Luz Long: a leap towards peace – Peace and Sport International Forum

It's a story of human courage that defied the Nazi regime one afternoon in August 1936. On the one side, Luz Long, with his blond hair and blue eyes – the Aryan archetype praised by Hitler, and on the other, Jesse Owens, the "sworn enemy", one of the first African-American athletes to win international fame.

The scene took place at the Olympic Stadium in Berlin, where the two athletes had come face-to-face for the long jump competition. It's a moment that would go down in history for the few brief words that were exchanged. Owens was facing disqualification after having fouled on his first two attempts in the morning's qualifying session. It was then that Long approached his American adversary to give him some advice for his next jump.

Following Long's recommendation, Jesse Owens moved his run-up marker several inches behind the foul line. He triumphed on his third jump, easily qualifying for the final. Owens and Long went on to share the podium, the American athlete taking gold and the German silver.

73 years and two generations later, the granddaughters of the two Olympic champions, Julia-Vanessa Long and Marlene Dortch-Owens, were in the same city of Berlin for the 2009 World Athletics Championships.

Following an initiative by Lamine Diack, President of IAAF, the meeting between the two was immortalized by a photo taken at the podium for the long jump competition.

In November of the same year, at the Peace and Sport International Forum, Joël Bouzou, President and Founder of the organization, awarded the 'Image of the Year' trophy to the photo of the two young women with the three long jump medallists.

 “Sport has the power to unite people despite differences, and Jesse Owens and Luz Long are one of the greatest examples of this.At a time when Olympic values were flouted by the Hitler regime, these two great champions proved that friendship, solidarity and respect always triumph on the field of play”, said Joël Bouzou.

The award inspired Luz Long’s family to write the story about the athlete – a man who dared confront the Nazi regime by becoming friends with the champion Jesse Owens.The biography, entitled Luz Long – a sportsman in the Third Reich, was released on 10 May in Germany. Chapter 31 includes the letter that Joël Bouzou sent to the Long family to encourage them to write the biography.

“Mr. Bouzou was the first person to help us, and we’ve sent him a copy of the book to thank him”, said Ragna Long, daughter-in-law of Luz.The President and Founder of Peace and Sport will also attend the press conference launching the biography in Hamburg on 21 May, to further demonstrate his support to initiatives that advocate the values conveyed by sport.

“I am all the more moved as President of the World Olympians Association, because these two Olympians who marked history also showed us that champions can bring progress to society, and this must continue to guide us in our efforts”, added Joël Bouzou.

Source:  Peace and Sport International Forum

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