Jesse Owens’ grandson said Thursday that his track legend grandfather’s successes at the 1936 Berlin Olympics were a “finger in the eye” to Adolf Hitler.
To mark the Fourth of July and the start 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, He told CNN How his grandfather’s four gold medals mattered in much more than sports.
The 1936 Olympic Games were held in the German capital, a few years before the Nazi state’s reign of terror under Hitler had begun.
Hitler wanted to showcase the dominance of the “Aryan” race of athletes, the white, blond, blue-eyed competitors whom the dictator considered superior.
Jesse Owens won four gold medals at the 1936 Olympic Games, against the backdrop of Nazi Germany.
Owens’ grandson, Stuart Owen Rankin, recently detailed his grandfather’s legacy.
Owens found ways to take down those in Nazi Germany and around the world, to remain relevant in today’s sports.
“My grandfather’s legacy continues to thrive,” Rankin told CNN. “When people find out about it — and it’s not often that I talk about it openly, but people do find out, maybe by watching interviews like this — their response is always positive.”
“I am proud of your response. Once again, your response speaks to my grandfather’s accomplishments and the enduring quality of what he did in 1936 and the timelessness of those accomplishments,” Rankin continued.
Rankin also spoke about Owens’ friendship with German competitor Luz Long.
According to Rankin, Long gave Owens advice on how to improve his long jump form before the event in which the two met.
Long passed away while serving in the German Army fighting in World War II, but the Owens and Long families are still in touch today.
“What emerged 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 told CNN.