2016 marks the 80th anniversary of the US eight gold medal at the 1936 Berlin Olympics. To commemorate the event, and to honor the "Boys in the Boat," we have released a T-shirt celebrating the victory. The design is simple and understated, just crossed oars with the year 1936 and USA imprinted in navy blue on an athletic gray T-shirt, the simplicity in keeping with the poise and demeanor of the championship crew. To represent the United States at the Berlin Olympics was an incredible accomplishment for a boat consisting of the sons of loggers, shipyard workers and farmers. The final race, before a crowd of over 75,000 spectators was one of the closest finishes in Olympic history, with the United States taking the gold medal with a time of 6.25.4, Italy the silver medal with a time of 6.26, and Germany finishing in third place with a time of 6.26.4.
 | If you haven't already read The Boys in the Boat, I highly recommend it. Rumor has it that a movie is in the works, to be directed by Kenneth Branagh. The official German footage of the race was directed by Adolf Hitler's favorite director, Leni Riefenstahl, as part of what was to become the documentary of the games, Olympia. Riefenstahl was the first director to use slow-motion and tracking (i.e., the use of multiple cameras moving alongside, or "tracking," the action) in a documentary - techniques now taken for granted and even expected. Although originally intended to be a propaganda film designed to showcase the dominance of the Thousand Year Reich, Germany's hoped-for dominance of amateur sports on the world's greatest stage was upended by the performances of Jesse Owens and the US eight-oared shell. |
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