Jesse Owens

Four gold medals and the long jump duel with Luz Long, Berlin 1936 Jesse Owens won the 100 meters, 200 meters, long jump and 4x100 meters relay at the Berlin Games, staged under the Nazi regime. The long jump is the part to watch. Owens was in danger of failing to qualify, and the German jumper Luz Long is said to have told him to take off farther from the board. Owens went through, beat Long in a back-and-forth final, and the two became friends. Long was killed fighting for Germany in 1943, and Owens later visited his son. It is the clearest case on this list of sportsmanship crossing a political line.