My Greatest Olympic Prize Story Summary in English and Hindi Pdf. My Greatest Olympic Prize is written by Jesse Owens.
My Greatest Olympic Prize Story Summary in English by Jesse Owens
My Greatest Olympic Prize About the Author
Jesse Owens was born on September 12, 1913 in Oakville, Alabama. He was known as The Buckeye Bullet’. In high school, he won three track and field events at the 1933 National Interscholastic Championships. Two years later, while competing for Ohio State University, he equalled one world record and broke three others. In 1936, Owens won four gold medals at the Olympic Games in Berlin.
At East Technical High School, Owens quickly made a name for himself as a nationally recognized sprinter, setting records in the 100 and 200-yard dashes as well as the long jump.
After graduating, Owens enrolled at the Ohio State University, where he continued to flourish as an athlete.
His dominance at the Big Ten games was at par for the course for Owens that year, which saw him win four events at the NCAA Championships, two events at the AAU Championships and three others at the Olympic trials. In all, Owens competed in 42 events that year, winning them all.
Jesse Owens, who smoked up to a pack of cigarettes a day for a good deal of his life, died of lung cancer in Tucson, Arizona, on March 31, 1980.
My Greatest Olympic Prize About the Story
All about the Story My Greatest Olympic Prize:
The story is about the true sportsmanship. Luz Long, the German athlete, gave a useful tip to his rival player Jesse Owens which helped him win the Gold Model at the Olympic Games in Berlin in 1936. He even congratulated Jesse.
The story ‘My Greatest Olympic Prize’ deals with the heart-touching experience of Olympic gold medalist Jesse Owens. He was an American Negro. In those days, Adolf Hitler believed in Aryan-superiority theory. He thought that his German athletes belonged to a master’s race and they would perform better than other participants in the 1936 Olympics, Berlin. So nationalistic feelings were running high. The American Negro athlete Jesse Owens took six years of painful practice, purposely to break the theory of Hitler. He had already made a world record in long jump just in the last year. So he expected to win the gold medal easily this time.
Jesse Owens had trained, sweated and disciplined himself for six years with the Games in mind. When the time came, he was startled to see a tall boy hitting the pit at almost 26 feet on his practice leaps. He was a German named Luz Long. He was told that Hitler had kept him under wraps, evidently hoping to win the jump with him.
It was believed that an angry athlete would commit mistakes. He was angry with Hitler’s childish theory. So he committed mistakes. His performance in trial was very poor. This disturbed Jesse Owens very much.
Luz Long, the German athlete helped Jesse Owens. Though he was trained by Hitler, he didn’t believe in Hitler’s theory. Jesse was his opponent player but he was friendly with him and even helped him to get qualified for the final. He suggested to draw a line behind take-off board and to jump.
Luz Long broke his record in long jump. However, it was Jesse who won the gold medal by jumping 26 feet 5 5/16 inches. Luz Long congratulated him. Hitler glared at both of them from the stands not a hundred yards away. Luz shook his hand hard and it was not a ‘fake smile with a broken heart’. He was sincere in expressing his joy at his victory.
Coubertin, the founder of modern Olympic Games, said that the true spirit of Olympics was not winning but taking part. Luz Long did not win, but he was a good example of Olympic spirit. To Jesse Owens, the greatest Olympic prize was not the gold medal but his new and noble friendship with Luz Long.
My Greatest Olympic Prize Summary in English
The Olympic Games of 1936
The Olympic Games were scheduled to be held in Berlin in the summer of 1936. Adolf Hitler foolishly believed in Aryan-superiority theory. Because Adolf Hitler childishly insisted that his German performers were members of the ‘master race’, nationalistic feelings were at an all time high.
Jesse Owens and Luz Long
Jesse Owens was not too worried about all this. He had trained, sweated and disciplined himself for six years. With the Games in mind, while he was going over on the boat, all he could think about was taking home one or two of those gold medals. He had his special eye on the running broad jump. A year before, as a sophomore at Ohio State University, he had set the world’s record of 26 feet 8 1/4 inches.
