ecopolis

Germany was ruled by the Nazis since 1933, and Hitler wanted to capitalize on the Olympic Games to present Germany as an open-minded and peaceful nation to prove that the “Aryan race” was superior to all other “races” in all aspects of life, including tollerance of (inferior) diversity and sports.

But the Nazis had not counted on Jesse Owens’s talent and his determination to win: he managed to win four Olympic gold medals (100m, 200m, long jump and 4×100m relay): No other athlete had ever won four medals at the Olympic Games. That feat was performed again only by Carl Lewis at the Olympic Games in Los Angeles 1984.

The audience was enthralled by his performance and Jesse Owens became the celebrated hero of Berlin. Jesse Owens had won the heart and mind of Germany and the world.
In the streets, children “played” Jesse Owens, and the “Führer’s” radio sports reporters had a hard time explaining how an African-American had managed to relegate the sure, prospective and “white” winners to second places. Everybody could see how upset Hitler was about this success. And Jesse Owens did not get a handshake.

But when Jesse Owens returned to the USA, even the US President, Franklin D. Roosevelt, ignored the top athlete and did not invite him to the White House: Roosevelt was campaigning for his re-election and he feared protests in the Southern States if he welcomed and honoured Owens publicly.
Owens remarked later that he felt insulted by Roosevelt rather than Hitler.

It is impossible to forget Dorando Pietri who on 2nd April 1906 triumphed at the tape of Piazza di Siena: in that spring, Villa Borghese anointed the great athlete from Carpi between lines of enthusiastic onlookers. Dorando Pietri was born on 16 October 1885 at Mandrio, a small neighbourhood of Correggio. Practically he lived all his life at Carpi, where as a youngster he began working as an errand boy in a cake shop. He also liked running on foot.

Dorando Pietri was, in every sense, a great champion. 2008 is his commemorative year. What happened on 24 July 1908 at the Olympic Games in London – number 19 on his jersey, the lead gained on his opponents in the last few kilometres of the marathon, with start at Windsor Castle, his fall just a few metres from the finish inside the White City stadium, the generous but misplaced assistance of J.M. Andrew and M.J. Bulger, his subsequent disqualification, the emotion of queen Alexandra, the regal initiative of awarding the unlucky athlete a special gold-plated silver cup, currently kept by the La Patria Club in a UniCredit Banca safe-deposit box – all this has made Dorando immortal throughout the world.

In the space of 5 and a half months, from 25 November 1908 to 9 May 1909, Dorando took part in 22 races over distances between 10 miles and the marathon, winning 17. He was so popular, that they also invited him to South America and on 24 May 1910, at Buenos Aires, Pietri ran the last race of his career, which was also his fastest: 2h38′48″2.