The first instance of the olympics meaning more than just a podium is the 1936 olympics held in Berlin, Germany. The IOC decided that giving Germany the chance to host the olympics would be a nice gesture after World War I. What they did not expect was that by the time the country hosted the olympics, Hitler would be in charge, and the world was on the verge of a second world war.

Some nations, and even individual athletes, boycotted the olympics in response to Hitler’s attempt to make the 1936 olympics fit into his propaganda campaign of promoting the Aryan race as the superior race. There were substantial talks of a U.S. boycott, but they did not come to fruition. Individual American athletes boycotted, but one athlete, Jesse Owens, did not.

Owens was a Black track athlete who decided to compete in the games. His performance, while it did not completely defeat Hitler’s campaign, did cause some to wonder about the validity of a superior race.

Tallying up multiple gold medals at the 1936 olympics, Owens hurt the Aryan superiority campaign, and Owens’ performance is still remembered to this day.