Transcript
Narrator (0:02)
It is August 5, 1936. A humid morning in Berlin. At the Olympiastadion, a brand new state of the art venue, 100,000 spectators are crammed into the seats for the fourth day of the Berlin Olympics. On a concrete platform jutting above the crowds, German Chancellor Adolf Hitler watches on, surrounded by his officials. These games are part of a complex propaganda campaign designed to prove the superiority of the white, blond, blue eyed German master race. And so far, so good. The German team have already won gold medals in the hammer throw, shot put, women's javelin and discus. But right now Hitler's not happy because taking place in the current main event is a young African American who has been making quite the name for himself. Down at the long jump pit in the center of the arena, 22 year old world record holder Jesse Owens walks backwards from the takeoff board, measuring his steps. His first jump was a foul. He has two more chances to get through to the final. Owens is one of only 18 African Americans in the 312 strong US team. He's already an Olympic champion, having won gold at the 100 meters the day before. His main competition. The tall, sandy haired German Lutz Long has already made a qualifying distance. Determined that the Fuhrer will hear about his jump even if he chooses not to watch it, he makes his next attempt. But he's preoccupied and launches too early. The jump isn't long enough to qualify. Sighing in frustration, he waits until it's his turn to try again. If he fails, Hitler will use it as proof not only of Owen's inferiority as an athlete, but but of the inferiority of his race. Everything rides. On his third jump, the roar builds from the stance. Cheering or jeering, he can't tell. Finally, when he walks up to the mark, the crowd falls quiet. Owens crouches. He powers off his forefoot into a sprint, legs and arms slicing through the air. Then, as he feels the white painted wood of the board under his rubber sole, he springs, legs cycling, his body weightless, soaring. Owens lands in the pit with a thump, feet first, then twists sideways, the sand spraying up around him. The crowd cheers. Glancing up, the athlete notes that Hitler is scarcely. But then a tall figure approaches. Owens immediately recognizes him as the German Lutz Long. He is the picture of Hitler's Aryan ideal. But from the broad grin on his face, it's obvious he doesn't share the fascist leader's disdain for Owens. Flinging an arm around his shoulders, Long is first to congratulate him. He hauls him off to parade around the stadium, waving at the crowds with Hitler looking on. The pair walk past the platform, grinning and companionable. A show of unity in a world soon to be ripped apart by hatred. Every four years, the modern Olympic Games takes place as a celebration of athletic excellence. Its rebirth came over 1500 years after the conclusion of its ancient precursor, a regional religious festival in ancient Greece. The modern version, debuting modestly at the end of the 19th century, is now an international phenomenon. The largest sporting festival on earth. Combining world class competition with spectacular ceremony, it unites the international community and the world's greatest display of human physical strength, skill and agility. But how was the Olympics revived? And by whom? How did it evolve? And how have events at the Games reflected changes in culture and world politics throughout the 20th century and beyond? I'm John Hopkins from the Noiser Network. This is a short history of the modern Olympics. The modern Olympics is inspired by its classical counterpart. These ancient Greek Olympics begin in the 8th century BC as a sporting festival dedicated to Zeus. Growing to a five day event, its contests are inspired by martial skills and include running, wrestling and chariot racing. It becomes the cultural highlight of the Greek calendar, almost comparable to a 21st century music festival. That is, if you replace the music with sport, the yoga classes with altars bloodied by animal sacrifice and strip the stars naked. But after the Romans conquered Greece, the Olympics wane. Eventually, at the end of the 4th century AD the Christian emperor Theodosius I puts a stop to what he sees as a pagan festival, ending a tradition of over a thousand years. The main stadium at Olympia on the Peloponnese peninsula is struck by an earthquake in 551 A.D. later, repeated catastrophic weather events take their toll. David Goldblatt is a sportswriter and broadcaster and the author of the A Global History of the Olympics.
