He embraced historic

fuenmayorr568

· 12 Jul 2021

He embraced historic

#history
During the 1936 Berlin Olympics, Long dared to challenge the regime by befriending Owens. In the qualifying for the long-jumping discipline, Long advised the African-American athlete to jump from a little further back so as not to make null, and when he beat him in the final he ran to hug him.
There was a lot of speculation about the consequences this hug had on Long. It was said that he was banned from competing again and that he had been destined for the Russian front, which was denied by Long himself in an article published in the press. However, the athlete's mother assured that Rudolf Hess, one of Hitler's closest collaborators, told him that his son would never think of hugging a black man ever again.
Both athletes demonstrated great sportsmanship that has made history, and maintained their friendship after the Games. Owens and Lutz exchanged cards until the death of this second in World War II.
Sport had allowed Long to get rid of fighting in World War II. However, in 1943, in the face of successive defeats of the Reich army, he was considered fit to combat and was sent to Sicily, where operation Husky was taking place. He was declared missing on July 14, 1943. In the last letter sent to Owens, Long, fearing not surviving the war, asked Owens to travel to Germany to meet his young son and tell him the friendship they both had maintained.