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.As Owens warmed up for his semifinal heat, a cloud-burst sent the spectators scurrying for cover and muddied thetrack even more.This was the day Owens had lived for.Thedream of a lifetime lay within his grasp.Later, he would philosophize about the oddity of trainingso many years for an occasion that would be over in mereseconds.To the runner, he said, the race was both shorter andlonger than a spectator could imagine: To a sprinter, the CH.BAA.JOw.C05.Final.q 30/11/04 14:55 Page 4040JESSE OWENSJesse Owens takes off running at the 1936 Summer Olympicsin Berlin. It seems to take an eternity, Owens said of thesprint races, yet is all over before you can think what shappening. CH.BAA.JOw.C05.Final.q 30/11/04 14:55 Page 4141The Dream Come Truehundred-yard dash is over in three seconds, not nine or ten.The first second is when you come out of the blocks.Thenext is when you look up and take your first few strides toattain gain position.By that time the race is actually abouthalf over.The final second the longest slice of time inthe world for an athlete is that last half of the race, whenyou really bear down and see what you re made of.It seemsto take an eternity, yet is all over before you can thinkwhat s happening. According to Owens, people assumed that running 100 meterswas just a question of speed.Certainly, that was a lot of it.Against world-class competition, however, the big challengeappeared in the last half of the race, when every instinct, allthose years of training, and sheer courage were called upon tosqueeze out every last drop of speed.This was what CoachRiley had been talking about in all his high school lectureswhen he said to race against yourself. To go to the limit inthis way was a supreme sporting achievement.Owens won his semifinal heat easily, in 10.4 seconds.Then, in the 100-meter finals, he burst into the lead at thestarting gun and was never challenged.He broke the tape in10.3 seconds, tying his own Olympic record.Ralph Metcalfe,the Marquette University sprinter who had won two Olympicmedals in Los Angeles, finished second, a yard back butall eyes were on Owens.One British observer marveled, No sprinter I have ever seen has run in such effortless style.He was in a class above all other competitors; his arms andlegs worked in perfect rhythm, and he carried his runningright through the tape. The results of the race were broadcast on loudspeakers allover Berlin, so, as Owens took his victory lap, shouts in andout of the stadium circled with him.The German crowd hadfound a hero in the college boy from the United States, andfor the rest of the Games, wherever he went, the shout wentup: Yesseh Oh-vens! Yesseh Oh-vens! CH.BAA.JOw.C05.Final.q 30/11/04 14:55 Page 4242JESSE OWENSOn the victory stand that afternoon, Owens s eyes mistedover as he bent forward to receive his gold medal and watchedthe American flag being raised.He had achieved his dream atlast.He would remember this as the happiest moment of hiswhole career.As was the custom, Jesse Owens bowed to the leader of thehost country Adolf Hitler from the victory stand.TheGerman chancellor returned a stiff salute, then turned away.When an aide suggested that he invite Owens to his viewingbox, Hitler savagely replied, Do you really think that I willallow myself to be photographed shaking hands with a Negro? Whether Owens knew that he had been snubbed or not,he did not have time to be bothered by a racist politician.Thenext day, the preliminaries of the 200-meter race began.Forthe fourth day in a row, rain fell this time as a bus drove theAmerican track team to the stadium.Owens had to wear hissweatshirt to stay warm during his elimination heats, whichhe won handily.Then, while the other sprinters caught abus back to the Olympic Village, he tried to stay loose forthe afternoon s long-jump competition, swallowing a dampsandwich for lunch.UNEXPECTED FRIENDSHIPThe 100-meter victory had seemed so easy, but the long jumpproved anything but.In fact, Owens barely made it into thefinals.Each athlete was given three chances to qualify, whichshould have been two more than Owens needed.When heran, still wearing his sweat suit, through the long-jump pit togauge the steps for his first leap, he was shocked to discoverthat the judges counted the run-through as his first attempt.Then, when he did jump, they said he had committed a foulby stepping over the takeoff board and disqualified the leap.Now the pressure was on, and suddenly the power ofconcentration that had helped make Owens such a formidablecompetitor deserted him.In his autobiography, Owens CH.BAA.JOw.C05.Final.q 30/11/04 14:55 Page 4343The Dream Come Truerecalled that this was the most frightening moment of hiscareer: I fought, fought hard, harder.but one cell at a time,panic crept into my body, taking me over
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