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Extraordinary Crew Team That Took Gold in 1936 Olympics Portrayed in 'The Boys of '36'

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Dave Iverson
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 (Photo: PBS' American Experience/Courtesy)

At the cusp of the opening ceremony for the 2016 Olympics in Brazil, we’ll look back at an extraordinary victory 80 years ago. During the 1936 Berlin Olympic Games,  an American rowing team of nine young working-class men unexpectedly defeated Adolf Hitler’s elite German athletes, serving as an inspiration to a nation in the depths of the Great Depression. A new documentary on PBS’ American Experience, inspired by Daniel James Brown’s “The Boys in the Boat”, tells the story of these young men and the obstacles they had to overcome to win gold.

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Guests:

Mark Samels, executive producer, American Experience on PBS

Judy Willman, daughter of Joe Rantz, who was a member of the 1936 crew team from the University of Washington

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