Everyone expected him to win that Olympic event hands down. He was in for a surprise. When the time came for the broad-jump trials, he was startled to see a tall boy hitting the pit at almost 26 feet on his practice leaps ! He turned out to be a German named Luz Long. He was told that Hitler had kept him under wraps, evidently hoping to win the jump with him. He guessed that if Long won, it would add some new support to the Nazis’ Aryan-superiority theory. After all he was a Negro. A little hot under the collar about Hitler’s ways, he determined to go out there and really show Der Fuhrer and his master race who was superior and who wasn’t.
Jesse Owens’ Mistakes
Jesse Owens says that an angry athlete is an athlete who will make mistakes. Every coach tells this to everyone. He was no exception. On the first of his three qualifying jumps, he leaped from several inches beyond the take-off board for a foul. On the second jump, he fouled even worse. “Did I come 3000 miles for this ?” He thought bitterly. “To foul out of the trials and make a fool of myself.”
Meeting between Jesse Owens and Luz Long :
Walking a few yards from the pit, he kicked disgustedly at the dirt. Suddenly he felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned to look into the friendly blue eyes of the tall German broad jumper. He had easily qualified for the finals on his first attempt. He offered him a firm handshake.
“Jesse Owens, I’m Luz Long. I don’t think we have met”. He spoke English well, though with a German twist to it.
“Glad to meet you,” Jesse Owens said. Then trying to hide his nervousness, he added, “How are you ?”
“I’m fine. The question is : How are you ?”
“What do you mean ?” Jesse asked.
“Something must be eating you,” he said – proud the way foreigners are when they’ve mastered a bit of American slang. “You should be able to qualify with your eyes closed.”
“Believe me, I know it”, Jesse told him – and it felt good to say that to someone.
For the next few minutes they talked together. He didn’t tell Long what was eating him, but he seemed to understand his anger, and he took pains to reassure him. Although he had been schooled in the Nazi youth movement, he didn’t believe in the Aryan-supremacy business any more than Jesse did. They laughed over the fact that he really looked the part, though. An inch taller than Jesse, he had a lean, muscular frame, clear blue eyes, blond hair and a strikingly handsome, chiselled face. Finally, seeing that he (Jesse) had calmed down somewhat, he pointed out to the take off board.
Long’s Suggestion to Jesse
“Look”, Long said. “Why don’t you draw a line a few inches in back of the board and aim at making your take off from there ? You will be sure not to foul, and you certainly ought to jump far enough to qualify. What does it matter if you’re not first in the trials ? Tomorrow is what counts.”
Suddenly all the tension seemed to ebb out of Jesse’s body as the truth of what he said hit him. Confidently he drew a line a full foot in back of the board and proceeded to jump from there. He qualified with almost a foot to spare.
Jesse Visits Long’s Room
That night Jesse walked over to Luz Long’s room in the Olympic village to thank him. Jesse knew that if it had not been for him he probably wouldn’t be jumping in the finals the following day. They sat in the quarters and talked for two hours – about track and field, themselves, the world situation, a dozen other things.
When he finally got up to leave, they both knew that a real friendship had been formed. Luz would go out to the field the next day trying to beat him (Jesse) if he could. But Jesse knew that he wanted him to do his best – even if that meant his (Jesse’s) winning.
Luz Congratulates Jesse
As it turned out, Luz broke his own past record. In doing so, he pushed him (Jesse) on to a peak performance. He remembered that at the instant he landed from his final jump – the one
which set the Olympic record of 26 feet 5 5/16 inches, he was at his (Jesse’s) side, congratulating him. Despite the fact that Hitler glared at them from the stands not a hundred yards away, Luz shook his hand hard-and it wasn’t a fake “smile with a broken heart” sort of grip, either.
Conclusion
“You can melt down all the gold medals and cups I have, and they couldn’t be a plating on the 24 – carat friendship I felt for Luz Long at that moment. I realized then, too, that Luz was the epitome of what Pierre de Coubertin, founder of the modern Olympic Games, must have had in mind when he said, “The important thing in the Olympic Games is not winning but taking part. The essential thing in life is not conquering but fighting well” said Jesse Owens.
