had surprised Owens with his impressive jump earlier, came up to Owens to shake hands with great warmth and empathy.

5. Why did Long speak to Owens during the trials? Did he mean to make friendship with Owens or to find out what was troubling him?

Ans: Long understood the discomfiture of Owens. He wanted to calm Owens’s nerves, so that he takes his last qualifying chance successfully, and made it to the Finals. He appeared genuinely friendly to Jesse Owens.

6. "He really looked the part" - What does this mean? Does it mean Long was trying to play the part of an Aryan or he looked as if he belonged to a superior race?

Ans: Here Jesse Owens refers to the tall and slim Luz Long was an ace long jumper and his body frame showed it.

7. How did Luz Log help Jesse Owens in qualifying for the final jumps?

Ans: Long had seen how Owens had overshot his starting line in the earlier chances. He told Owens to draw a making line a few inches behind the actual starting line, so that even if he overshot the start, he would still be not committing an infringement. Being a powerful jumper, the loss of a few inches wouldn’t harm Owens in any way. 

8. "Tomorrow is what counts.'' - What did Long mean by this? Does he mean that Owens would win the next day, or their performance the next day would matter much?

Ans: The final event was scheduled for the next day. Long told that the performance in the Finals is all that mattered. So, qualifying for it was essential for Owens. Both of them could compete then, and show off their best.

9. Did Owens qualify for the final jump? How did he do that?

Ans: Owens heeded Long’s advice to start a few inches behind the actual starting line to preclude any chance of disqualification for overshooting the mark. The plan worked and Owens regained his composure, and sailed into the Finals the next day.

Unit III

Warm up 

Do you believe in the adage, "A friend in need is a friend indeed"? Read the following unit of the text and note how Owens and Luz Long became good friends:

The Text 

That night I walked over to Luz Long's room in the Olympic village to thank him. I knew that if it hadn't been for him I probably wouldn't be jumping in the finals the following day. We sat in his quarters and talked for two hours - about track and field, ourselves, the world situation, and a dozen other things.When I finally got up to leave, we both knew that a real friendship had been formed. Luz would go out to the field the next day trying to beat me if he could. But I knew that he wanted me to do my best - even if that meant my winning.As it turned out, Luz broke his own past record. In doing so, he pushed me on to a peak performance. I remember that at the instant I landed from my final jump - the one which set the Olympic record of 26 feet 5 1/4 inches - he was at my side, congratulating me. Despite the fact that Hitler glared at us from the stands not a hundred yards away, Luz shook my hand hard - and it wasn't a fake ''smile with a broken heart'' sort of grip, either. You could melt down all the gold medals and cups I have, and they wouldn't be a plating on the 24-carat friendship I felt for Luz Long at that moment. I realised then, too, that Luz was the epitome of what Pierre de Coubertin,founder of the modern Olympic Games, must have had in mind when he said, ''The  important thing in the Olympic Games is not winning but taking part. The essential thing in life is not conquering but fighting well.

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1. When did Owens and Long realize that they had become friends?

Ans: Long went out of the way and advised Owens because of which he got qualified for finals. After this, Owens especially went to Long's room to thank him and there they sat together and talked for two hours about a lot of things. When Owens stood up to leave, they both knew that a real friendship had been formed. 

 

2. Who was Coubertin? What was his ideal?

Ans: Pierre De Coubertin was the founder of modern olympic games. He believed that ''The  important thing in the Olympic Games is not winning but taking part. The essential thing in life is not conquering but fighting well.

3. Why has Luz Long been called a fine example of Coubertin's ideal?

Ans: Long went out of the way and advised Owens when he was disturbed. Then in the finals when Long performed well and broke his own past record though Owens gave his peak performance and won the final.  Despite of this, Long came to Owens and congratulated him. This way Long proved to be the epitome of Coubertin's ideal. 

 

4. What do you think was the greatest Olympic Prize for Jesse Owens - the gold medal he won in long jump , or the friendship he formed with Luz Long?

Ans: The real friendship with Luz Long was the greatest Olympic Prize for Jesse Owens. For this he himself said that you could melt down all the gold medals and cups I have, and they wouldn't be a plating on the 24-carat friendship I felt for Luz Long at that moment.