Upon winning four gold medals at the 1936 Berlin Olympics:
After all those stories about Hitler and his snub, I came back to my native country, and I couldn’t ride in the front of the bus. I had to go to the back door. I couldn’t live where I wanted. Now what’s the difference?
As quoted in his obituary, New York Times, 1 April 1980. Sometimes quoted in this form: "... I couldn't live where I wanted. I wasn't invited to shake hands with Hitler, but I wasn't invited to the White House to shake hands with the President, either."
