The Rival Who Made Him Better

Berlin, August 4, 1936. Jesse Owens stood at the edge of the long jump runway, the roar of one hundred thousand spectators pressing against him like a wall. He had already fouled on two qualifying attempts — one more, and the greatest athlete in the world would be eliminated before the final round even began. Adolf Hitler watched from his box seat. The Nazi propaganda machine had spent months declaring the superiority of the Aryan race. Everything was on the line.

Then a tall, blue-eyed German athlete walked over. Luz Long, Owens's fiercest competitor, offered a suggestion: place a towel several inches before the takeoff board as a visual marker, jump from there, and avoid the foul. It was a small adjustment — but it came from the one man who had every reason to want Owens to fail.

Owens qualified on his third attempt. In the final, he leaped 26 feet 5 inches to win gold. Long took silver. And in full view of the Fuhrer, Long was the first to congratulate Owens, clasping his hand and walking with him before the stunned crowd.

Proverbs 27:17 says, "As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another." Luz Long could have stayed silent and watched his rival self-destruct. Instead, he sharpened the very man who would beat him. That is the heart of true sportsmanship — and of Christian community. We are not diminished when we help others succeed. We are sharpened. The kingdom of God has never been a zero-sum game.