| 1936 Summer Olympics medals | |
|---|---|
| Location | Berlin,  Germany |
| Highlights | |
| Most gold medals | Germany (38) |
| Most total medals | Germany (101) |
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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.
Berlin had previously been chosen to host the 1916 Summer Olympics, which were subsequently cancelled due to the First World War.[1] 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.[2] 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), the most of any nation and a record for a united German team, although East Germany broke that record in 1976, 1980 and 1988.[3]
A boycott by the United States was suggested due to Germany's National Socialist regime, but it was not implemented.[1] The other NOCs which threatened to boycott the Games for the same reason were the United Kingdom, France, Sweden, Czechoslovakia and the Netherlands.[2] 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.[2] The civil war also meant that Spain's NOC did not compete at the 1936 Games.[1] 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.[4] 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.[5][6]
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.[1] 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.[9] His fellow countryman Nam Sung-yong won the bronze medal in the same event.[10][1]
