10 Incredible Stories From The Summer Olympics

In one of the most famous moments in sporting history, Jesse Owens single-handedly (or two-footedly) crushed Adolf Hitler's theory of Aryan racial supremacy. Winning four gold medals in Berlin and breaking an Olympic high jump record, much of Owens' achievements at the Olympic Games were overshadowed by racism.

Despite the obvious political undertones, Owens found an unlikely ally in his fiercest competitor. Luz Long, the embodiment of Hitler's Aryan ideal, suggested that Owens change his run-up for the long jump. Having missed the mark on two previous jumps, Owens felt he had nothing to lose, and agreed, a move that sent him into the final.

In a long jump final that went back and forth more than a tennis match, Owens would finally beat Long with a jump of 8.06m. The pair took a lap of honour to a standing ovation from the crowd. Speaking on Luz Long afterwards, Owens said: "You can melt down all the medals and cups I have and they wouldn’t be a plating on the 24-carat friendship I felt for Luz Long at that moment."

However, while he received praise from his rivals and friends alike, there was one person that never acknowledged him at all, and that was President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

Supposedly too busy to meet Owens, Roosevelt invited every white Olympian to the White House in order to congratulate them. But there was no invitation, or even a telegram, for the first American to take four golds in a single Olympic Games.