With his spectacular performance at the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, track and field star Jesse Owens extinguished Adolph Hitler's hopes of turning the games of the XI Olympiad into a showcase for supposed Aryan supremacy. An outstanding athlete in high school and later at Ohio State, Owens easily secured a berth on the U.S. Olympic squad by recording first-place finishes in the 100- and 200-meter sprints and the long jump during team-qualifying trials. When Olympic competition got under way in Berlin in August 1936, Owens quickly established his dominance on the track. His assault on the record books began with a victory in the 100-meter sprint and continued with record-breaking performances in the long jump, 200-meter sprint, and 4-by-100-meter relay. Capturing four gold medals in all, Owens was acknowledged as the undisputed hero of the Berlin games.
