Jesse Owens’ achievements at 1936 Olympics were ‘thumb in the eye’ to Adolf Hitler, says US athlete’s grandson

(CNN) — American Jesse Owens’ achievements at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin – he won four gold medals in the 100 meters, the 200m, the 4x100m relay and the long jump – made him a track and field great.Those achievements came under the gaze of Adolf Hitler, who had initially planned for the Olympics held in Nazi Germany to showcase what he believed to be the racial superiority of White, so-called “Aryan” athletes, openly denigrating Black American participants as “non-humans.”The image of Owens – one of 18 Black athletes on the US team – atop the podium and surrounded by individuals giving the Nazi salute& has become part of Olympic lore.Owens’ grandson Stuart Owen Rankin describes the track and field great’s actions as a “thumb in the eye” to Hitler.“My grandfather’s legacy continues to prosper. When people do find out and it’s not often that I discuss it outwardly, but people do eventually find out, for example, perhaps through watching interviews like this, their response is always positive,” Rankin told CNN’s Don Riddell.“Their response is one that fills me with pride. Again, their response speaks to my grandfather’s accomplishments and the enduring quality of what he did in ‘36 and...