Excellent story by Roy Exum on Jesse Owens' performance at the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin. I would only add that I think the 1980 Miracle on Ice in Lake Placid when our amateur hockey team upset the professional Soviets ranks right up there with Mr Owens' record setting Olympic feats.
Most of the time sports are just a game to be enjoyed and get a brief respite from the everyday world.
However sometimes sporting events actually do transcend sports and create memorable moments in world history. Along with the two events mentioned above I would include the day in the spring of 1947 that Jackie Robinson took the field for the Brooklyn Dodgers and integrated Major League Baseball.
Douglas Jones
Ooltewah