Jesse Owens, the man from Alabama, had a busy start to 4 August, his third consecutive day in Berlin’s Olympic Stadium.
A little more than 12 months previously, the then 21-year-old had jumped 8.13m, a world record mark that would stand for 25 years.
First, the USA athlete failed to notice officials raising their flags to signal the start of competition.
But with remarkable grace, for which he would posthumously be awarded the Pierre de Coubertin award for sportsmanship, Long defied the prevailing mood engulfing his country’s high command and gave his African American foe invaluable advice.
The German, according to reports detailed by his son, urged Owens to move his take-off mark back well behind the board, reassuring him that he could jump 7.15m “in his sleep”.
Neither man made a further impact until Long delighted his supporters in the stadium by matching his rival’s leading mark at the start of the fifth round.
In a final show of brilliance, Owens breached the 8m mark, jumping 8.06m in the sixth round, an Olympic record.
Owens and Long remained in touch after the 1936 Games, writing letters to each other until the Nazi invasion of Poland in 1939.