POSTED: Saturday August 22nd 2009
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Saturday press conference with families of Jesse Owens, Luz Long

The granddaughter of Jesse Owens, Marlene Dortch, and the son and granddaughter of Luz Long, Kai and Julia-Vanessa Long will be present.

BERLIN - The families of Jesse Owens and Luz Long
will take part in a press conference at 4:30 p.m. on Saturday, August
22, in the media interview tent located adjacent to Olympic Stadium.

 
The granddaughter of Jesse Owens, Marlene Dortch, and the son and granddaughter of Luz Long, Kai and Julia-Vanessa Long, all will be present to discuss the mutual legacies of their families.
 

At
the 1936 Olympic Games, Long played a pivotal role in helping enable
Owens to achieve his historic four gold-medal performance. During long
jump qualifying, Owens had fouled during his first two attempts. Facing
elimination from the competition if he did not post a qualifying mark
on his third attempt, Owens received advice from Long, who set the
Olympic record during qualifying.

 

Owens followed Long’s
suggestion and easily qualified for the final, where he won the
competition with a leap of 8.06m/26 feet 5.5 inches, with Long taking
the silver. The two walked from the stadium, arm-in-arm, and in the
more than 70 years since that moment, the two families have remained in
contact. Luz’s son, Kai, himself met Jesse Owens on several occasions
after his father’s death in World War II, and the athletes’ children
and grandchildren have remained in contact.

 
The families on Saturday night will present the medals for the men’s long jump in honor of Mr. Owens and Mr. Long.
 

Throughout
the 2009 outdoor athletics season, USA Track & Field has promoted
the team’s return to Berlin, honoring Owens in all its domestic
television broadcasts. At the World Championships, the U.S. is wearing
a special uniform which features the initials of Mr. Owens.

 
WHAT: Press conference with families of Jesse Owens and Luz Long
WHO: Marlene Dortch, Kai Long, Julia-Vanessa Long
WHEN: 4:30 p.m., Saturday, August 22
WHERE: Interview Tent, Olympic Stadium
WHY: In advance of the families presenting the men’s long jump medals at the IAAF World Championships
 
FOR MORE INFORMATION: Jill Geer, USATF Chief Public Affairs Officer. Jill.Geer@usatf.org; German Cell +49 17617368830

     

 About USA Track & Field

 

USA Track
& Field (USATF) is the National Governing Body for track and field,
long-distance running and race walking in the United States. USATF
encompasses the world’s oldest organized sports, some of the
most-watched events of Olympic broadcasts, the #1 high school and
junior high school participatory sport and more than 30 million adult
runners in the United States.

 

For more information on USATF, visit www.usatf.org

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Keywords · Jesse Owens · Luz Long · IAAF World Championships · athletics · Berlin

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Name: Jill Geer
Organization: US Track and Field
Email:
Phone: +1.(317) 713-4654
URL: http://www.usatf.org/

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