Carl Ludwig "Luz" Long (27 April 1913[1] – 14 July 1943) was a German Olympiclong jumper, notable for achieving the silver medal in the event at the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin and for his friendship with Jesse Owens, who went on to win the gold medal for the long jump.[2] Luz Long won the German long jump championship six times: in 1933, 1934, 1936, 1937, 1938, and 1939.
Long studied law at the University of Leipzig, where in 1936 he joined the Leipziger Sport Club.[4][5][6] After graduating, he practiced as a lawyer in Hamburg while continuing his interest in sport.[7]
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 1964 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.[8] On his third qualifying jump, Owens was calm and jumped with at least four inches (10 centimeters) to spare, easily qualifying for the finals.[9] In the finals competition later that day, the jumpers exceeded the old Olympic record five times.[10]
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 achieved 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".[2]
Long's competition with Owens is recorded in Leni Riefenstahl's documentary Olympia – Fest der Völker.[11]
Long and Owens corresponded after 1936. In his last letter, Long wrote to Owens and asked him to contact his son Kai-Heinrich after the war and tell him about his father and "what times were like when we not separated by war. I am saying—tell him how things can be between men on this earth".[15] After the war, Owens travelled to Germany to meet Kai-Heinrich Long. Long is seen with Owens in the documentary Jesse Owens Returns To Berlin, where he is in conversation with Owens in the Berlin Olympic Stadium.[16][17]
^ abLuz-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.
^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
^Long, Carl-Ludwig (1913–1943), Jurist und Sportler (Weitspringen), seit 2001 Luz-Long-Weg [2]
^Konvolut Urkunden, Fotografien, Zeitungsausschnitte, von Carl-Ludwig (Luz) Long, LSC, Leichtathletik, Silbermedaillengewinner Weitsprung Olympische Spiele Berlin 1936, (übergeben von Karl-H. Long) "Museumszeitung". Archived from the original on 30 January 2008. Retrieved 28 January 2008.
^"Sportmuseum". Sportmuseum-leipzig.de. Archived from the original on 21 October 2012. Retrieved 26 March 2013.
Karl-Heinrich Long: Luz Long – eine Sportlerkarriere im Dritten Reich. Sein Leben in Dokumenten und Bildern. Arete Verlag, Hildesheim 2015, ISBN978-3-942468-26-8.
Transcript of letter sent by Luz Long to Jesse Owens from Sicily while he was serving in the Wehrmacht. "Tell him about his father"