Treasure Trove A Collection of ICSE Short Stories Workbook Answers Chapter 9 Notes My Greatest Olympic Prize

Treasure Trove A Collection of ICSE Short Stories Workbook Answers Chapter 9 Notes My Greatest Olympic Prize – ICSE Class 10, 9 English

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About the Author

James Cleveland “Jesse” Owens (September 12, 1913-March 31, 1980) was an American track and field athlete and four-time Olympic gold medalist.

Owens specialized in the sprints and the long jump and was recognized in his lifetime as “perhaps the greatest and most famous athlete in track and field history”. His achievement of setting three world records and tying another in less than an hour at the 1935 Big Ten track meet in Ann Arbor, Michigan, has been called “the greatest 45 minutes ever in sport” and has never been equalled. At the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin,Germany, Owens won international fame with four gold medals: 100 meters, 200 meters, long jump, and 4 * 100 meter relay. He was the most successful athlete at the games and as such has been credited with “single-handedly crushing Hitler’s myth of Aryan supremacy.”

The Jesse Owens Award is USA Track and Field’s highest accolade for the year’s best track and field athlete. Owens was ranked by ESPN as the sixth greatest North American athlete of the twentieth century and the highest-ranked in his sport.

About the Story

“My Greatest Olympic Prize” is the heart-touching experience of Olympic gold medalist Jesse Owens. Adolf Hitler believed in the Aryan Superiority theory. He thought that his German athletes belonged to a master’s race and they would perform better than other participants in the 1936 Olympics, Berlin. So nationalistic feelings were running high. The American Negro athlete Jesse Owens took six years of painful practice, purposely to break the theory of Hitler. He had already made a world record in long jump just the previous year. So he expected to win the gold medal easily.

Owens’ “My Greatest Olympic Prize” deals with friendship he had with Luz Long. While sharing his Olympic experience he also brings out the friendship he develops with Luz Long. Owens mind is filled with Olympic gold. Nothing could shake the spirit of Owens. He is not bothered about hostile feeling among the Germans. Hitler’s men believed in his theory of master race. In this backdrop Owens happens to meet Luz Long. Luz Long is a German. But he is friendly with Owens.

When Owen’s anger is pointed towards Hitler his performance suffers. Out of three qualifying jumps he faults in two. At this crucial moment Luz Long gives a solution. Long asks him to draw a line few inches behind the take off board. Owens follows his advice and qualifies for the final. On the same evening Owens meets Luz Long. They speak for

long. They speak about sports. They talk on world affairs. They also talk on several issues. Finally Owens departs. The next day Owens wins gold in long jump. He sets a new Olympic record of 26 feet 5 and 5/16 inches. Long is the first one to congratulate him. Hitler watched from a distance. At that moment Owens feels that all the gold medals he has won cannot equal his friendship with Luz Long. Long embodies the Olympic spirit of taking part and fighting well.

Plot

1. Introduction: Jesse Owens an American Negro athlete participates in the 1936 Olympics in Berlin, Germany.
2. Jesse’ s Poor Performance: An angry athlete will commit mistakes. Jesse Owens was no exception to this. He was hot under the collar (angry) with Hitler’s childish Aryan theory. So he committed mistakes. His performance in trial was very poor. He kicked the pit in disgust. But the German Luz Long performed well. He was qualified for the final. This disturbed Jesse Owens very much.
3. The Help by Luz Long: Luz Long is a tall German long jumper. Though he is trained by Hitler, he does not believe in Hitler’s theory. Jesse Owens is his opponent player but he is friendly with him and even helps him to get qualified for final. He suggests to draw a line behind take off board and then to jump. He is not as emotional as Jesse.
4. The win: Luz Long broke his past record in long jump. However it is Jesse Owens who won the gold medal by jumping 26 feet 5, 5/16 inches. Luz Long congratulated him by shaking his hand. Hitler glared at both of them.
5. Jesse’s Greatest Olympic Prize: Coubert in is the founder of modern Olympic games. According to him, the true spirit of Olympic is not winning but taking part. It is not winning but fighting well that matters. Luz Long did not win. But he was a good example of Olympic spirit. To Jesse Owens, the greatest Olympic prize is not the gold medal but his new and noble friendship with Luz Long.

Theme

The story My Greatest Olympic Prize enunciates that the true spirit of Olympic is not winning but taking part. It is not winning but fighting well that matters. Luz Long did not win. But he was a good example of Olympic spirit. To Jesse Owens, the greatest Olympic prize is not the gold medal but his new and noble friendship with Luz Long.

The story shows that true friendship cannot be slave to racism or ideology and it is a meeting of minds and hearts.Adolf Hitler believed in the Aryan Superiority theory. He thought that his German athletes belonged to a master’s race and they would perform better than other participants in the 1936 Olympics, Berlin. Luz Long though trained by Hitler, he did not believe in Hitler’s theory. Luz Long believed that it is not winning but taking part that is significant. It is not winning but fighting well that matters. Luz Long did not win. But he was a good example of true friend. He motivated Jesse to show his best and win. To Jesse Owens, the greatest Olympic prize is not the gold medal but his new and noble friendship with Luz Long.

