Stephan James

Race follows the life of athlete Jesse Owens and more specifically his athletic career as he embarked on his journey to the 1936 Olympics. Jesse was fast on the track, he constantly beat his competition and when he began training with Ohio State University coach Larry Snyder, he was pinned to be the best of the best. One of the major problems that faced him was that the 1932 games were set to take place in Germany which was ruled by the Nazis.

Being a black athlete, Jesse often faced discrimination and when he finally gained a place on the Olympic field team, Jesse was put under pressure by some of the community to send a message to the Nazi regime and equally a message of support to show solidarity with the oppressed people of Germany.

Jesse had to find a way to fulfil his dream and represent himself, what he stands for and to also win a medal for the people of USA who are counting on him to 'beat those Nazis' who viewed African Americans as inferior beings.