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Jesse Owens' four gold medals at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin were a 'thumb in the eye' to Adolf Hitler, says the track legend's grandson
Jesse Owens' grandson said his track-legend grandfather's successes at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin were a 'thumb in the eye' to Adolf Hitler on Thursday.
To commemorate the 4th of July, and the beginning of the Paris Olympics in three weeks, Owens' name is back in the news as one of the greatest American Olympians of all-time.
Owens' grandson, Stuart Owen Rankin, told CNN how his grandpa's four gold medals mattered in much more than sports.
The 1936 Olympics were set in the German capital with Hitler's reign of terror of the Nazi state beginning a few years prior.
Hitler wanted to show off the dominance of the 'Aryan' race of athletes, the white, blonde-haired, blue-eyes competitors the dictator saw as superior.
Jesse Owens won four gold medals at the 1936 Olympics, set in the backdrop of Nazi Germany
Owens' grandson Stuart Owen Rankin recently detailed his grandfather's legacy
Owens found ways to take down those from Nazi Germany, and around the world, to continue to be relevant in sports today.
'My grandfather’s legacy continues to prosper,' Rankin said to CNN. 'When people do find out and it’s not often that I discuss it outwardly, but people do eventually find out, for example, perhaps through watching interviews like this, their response is always positive.'
'Their response is one that fills me with pride. Again, their response speaks to my grandfather’s accomplishments and the enduring quality of what he did in ‘36 and sort of the timelessness of those accomplishments,' Rankin continued.
Rankin also discussed Owens' friendship with German competitor Luz Long.
Per Rankin, Long gave Owens advice on how to better his long-jump form before the event where the two went head-to-head.
Long passed away while in the German army fighting in World War II, but the Owens and Long families are still in contact today.
'What came from that was a bond, a brotherhood, a connection between two world class athletes on the highest stage of their particular event or sport,' Rankin said to CNN.