1936 Summer Olympics medal table

1936 Summer Olympics medals
LocationBerlin,  Germany
Highlights
Most gold medals Germany (38)
Most total medals Germany (101)
Medalling NOCs32
← 1932 · Olympics medal tables · 1948 →
A tarnished gold medal featuring a person in a toga, and the words "XI Olympiade Berlin 1936".
A gold medal from the 1936 Olympics
Olympic rings
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1936 Summer Olympics

The 1936 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XI Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event held in Berlin, Germany, from 1 August to 16 August.[1]

Berlin had previously been chosen to host the 1916 Summer Olympics, which were subsequently cancelled due to the First World War.[2] The 1936 Games had 3,963 athletes from 49 National Olympic Committees (NOCs) participating in a total of 129 events in 19 sports. This was the highest number of nations represented at any Games to date.[3] Athletes from 32 NOCs won medals, of which 21 secured at least one gold medal. As a result, 17 NOCs were left without any medal. The host NOC, Germany, received a total of 101 medals (38 of them gold),[4] the most of any nation and a record for a united German team, although East Germany broke that record in 1976, 1980 and 1988.[5]

A boycott by the United States was suggested due to Germany's National Socialist regime, but it was not implemented.[2] The other NOCs which threatened to boycott the Games for the same reason were the United Kingdom, France, Sweden, Czechoslovakia and the Netherlands.[3] An alternative People's Olympiad was planned to take place in Barcelona, Spain, but was cancelled at the last moment following the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War after the athletes had already begun to arrive.[3] The civil war also meant that Spain's NOC did not compete at the 1936 Games.[2] While no NOCs ended up boycotting the Games on anti-Nazi grounds, a multinational Jewish-led boycott of the Games took place, with individual athletes refusing to take part.[6] Also, the IAAFs' refusal to allow athletes from Northern Ireland to compete for the Irish Olympic Council in athletics events led the Irish Free State to boycott.[7][8]

Marjorie Gestring became the youngest Olympic champion ever at the age of 13,[nb 1] winning a gold medal in the women's 3 meter springboard.[2] As Korea was under Japanese rule, Korean athletes who hoped to compete in the Games were required to qualify for the Japanese team. Sohn Kee-chung, competing as Kitei Son, won gold in the marathon, which made him Japan's first gold medalist at these Games and the first Korean ever to win a medal.[11] His fellow countryman Nam Sung-yong won the bronze medal in the same event.[12][2]

  1. ^ Johnston, Mindy (July 25, 2024). "Berlin 1936 Olympic Games". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved September 13, 2024.
  2. ^ a b c d e "Olympic history: Berlin 1936". Eurosport. March 12, 2012. Archived from the original on March 16, 2012. Retrieved March 15, 2012.
  3. ^ a b c "The Movement to Boycott the Berlin Olympics of 1936". United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. Archived from the original on February 20, 2016. Retrieved March 17, 2012.
  4. ^ "Olympic Games Berlin 1936". International Olympic Committee. Archived from the original on March 11, 2023. Retrieved March 30, 2024.
  5. ^ "Olympic Medal Table". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on July 27, 2011. Retrieved March 28, 2012.
  6. ^ Pope, John (March 1, 2010). "Fred Feran, who boycotted 1936 Olympics in Berlin, dies at age 92". New Orleans Metro. Archived from the original on September 7, 2012. Retrieved March 17, 2012.
  7. ^ O'Sullivan, Patrick T. (Spring 1998). "Ireland & the Olympic Games". History Ireland. 6 (1). Dublin. Archived from the original on December 16, 2012. Retrieved August 1, 2016.
  8. ^ Krüger, Arnd; William J. Murray (2003). The Nazi Olympics: sport, politics and appeasement in the 1930s. University of Illinois Press. p. 230. ISBN 0-252-02815-5.
  9. ^ "Hermanus Gerardus BROCKMANN — Olympic Rowing". International Olympic Committee. Archived from the original on August 15, 2016. Retrieved August 2, 2016.
  10. ^ Mallon, Bill (1998). The 1900 Olympic Games, Results for All Competitors in All Events, with Commentary. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers. ISBN 0-7864-0378-0.
  11. ^ "Kitei Son". Olympic.org. Archived from the original on August 24, 2012. Retrieved March 17, 2012.
  12. ^ Lewis, Mike (November 30, 2002). "Obituary: Sohn Kee-chung". The Guardian. Retrieved March 17, 2012.


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