The founder of the modern Games thought they should honor both body and mind. But the tradition died years ago, and the winning artworks are largely forgotten.
Jesse Owens won his first gold medal at the Summer Olympics held in Berlin, Germany on this day in 1936. The American athlete was the first to cross the line of the 100-meter dash one of the marquee track and field events at the Olympics.
At the 1936 Olympics in Berlin, each champion received a baby oak tree. In Los Angeles one of them is still alive, a witness to a forgotten chapter of Black history. But it is threatened with destruction to make space for luxury apartments.