The Boys In The Boat: Olympic Gold Triumph

The Boys in the Boat is a true story about a rowing team from the University of Washington, who won gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics. The story, which has been adapted into a film directed by George Clooney, follows the team's journey to Olympic victory during the Great Depression. The team, made up of young men from lower-middle-class and working-class families, faced financial difficulties and adversity but ultimately succeeded in their quest for gold.

The boys' financial struggles

The boys in the 1936 University of Washington rowing team came from humble beginnings. They were the sons of loggers, dairy farmers, and fishermen—the kinds of kids you would find in the Northwest. Most of them came from lower-middle-class or working-class families and were often unemployed. Joe Rantz, the main character in both the book and the film, lived in an abandoned car, ate canned food, and relied on soup kitchens for meals. He and his teammates joined the rowing team because it offered part-time jobs, which helped them pay their tuition fees.

The University of Washington's rowing program didn't offer scholarships, but they did have enough to pay their rowers, which was especially attractive to team members like Rantz during the Great Depression. However, this worked against them when it came to the Olympics, as the elitist Olympic committee refused to pay for their travel expenses. Fortunately, the team and the community rallied together and raised the needed $5,000 (over $111,000 in today's money).

The financial struggles of the boys in the boat reflect the hardships faced by many Americans during the Great Depression. Their triumph in the face of adversity embodies the American Dream, showing that with hard work and determination, anything is possible.

The gold medal race

The Huskies faced off against teams from Hungary, Great Britain, Switzerland, Germany, and Italy. They got off to a poor start, missing the beginning of the race and having to play catch-up from the first stroke. Hume, in particular, seemed unfocused and unwell, but coxswain Bobby Moch took off his loudhailer and encouraged him personally, which helped him find his rhythm. The team then began to move up the field, overtaking the Hungarian, Swiss, and British teams to secure a medal position.

In a thrilling finish, the Huskies caught up with the German and Italian teams, and the three crews crossed the line in a photo finish. The judges had to examine the photo to determine the winner, and it was announced that the American team had won gold by just three feet and six-tenths of a second. This victory was especially significant as it put the University of Washington and the city of Seattle on the map, bringing them recognition and prestige.

The boys' training

O'Neill said:

> "I treated them as if they were Olympic athletes. I tried to get them into that frame of mind that when they got in the boat, they had to think about looking and rowing like Olympic champions. To a large extent that was quite important, because they did take it really seriously. I was impressed with the actors."

The actors themselves also took the training seriously. Joel Edgerton, who plays Coach Al Ulbrickson in the film, said:

> "I just remember thinking, through all that pain is going to come so much benefit for the movie and pleasure for them having been through the experience."

British actor Callum Turner, who plays Joe Rantz, the main character, said:

> "We did five months of training, basically. We rode four hours a day for two months. We worked out for an hour on top of that. We had the nutritionists, physio, PT, the whole shebang. And as you know, rowing is excruciating."

Director George Clooney filmed the rowing scenes sequentially, starting at the point in the story when the boys were just trying out for the sport themselves. This helped the way the rowing looked in the final film.

The Nazi regime's cover-up

The 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin were designed to demonstrate the superiority of German athletes and showcase the physical superiority of the German people. The Nazi regime also wanted to present a picture of a country at peace, despite already being on the road to World War II.

The Nazi sports apparatus provided promising athletes with generous subsidies, allowing them to train incessantly. The facilities built for the games were monumental, and the opening ceremonies were painstakingly choreographed and upbeat. The overt anti-Semitism in the Nazi press was muffled, and Hitler cleared signs of antisemitism from Berlin—removing Nazi posters and publications from the city so visitors wouldn’t know what was happening.

However, the Nazi regime's attempts at a cover-up were not entirely successful. Despite the attempted cover-up, many activists were aware of the Nazi regime and boycotted the event. Some leaders even pointed to the fact that Germany broke Olympic rules banning discrimination based on race and religion, among other concerns.

In addition, the German rowing crew from the Wiking Rowing Club, founded in Berlin in 1896, was not part of the Nazi-backed training system. None of the rowers or the coach were ever members of the Nazi party, and they had to pay lip service to the regime to continue participating in their sport. Their success was seen as "a blow for the Nazi selection system."

The boys' lives after the Olympics

Don Hume, another member of the rowing team, fought in World War II after the Olympics. He was drafted into the United States Merchant Marine and served from 1942 to 1945. After the war, Hume worked in the oil and gas drilling industry and was a part of the West Coast Mining Association. He died in 2001 at the age of 86.

The other members of the team also went on to live long lives. Charles Day died of lung cancer in 1962 at 47, but the rest lived into their 80s and 90s. Roger Morris was the last surviving member of the crew, passing away in 2009 at the age of 94. The men remained close throughout their lives, reuniting to row every few years and gathering informally in each other's backyards.

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