Highlights of Speech/or Summary

It is 1936. American Jesse Owens seemed sure to win the long jump competition in the Olympic games. The previous year he had jumped 26 feet, 8 1/4 inches, a record that would stand for 25 years.

As he walked to the long-jump pit, however, Owens saw a tall, blue eyed, blond German taking practice jumps in the 26-foot range. Owens felt nervous. He was acutely aware of the Nazis desire to prove Aryan superiority. And as a black son of a share cropper, he knew what it was like to feel inferior.

On his first jump, Owens inadvertently leapt from several inches beyond the takeoff board. Rattled, he fouled on his second attempt, too. One more foul and he would be eliminated.

At that point, the tall German introduced himself as Luz Long. ‘You should be able to qualify with your eyes closed!’ he said to Owens, referring to his upcoming two jumps.

For the next few moments, the African American and the white model of Nazi manhood chatted together. Then Long made a suggestion. Since the qualifying distance was only 23 feet, 5 1/2 inches, he suggested that Owen make a mark several inches before the takeoff board and jump from there, just to play it safe. Owens did that and qualified easily.

In the finals, Owen sets an Olympic record and earned the second of his four gold medals. The first person to congratulate him was Luz Long in full view of Adolf Hitler. Owen never again saw Long, who was later killed in World War II.

You could melt down all the medals and cups I have,’ Owens later wrote, and they wouldn’t be a platting on the 24-carat friendship I felt for Luz Long.’

Characters

Jesse Owens

Jesse Owens was an American Negro athlete who participated in the 1936 Olympics in Berlin. Jesse Owens took six years of painful practice, purposely to break the theory of Hitler. Fie had already made a world record in long jump just the previous year. So he expected to win the gold medal easily. Owens mind was filled with the Olympic gold. Nothing could shake the spirit of Owens. He is not bothered about hostile feeling among the Germans. Hitler’s men believed in his theory of master race. Owen is disheartened to see that Long wins one. Owens felt nervous. He was acutely aware of the Nazis desire to prove Aryan superiority.’ And as a black son of a share cropper, he knew what it was like to feel inferior. On his first jump, Owens inadvertently leapt from several inches beyond the takeoff board. Rattled, he fouled on his second attempt, too. One more foul and he would be eliminated.

But He makes a friend who motivates him. In this backdrop Owens happens to meet Luz Long. Luz Long was a German. But he was friendly with Owens. When Owen’s anger was pointed towards Hitler his performance suffered. An angry athlete commits mistakes and Jesse Owens was no exception to this. He was hot under the collar (angry) with Hitler’s childish Aryan theory. So he committed mistakes. His performance in trial was very poor. He kicked the pit in disgust. But the German Luz Long performed well. He. was qualified for the final. This disturbed Jesse Owens very much. Out of the three qualifying jumps he faulted in two. At that crucial moment Luz Long gave a solution. Long asked him to draw a line few inches behind the take off board. Owens followed his advice and qualified for the final. The friendship Jesse shared with Long was invaluable and beyond borders and race. On the same evening Owens met Luz Long. They spoke about sports. They talked on world affairs. They also talked on several issues. The next day Owens won gold in long jump. He set a new Olympic record of 26 feet 5 and 5/16 inches. Long was the first one to congratulate him. Owens later wrote, ‘You could melt down all the medals and cups 1 have,’ and they wouldn’t be a platting on the 24-carat friendship I felt for Luz Long.’

Jesse Owens was a great athlete. Owens specialized in the sprints and the long jump and was recognized in his lifetime as “perhaps the greatest and most famous athlete in track and field history”. He has been called “the greatest 45 minutes ever in sport” and has never been equaled. At the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, Germany, Owens won international fame with four gold medals: 100 meters, 200 meters, long jump, and 4 x 100 meter relay. He was the most successful athlete at the games and as such has been credited with “single-handy crushing Hitler’s myth of Aryan supremacy.”

The Jesse Owens Award is USA Track and Field’s highest accolade for the year’s best track and field athlete. Owens was ranked by ESPN as the sixth greatest North American athlete of the twentieth century and the highest-ranked in his sport.

Luz Long

Luz Long is a tall, blue eyed, blond German long jumper. He was an inch taller than Jesse, and had a lean, muscular frame, clear blue eyes, blond hair and a strikingly handsome, chiseled face. Though he was trained by Hitler, he did not believe in Hitler’s theory.

Luz Long embodied the true spirit of Olympic that it is not winning but taking part that is significant. It is not winning but fighting well that matters. Luz Long did not win. But he was a good example of the Olympic spirit. To Jesse Owens, the greatest Olympic prize is not the gold medal but his new and noble friendship with Luz Long.

‘You should be able to qualify with your eyes closed!’ he said to Owens. Jesse Owens is his opponent player but he is friendly with him and even helps him to get qualified for final. He suggests to draw a line behind take off board and then to jump.

He is not as emotional as Jesse. He practiced well and did not get angry or disheartened at his performance. He did his best and did not let anything effect his game.

