The Marathon and Women's Relay

Even the sun came out today for the climax of the 1936 Olympics today. Under a cloudless sky Summer sky, a record crowd gathered for the marathon, the most widely advertised Olympic event, and the relays - always full of uncertainty and thrills. To come down to it, the marathon was rather a disappointment from the spectators' seats simply because it could not be seen.

Only the grand finale, the reappearance of the first weary runner, is perhaps worth the price of a ticket. The first runner was not even weary. Kitei Son of Japan came jogging into the stadium as fresh as a daisy.

In the midst of all the gaiety, black despair settled on the generally vociferous German crowd. The German women's relay team, the pride of the Fatherland, established a new world record for the 400-meter race yesterday, had been running again today in top form. The jubilant crowd sure of another gold medal and in high holday mood, was thrown down from its emotional pinnacle which it could not recover for the remainder of the afternoon.

A fast runner dropped the baton as it was being passed and the Germans had to drop out of the race. The Führer who was watching in his customary box, slapped his thigh in frustration. The girls proved they were after all, genuine women and not just feminine athletes by having hysterics on the field. With tears rolling down their cheeks there were taken up to Hitler's box, where he consoled them as best he could, assuring them he knew they would have won.

Apart from the question of whether they would have won, which can be disputed, they had the crowd with them. A bond of human sympathy with the four young people who had experienced the most atrocious bad luck united the more than 100,000 in attendance.