Jesse Owens' 90th Olympic Victory Marked, U.S. President Still Overlooked

On August 3, 1936, American sprinter Jesse Owens won gold medals in the 100 metres, 200 metres, long jump and the 4×100 metre relay at the Berlin Olympics, directly challenging Adolf Hitler’s propaganda of Aryan racial superiority. Owens’ four‑gold haul made him a legend of sport and a symbolic defeat of Nazi ideology.

Despite his historic achievements, President Franklin D. Roosevelt never publicly honored Owens or the other 18 Black U.S. athletes who competed in Berlin. Only white athletes were invited to the White House that year. Owens later clarified that Hitler did not snub him; the neglect came from Roosevelt, who failed to send a telegram or personal recognition.

Decades later, Owens was commemorated in Berlin, with a street near the Olympic stadium named “Jesse Owens Allee,” and he was inducted into the International Association of Athletics Federations Hall of Fame in 2012.