Luz Long
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Carl Ludwig "Luz" Long (27 April 1913 – 14 July 1943) was a German Olympic long jumper who won the silver medal in the event at the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin and had a friendship with Jesse Owens, who won the gold medal in that event. Luz Long won the German long jump championship six times: in 1933, 1934, 1936, 1937, 1938, and 1939.
Long was killed while serving in the German Army during World War II.
Early lifeEdit
Long was born in Leipzig on 27 April 1913.<ref>Template:Cite sports-reference</ref> He studied law at the University of Leipzig, where in 1936 he joined the Leipziger Sport Club.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="olympiadorf.de">Luz-Long-Ufer – Dr. Luz Long (1913–1944). Mehrmaliger Deutscher Meister und Europarekordinhber bei den Olympischen Spielen 1936 in Berlin. Im zweiten Weltkrieg in Italien gefallen.</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> After graduating, he practiced as a lawyer in Hamburg while continuing his interest in sport.<ref>27. April 1913: Geburtstag Carl Ludwig "Luz" Long – Für den Leipziger Sportclub holte er in den Zwanziger- und Dreißigerjahren alle wichtigen Leichtathletiktitel. In Leipzig ist heute eine Straße nach ihm benannt. Als deutsche Hoffnung ging Carl Ludwig – genannt Luz – Long 1936 bei den Olympischen Spielen in Berlin an den Start. Hitler setzte auf den großen, blonden, blauäugigen Weitspringer. Und wirklich: Luz Long sprang Europarekord und holte die Silbermedaille – hinter Jesse Owens. Der schwarze US-Amerikaner gewann vier Goldmedaillen. Die beiden Sportler freundeten sich an, sehr zum Missfallen des NS-Regimes. Nach den Spielen wurde Luz Long Jurist und ließ sich in Hamburg nieder. Später wurde er eingezogen und fiel im Juli 1943 – mit nur 30 Jahren – auf Sizilien. - by Ariane Hoffmann, at wdr.de</ref>
1936 Olympic GamesEdit
The 21-year-old, 1.84-metre-tall (6'½") Long had finished third in the 1934 European Championships in Athletics with 7.25 metres (23'9½"). By the summer of 1936, Long held the European record in the long jump and was eager to compete for the first time against Jesse Owens, the American world-record holder. The long jump on 4 August was Long's first event against Owens, and Long met his expectations by setting an Olympic record during the preliminary round. In contrast, Owens fouled on his first two jumps. Knowing that he needed to reach at least 7.15 metres (about 23 feet 5½ inches) on his third jump in order to advance to the finals in the afternoon, Owens sat on the field, dejected.
In the 1966 documentary Jesse Owens Returns to Berlin, Owens relates a story that Long came over to offer advice before Owens's third jump. According to the story, Long said that Owens should jump from a few inches before the takeoff board. This would reduce the measured distance but avoid the risk of another fault; the theory was that Owens would still clear the required distance even with the handicap of jumping early. However, this conversation is apocryphal; Grantland Rice was watching Owens the entirety of the qualifying round and did not see him speak to Long. Tom Ecker relates that he asked Owens about the story in 1965 and Owens admitted that it was not true, but just a good story.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> On his third qualifying jump, Owens was calm and jumped with at least four inches (10 centimeters) to spare, easily qualifying for the finals.<ref>Template:YouTube</ref> In the finals competition later that day, the jumpers exceeded the old Olympic record five times.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
Owens went on to become Olympic champion in the long jump with 8.06 metres (26'5¼") while besting Long's own record of 7.87 metres (25'9¾"). Long won the silver medal for second place and was the first to congratulate Owens: they posed together for photos and walked arm-in-arm to the dressing room. Owens said, "It took a lot of courage for him to befriend me in front of Hitler... I would melt down all the medals and cups I have and they wouldn't be a plating on the twenty-four karat friendship that I felt for Luz Long at that moment".<ref name=schwartz>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Long's competition with Owens is recorded in Leni Riefenstahl's documentary Olympia – Fest der Völker.<ref>Luz Long https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0519083/</ref>
Two days later, Long finished 10th in the triple jump.
He went on to win the British AAA Championships title in the long jump event at the 1937 AAA Championships<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and finish third in the 1938 European Championships in Athletics long jump with 7.56 metres (24'9½").
World War IIEdit
Long served in the Wehrmacht during World War II, having the rank of Obergefreiter. During the Allied invasion of Sicily in Italy, Long was wounded on 10 July 1943, in the battle for the Biscari-Santo Pietro airfield, and died four days later in a British military hospital.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="WWII">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> He was buried in the war cemetery of Motta Sant'Anastasia<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> in Sicily.
There is an urban myth that Long sent a letter to Owens from the battlefield, requesting that Owens visit Long's son if Long were to die. Long is supposed to have asked Owens to explain to the boy how life was before people were divided by the war. Such a letter has never been seen by the families of Owens or Long, nor would it be likely that Long could send a letter to the United States while in the German military. Additionally, the letter is often reported as having come from North Africa, a theatre that Long did not serve in.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
After the war, Owens travelled to Germany to meet Luz' son, Kai-Heinrich Long (1941-2021), who was seen with Owens in the 1966 documentary Jesse Owens Returns To Berlin, where they conversed in the Berlin Olympic Stadium.<ref>[https://www.imdb.com/{{#if: 241599
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MemorialsEdit
Roads near sports facilities in Long's home town of Leipzig,<ref>Long, Carl-Ludwig (1913–1943), Jurist und Sportler (Weitspringen), seit 2001 Luz-Long-Weg [1]</ref> and in the Munich Olympia Park<ref name="olympiadorf.de" /> of 1972, are named after him. His medal, photos, and documents were donated<ref>Konvolut Urkunden, Fotografien, Zeitungsausschnitte, von Carl-Ludwig (Luz) Long, LSC, Leichtathletik, Silbermedaillengewinner Weitsprung Olympische Spiele Berlin 1936, (übergeben von Karl-H. Long) {{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> to the Sportmuseum Leipzig.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
In popular cultureEdit
- In the film The Jesse Owens Story (1984), he is portrayed by Kai Wulff.
- In the film Race (2016), he is played by David Kross.
ReferencesEdit
Further readingEdit
- Karl-Heinrich Long: Luz Long – eine Sportlerkarriere im Dritten Reich. Sein Leben in Dokumenten und Bildern. Arete Verlag, Hildesheim 2015, Template:ISBN.
- Transcript of letter sent by Luz Long to Jesse Owens from Sicily while he was serving in the Wehrmacht. "Tell him about his father"
