Question

I was in for a surprise. When the time came for the broad-jump trials, I 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. 1 was told that Hitler hoped to win the jump with him. I guessed that if Long won, it would add some new support to the Nazis’ “master race” (Aryan superiority) theory. After all, I am a Negro. Angr about Hitler’s ways, 1 determined to go out there and really show Der Fuhrer and his master race who was superior and who wasn’t. An angry athlete is an athlete who will make mistakes, as any coach will tell you. I was no exception. On the first of my three qualifying jumps, I leaped from several inches beyond the takeoff board for a foul. On the second jump, I fouled even worse. “Did I come 3,000 miles for this?” I thought bitterly. “To foul out of the trials and make a fool of myself ?” Walking a few yards from the pit, 1 kicked disgustedly at the dirt.

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

I was in for a surprise. When the time came for the long jump trials, I was startled to see a tall boy hitting the pit at almost 26 feet on his practice leaps. What do these words mean?

Answer 1

This passage is taken from, “My Greatest Olympic Prize” written by Jesse Owens. Jesse Owens shares his Olympic experience. Here he refers to Luz Long, the tall blond German athelete. He was surprised by his performance.