My Greatest Olympic Prize Word Notes and Explanations
sophomore : a student in the second year of a college
startled : surprised
wraps : covers
nervousness : anxiety
chiseled : clear and strong features of a person
tension : feeling of anxiety
glared : looked at angrily
epitome : embodiment
My Greatest Olympic Prize Theme
In this lesson ‘My Greatest Olympic Prize’ Jesse Owens reiterates what Pierre de Coubertin, the founder of the modern Olympic Games, said, ”The important thing in the Olympic Games is not winning but taking part. The essential thing in life is not conquering but fighting”.
The lesson relates the heart-touching experience of Olympic gold medalist Jesse Owens. Adolf Hitler believed in Aryan-superiority theory. He thought that his German athletes belonged to a master’s race and they would perform better than other participants in the 1936 Olympics, Berlin. So nationalistic feelings were running high. The American Negro athlete Jesse Owens took six years of painful practice, purposely to break the theory of Hitler. He had already made a world record in long jump just in the last year. So he expected to win the gold medal easily this time.
It was believed that an angry athlete would commit mistakes. Jesse was angry with Hitler’s childish Aryan theory. So he committed mistakes. His performance in trial was very poor. But Luz Long, a tall German long jumper, did not believe in Hitler’s theory. He was Jesse’s opponent player but he was friendly with him and even helped him to get qualified for the finals. He suggested to him to draw a line behind take-off board and then to jump. Jesse won the gold medal by jumping 26 feet 5 5/16 inches. Luz Long congratulated him by shaking his hand. Hitler glared at both of them.
Thus the theme of the lesson is that the true spirit of Olympics is not winning but taking part. Luz Long did not win but he was a good example of Olympic spirit. Long’s congratulating Owens on his victory was of greater value to Owens than the gold medal itself. Owens felt that nothing could equalize the friendship that formed between the two.
My Greatest Olympic Prize Title
The title of the lesson ‘My Greatest Olympic Prize’ is very apt because Jesse Owens, the American Negro athlete who participated in the 1936 Olympic Games, held at Berlin, narrates his own experience. He narrates that at that time Hitler believed in the Aryan-superiority theory. He thought that his German athletes belonged to a master’s race and they would perform better than the other participants in the 1936 Olympics.
Jesse Owens took six years of painful practice, purposely to break the theory of Hitler. He relates that Luz Long, a tall German long jumper, trained by Hitler, was his opponent player. He did not believe in Hitler’s theory. Both participated in the running broad jump event. Jesse Owens won the gold medal. But Luz Long, who was a true sportsman, did not feel jealous of him. Rather, he congratulated him by shaking hands with him. Thus Jesse Owens broke the theory of Hitler by winning the gold medal at the Olympics.
My Greatest Olympic Prize Message
In this lesson, ‘My Greatest Olympic Prize’, Jesse Owens, the American Negro athlete reiterates what Pierre de Coubertin, the founder of the modern Olympic Games, said, “The important thing in the Olympic Games is not winning but taking part. The essential thing in life is not conquering but fighting”. This message is the outcome of the experience of Jesse Owens that he had in the Olympic Games of 1936. Jesse Owens was the Olympic gold medalist.
Adolf Hitler thought that his German athletes belonged to a master’s race and they would perform better than the other participants in the 1936 Olympics, Berlin. So nationalistic feelings were running high at that time. The American Negro athlete took six years of painful practice purposely to break Hitler’s theory. Jesse Owens participated in the Olympic Games. He committed mistakes and his performance in trial was very poor. But Luz long, a tall German long jumper, did not believe in Hitler’s theory. He was Jesse’s opponent player but he was friendly with Jesse and even helped him to get qualified for the finals. When Jesse
won the gold medal by jumping 26 feet 5 5/16 inches, Long congratulated him by shaking his hand. Hitler glared at both of them. Thus the message of the lesson is that the true spirit of Olympics is not winning but taking part.
My Greatest Olympic Prize Character Sketch
1. LUZ LONG
- a tall German athlete
- lean, mascular frame
- did not believe in Hitler’s theory
- a true sportsman
- no inhibitions in giving tips to his rivals
- saw his rivals as friends
- a good human being
- genuinely happy at Jesse’s victory
- without the feeling of jealousy
- true friend of Jesse
Luz Long, the German athlete, had a lean but mascular frame. He was tall and handsome. He had clear blue eyes and blond hair and chiseled face. Though he was trained in the Nazi Youth School, he did not possess the sly characteristics of Nazis. He did not believe in Hitler’s childish theory that his performers were members of the master race and so would perform better than the others in the Olympic Games.
