Question

As it turned out, Luz broke his own past record. In doing so, he pushed me on to a peak performance. I remember that at the instant I landed from my final jump—the one which set the Olympic record of 26 feet 5-5/16 inches—he was at my side, congratulating me. Despite the fact that Hitler glared at us from the stands not a hundred yards away, Luz shook my hand hard—and it wasn’t a fake “smile with a broken heart” sort of grip, either.

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.”

Read the extract given below and answer the question that follow.

What do you understand of Hitler from Jesse’s account?

Answer 1

Hitler had secretly nurtured a very strong Nazi youth and had kept him hidden until the day, to petrify other athletes, especially Owens. Hitler would have been fully aware that an angry athlete often errs and that perhaps was what he wanted. His slyness in doing so would allow his athlete to win, if not through competence, thus strengthening the Aryan superiority.