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Joe Rantz: A Short Story Of Hard Work

567 Words3 Pages

Out of the depths of the Great Depression, and against the backdrop of World War II, comes an irresistible story of hard work and the ability to find hope in the most desperate times. Nine working class American boys strive for athletic greatness to show everyone at the 1936 Olympics, even Adolph Hitler himself, what true companionship and dedication looks like. From the very beginning of the story, the hope of winning a gold medal at the Olympics seemed like an impossible task for the sons of loggers, shipyard workers, and farmers who had just enrolled in their first year of college at the University of Washington.
This crew was never expected to beat the most elite rowing crews of the East Coast or the most profound crews who rowed for Great Brittan. The story starts off by introducing one of the main characters, Joe Rantz who was the son of a farming man who lost his mother as a very young boy due to natural causes. After the death of his mother, his father and newlywed mother abandoned Joe. Without telling him where they were going, he watched the tail lights of the family car disappear in the distance. For the next 4 …show more content…

The wind that day was a perfect day for a photo finish. The boys of the University of Washington rowing team had made it this far and they were ready to become the gold medal winning team. The lane assignments for the race were posted and the United Sates had gotten the unfavorable 6th lane. The United States would be racing against some of the best rowers from England, Germany, Italy, Hungary, and Switzerland. From the very beginning of the race, the United States and Great Brittan had a terrible start. The announcer was speaking German and the men did not know when he said go. They only noticed the other competitors racing past them signaling them that they should sprint as fast as they could. The ending of the race would only be determined by a photo finish that had everyone standing on their feet wanting

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