Hitler had kept him under wraps, evidently hoping to win the jump with him. Though Long knew the pressure on him, he did not lose the spirit of a true sportsman. He had no inhibitions in giving his rival a very important tip, even though it could have meant his failure. He told him, “Why don’t you draw a line a few inches in back of the board and aim at making your take off from there ?” He saw his rival as a friend. He was a very good human being and had nothing to hide.
When Jesse visited his room in the Olympic village, he welcomed him and they talked for two hours and shared their views about track and field, themselves, the world situation and a dozen other things. His intentions were clear and he had come to participate, and winning to him was just a matter of effort. He was genuinely happy when Owens won the gold medal. Long congratulated him without feeling a pang of jealousy. His selflessness proved that he was an epitome of goodness and true sportsmanship. His congratulating Owens on his victory was of greater value to Owens than the gold medal itself. Owens felt that nothing could equalize the friendship that formed between the two.
2. JESSE OWENS
- an American Negro athlete
- trained himself for six years to participate in Olympics
- already made a world record in long jump
- initially angry against the German athletes
- soon realized his mistakes
- chance meeting with Luz Long
- did not believe in Hitler’s theory
- became friendly with Luz Long
- visited Luz’s room
- won gold medal by jumping 26 feet 5 5/16 inches.
Jesse Owens, an American Negro athlete, participated in the Olympic Games which were held in 1936, in Berlin. He had trained, sweated and disciplined himself for six years in order to participate in the games. Hitler believed in Aryan- superiority theory and thought that his German athletes belonged to a master’s race and they would perform better than the other participants in the 1936 Olympics. Jesse took six years of painful practice, purposely to break the theory of Hitler. He had already made a world record in long jump in the last year. So he expected to win the gold medal easily this time.
His anger against the German athletes made him commit two mistakes. On the first of his three qualifying jumps, he leaped from several inches beyond the take-off board for a foul. On the second jump, he fouled even worse. But soon he realized his mistakes. “Did I come 3000 miles for this ?” he thought bitterly. “To foul out of the trials and make a fool of myself ?” He was so disgusted that he kicked the pit in anger. But the German Luz Long performed well. He was qualified for the final. This disturbed Jesse very much.
A chance meeting with Luz Long, a German athlete, who did not believe in Hitler’s theory of Aryan-superiority, calmed him down. He became friendly with Luz Long. Luz gave him a suggestion, “Look, why don’t you draw a line a few inches in back of the board and aim at making your take-off from there ?” Jesse accepted his suggestion. He qualified with almost a foot to spare. He, then, visited Luz’s room in the Olympic village to thank him. They became good friends. They talked for two hours about track and field, the world situation and a dozen other things. Jesse won the gold medal by jumping 26 feet 5 5/16 inches. To Jesse Owens, the greatest Olympic prize was not gold medal but his new and noble friendship with Luz Long.
My Greatest Olympic Prize Critical Appreciation
First Person Narrative
In this lesson, Jesse Owens, the Negro American athlete, is the narrator. He narrates his own experience in the first person at the Berlin 1936 Olympics. He says, “It was the summer of 1936. The Olympic Games were being held in Berlin. Because Hitler childishly insisted that his performers were members of a ‘master race’, nationalistic feelings were at an all-time high. I wasn’t too worried about all this. I’d trained, sweated and disciplined myself for six years with the Games in mind ………… I had my eye specially on the running broad jump ………. On the first of my three qualifying jumps, I leaped from several inches beyond the take-off board for a foul ………. I remember that at the instant I landed from my final jump, he (Luz Long) was at my side congratulating me ……….”
True Sporting Spirit
Luz Long, the German athlete, noticing a world record holder pathetically fouling, understood the reason behind it. Without hesitation, despite being the opponent of Jesse, he extended a hand of friendship to Jesse Owens. Long was expected to beat Owens in the finals. His being friendly with Owens would result in angering his leader. Without paying heed to that he gave his rival crucial tips to avoid fouling. Jesse Owens accepted his suggestion. He won the gold medal by jumping 26 feet 5 5/16 inches. Thus Luz Long exemplified the true sporting spirit.