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Berlin
The Nazis used the games to promote the ideology of racial superiority. But the effort backfired when Jesse Owens, a black American track star, won four gold medals. -
Rome
South Africa was excluded because of its racist regime. Ethiopian marathon runner Abebe Bikila, running barefoot, became the first black African Olympic champion. -
Mexico City
Black American track stars Tommie Smith and John Carlos gave the Black Power salute during the award ceremony. -
Moscow
In protest of the massive invasion of Afghanistan, more than 60 western nations boycotted the moscow games. In response, the Soviet Union led a boycot of the Los Angeles games four years later. -
Beijing
The games sparked protests by human rights groups who claimed that allowing China to host the games legitimized its environmental and human rights violations. -
Soshi
Equal rights activists around the world gathered in proptest in the run-up to the Soshi games, a rsponse to Russia's so-called 'gay propaganda' ban.