1 00:00:08,360 --> 00:00:19,720 Speaker 1: Pushkin. Hello, Hello, Malcolm Glabo. Here here at Pushkin. We 2 00:00:19,800 --> 00:00:27,240 Speaker 1: love the Olympics. One of my strongest childhood memories was 3 00:00:27,240 --> 00:00:31,560 Speaker 1: the nineteen seventy six Olympics in Montreal, my homeland's first 4 00:00:32,040 --> 00:00:32,880 Speaker 1: Olympic Games. 5 00:00:33,479 --> 00:00:34,160 Speaker 2: I was a kid. 6 00:00:34,600 --> 00:00:37,280 Speaker 1: My family didn't have a television, but we rented one 7 00:00:37,400 --> 00:00:40,760 Speaker 1: just for the occasion. Two rabbit ears on top of 8 00:00:40,800 --> 00:00:43,400 Speaker 1: a grainy black and white set. Who put the TV 9 00:00:43,479 --> 00:00:46,159 Speaker 1: in the fireplace because there was no other place for it, 10 00:00:46,560 --> 00:00:51,960 Speaker 1: And I watched everything. The Romanian Nadya Komenitch bewitching the 11 00:00:52,000 --> 00:00:57,320 Speaker 1: world in gymnastics, my running hero John Walker powering away 12 00:00:57,360 --> 00:00:59,960 Speaker 1: around the final curve to win the men's fifteen hundred meters. 13 00:01:00,680 --> 00:01:05,200 Speaker 1: I still get nervous thinking about that race. Lassie Van's 14 00:01:05,280 --> 00:01:09,199 Speaker 1: improbable double in the five thousand meters, and the ten 15 00:01:09,240 --> 00:01:13,200 Speaker 1: thousand meters Alberto want to Rena, Cornelia ender Don Cory, 16 00:01:13,920 --> 00:01:18,200 Speaker 1: and the women's forby one hundred freestyle relay maybe the 17 00:01:18,280 --> 00:01:20,600 Speaker 1: greatest swimming race ever. 18 00:01:22,520 --> 00:01:22,759 Speaker 3: Wow. 19 00:01:25,080 --> 00:01:27,240 Speaker 1: I was a little kid and I fell in love 20 00:01:27,240 --> 00:01:29,919 Speaker 1: with the Olympics, and I've been in love ever since. 21 00:01:32,120 --> 00:01:34,880 Speaker 1: There are just so many good Olympic stories to tell. 22 00:01:35,200 --> 00:01:38,240 Speaker 1: So this summer a bunch of Pushkin shows are giving 23 00:01:38,240 --> 00:01:41,080 Speaker 1: you their unique takes on the games. Over at the 24 00:01:41,120 --> 00:01:44,440 Speaker 1: Happiness Lab, Lorie Santos will be talking with the coach 25 00:01:44,840 --> 00:01:48,800 Speaker 1: who coaches the coaches. Maya Shankar is going deep with 26 00:01:48,920 --> 00:01:52,640 Speaker 1: a whole suite of swimmers talking about their slight change 27 00:01:52,680 --> 00:01:55,760 Speaker 1: of plans. And my colleague bend A daff Haffrey and 28 00:01:55,800 --> 00:01:58,680 Speaker 1: I have done a nine part series about the nineteen 29 00:01:58,760 --> 00:02:03,720 Speaker 1: thirty six Olympics in Berlin, the Nazi Olympics, and today 30 00:02:03,960 --> 00:02:06,320 Speaker 1: I'm sharing a taste of some of my favorite stories 31 00:02:06,360 --> 00:02:11,200 Speaker 1: from Pushkin's Olympic summer. One from Revisionist History, another from 32 00:02:11,200 --> 00:02:14,160 Speaker 1: What's Your Problem, and to kick us all off, a 33 00:02:14,240 --> 00:02:17,680 Speaker 1: story from Tim Harford. Over at Cautionary Tales. 