It is one of the most important medals in Olympics history. In 1936 Jesse Owens won it and three others at the Berlin Games, spoiling Adolf Hitler’s planned showcase of Aryan superiority.
Imagine the shock to Nazi Party elites when a black American, the son of a sharecropper and grandson of slaves, stared down fascist propaganda, bested his rivals and took home four gold medals.
Hitler was furious, but tens of thousands of ordinary Germans cheered him on.
Owens won the 100- and 200-meter sprints, the long jump and ran the opening leg for the winning 4×100-meter U.S. relay team.
Sports Illustrated chose Owens’ feat as the greatest Olympic moment of all time.
So auctioneers predict the medal will sell for more than $1 million.
“It leaves one nearly speechless to behold this medal. It survives as one of the world’s most poignant symbols of triumph,” the vice president of SCP Auctions, Dan Imler, said in a written statement.
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