At the Berlin 1936 Olympics, Hitler planned to show the world that the Aryan people were the dominant race. Jesse Owens proved him wrong and... sealed his place in Olympic history by becoming the most successful athlete of the 1936 Games. Owens also became the first American to win four track and field gold medals at a single Olympics (100m, 200m, 4x100m relay and long jump), a record that stood unbroken for 48 years.