Long was a good athlete and had a sporting spirit . He became Owen’s friend and motivated him. He took pains to reassure Jesse. Although he’d been schooled in the Nazi youth movement, he didn’t believe in the Aryan-supremacy business.

Title

The title My Greatest Olympic Prize is apt. Jesse Owens was an American Negro athlete who participated in the 1936 Olympics in Berlin. Jesse Owens took six years of painful practice, purposely to break the theory of Hitler. He had already made a world record in long jump just the previous year. So he expected to win the gold medal easily. Owens mind was filled with the Olympic gold. Nothing could shake the spirit of Owens. When Owens’ anger was pointed towards Hitler his performance suffered. An angry athlete commits mistakes and Jesse Owens was no exception to this. He was hot under the collar (angry) with Hitler’s childish Aryan theory. So he committed mistakes. His performance in trial was very poor. He kicked the pit in disgust. But the German Luz Long performed well. He was qualified for the final. This disturbed Jesse Owens very much. Out of the three qualifying jumps he faulted in two. Owens happened to meet Luz Long. Luz Long was a German. But he was friendly with Owens. At that crucial moment Luz Long gave a solution. Long asked him to draw a line few inches behind the take off board. Owens followed his advice and qualified for the final. Long was the first to congratulate him.

The friendship Jesse shared with Long was invaluable and beyond borders and race. On the same evening Owens met Luz Long. They spoke about sports. They talked on world affairs. They also talked on several issues. The next day Owens won a gold in long jump. Owens later wrote, ‘You could melt down all the medals and cups I have, and they wouldn’t be a platting on the 24-carat friendship 1 felt for Luz Long.

Thus as the story highlights the invaluable friendship of these two athletes from the opposing sides the title is indeed appropriate.

Setting

The setting of the story is in Berlin , Germany when the Olympics were being held in the year 1936.
Jesse Owens was an American Negro athlete who participated in the 1936 Olympics in Berlin. Jesse Owens took six years of painful practice, purposely to break the theory of Hitler. He had already made a world record in long jump just the previous year. So he expected to win the gold medal easily. Owens mind was filled with the Olympic gold.

It was a time when Germany was ruled by Adolf Hitler who believed in the Aryan Superiority theory. He thought that his German athletes belonged to a master’s race and they would perform better than other participants in the 1936 Olympics, Berlin. So nationalistic feelings were running high. The American Negro athlete Jesse Owens took six years of painful practice, purposely to break the theory of Hitler. He had already made a world record in long jump just the previous year. So he expected to win the gold medal easily.

Style

The style, adopted by Jesse Owens to narrate the events at the Olympics in Berlin and his friendship and bonding with Luz Long, is lucid, simple and straightforward. The vocabulary used is not ambiguous or difficult to understand. The conversation between the two friends is simple and genuine and nothing jars or seems artificial or contrived.

Critical Appreciation

In My greatest Olympic prize the narrator Jesse Jones gives a first account of his experience at the Olympics in Berlin in 1936.

The author uses simple and straightforward language to describe his friendship with a German athlete. It was a time when Germany was ruled by Adolf Hitler who believed in the Aryan Superiority theory. He thought that his German athletes belonged to a master’s race and they would perform better than other participants in the 1936 Olympics, Berlin. So nationalistic feelings were running high. The American Negro athlete Jesse Owens took six years of painful practice, purposely to break the theory of Hitler. He had already made a world record in long jump just the previous year. So he expected to win the gold medal easily. The friendship Jesse shared with Long was invaluable and beyond borders and race. On the same evening Owens met Luz Long. They spoke about sports. They talked on world affairs. They also talked on several issues. The next day Owens won a gold in long jump. Owens later wrote, ‘You could melt down all the medals and cups I have,’ and they wouldn’t be a platting on the 24-carat friendship I felt for Luz Long.’The author uses simple conversation and dialogues to convey the genuine friendship they shared.

The author also conveys the spirit of sportsmanship through the example of the character Luz Long. ‘You should be able to qualify with your eyes closed!’ he said to Owens. Jesse Owens is his opponent player but he is friendly with him and even helps him to get qualified for final. He suggests Jesse to draw a line behind take off board and then to jump.

Long was a good athlete and had a sporting spirit. He became Owen’s friend and motivated him. He took pains to reassure Jesse. Although he’d been schooled in the Nazi youth movement, he didn’t believe in the Aryan-supremacy business.

Coubertin had declared that taking part in Olympics was more important than winning. The author uses simple language and characterization to show that Luz Long, being a true sportsman and an amazing human being, helped his fellow sportsman to qualify in his jump that made him win. This shows that Long believed in participating rather than winning. His rival’s winning did not make him jealous. On the contrary, he congratulated him with all his heart. This clearly exemplifies that Long believed in Coubertin’s words and passed the thought to Owens.

Thus the simple description by Jesse Owens gives valuable insights into true friendship and human values that transcend race and bias.

Glossary

1. Sophomore: a student in the second year of college.
2. Startled: surprised.
3. Wraps: covers.
4. Nervousness: anxiety.
5. Chiselled: clear and strong features of a person.
6. Tension: feeling of anxiety.
7. Glared: looked at angrily.
8. Epitome: embodiment.

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