34 00:02:18,680 --> 00:02:22,280 Speaker 4: For sheer myth making about distance running, You can't beat 35 00:02:22,320 --> 00:02:27,560 Speaker 4: the Marathon. After the Greeks unexpectedly smashed an invading Persian 36 00:02:27,639 --> 00:02:30,960 Speaker 4: army at the Battle of Marathon, a chap called Philippides 37 00:02:31,320 --> 00:02:34,160 Speaker 4: ran twenty six miles to Athens with the good news, 38 00:02:34,520 --> 00:02:40,760 Speaker 4: and then, so the story goes, collapsed and died. Thus 39 00:02:40,800 --> 00:02:44,040 Speaker 4: began the legend of the Marathon. This is a race 40 00:02:44,160 --> 00:02:48,480 Speaker 4: so grueling, a challenge so overwhelming, that it could literally 41 00:02:48,680 --> 00:02:55,040 Speaker 4: kill you. Women weren't allowed to compete in the first Olympics, 42 00:02:55,120 --> 00:02:58,080 Speaker 4: let alone in the marathon. If it could kill a man, 43 00:02:58,520 --> 00:03:01,000 Speaker 4: can you imagine what it would do to the fragile 44 00:03:01,160 --> 00:03:06,640 Speaker 4: frame of a woman. The International Olympic Committee were reluctant 45 00:03:06,639 --> 00:03:09,839 Speaker 4: to let women compete in any events at all, and 46 00:03:09,960 --> 00:03:14,040 Speaker 4: when they were finally persuaded to admit female athletes in 47 00:03:14,200 --> 00:03:18,880 Speaker 4: nineteen twenty eight, the longest women's race was eight hundred meters. 48 00:03:19,639 --> 00:03:24,360 Speaker 4: It was a disaster. The newspapers of the day reported 49 00:03:24,400 --> 00:03:27,919 Speaker 4: the disturbing scenes The New York Evening Post. 50 00:03:28,520 --> 00:03:32,600 Speaker 5: Below us on the Cinderpath were eleven wretched women, five 51 00:03:32,639 --> 00:03:35,720 Speaker 5: of whom dropped out before the finish, while five collapsed 52 00:03:35,800 --> 00:03:40,200 Speaker 5: after reaching the tape. The Chicago Tribune added that one 53 00:03:40,320 --> 00:03:45,760 Speaker 5: finisher collapsed into unconsciousness and required medical attention. A press 54 00:03:45,840 --> 00:03:48,120 Speaker 5: syndicate reporter commented it. 55 00:03:48,160 --> 00:03:51,000 Speaker 4: Was not a very edifying spectacle to see a group 56 00:03:51,040 --> 00:03:54,200 Speaker 4: of fine girls running themselves into a state of exhaustion. 57 00:03:55,120 --> 00:03:59,960 Speaker 4: Other writers described the race as a disgrace or dangerous, 58 00:04:00,680 --> 00:04:04,839 Speaker 4: or opined that two hundred meters was surely the maximum 59 00:04:04,880 --> 00:04:09,520 Speaker 4: distance a woman could attempt without premature aging. And damage 60 00:04:09,560 --> 00:04:16,920 Speaker 4: to her reproductive capacity. But this is all, of course nonsense, 61 00:04:17,760 --> 00:04:21,240 Speaker 4: not just the stuff about damage to reproductive capacity, all 62 00:04:21,279 --> 00:04:23,840 Speaker 4: of it. There weren't eleven women in the race. There 63 00:04:23,839 --> 00:04:28,080 Speaker 4: were nine. Not only did the gold medalist Lena Radkebatschawer 64 00:04:28,240 --> 00:04:31,280 Speaker 4: break the world record, but so did the silver and 65 00:04:31,360 --> 00:04:35,160 Speaker 4: bronze medalists and the three women behind them, Which is, 66 00:04:35,200 --> 00:04:40,520 Speaker 4: I suppose what happens when an event doesn't have many precedents. 67 00:04:40,560 --> 00:04:45,800 Speaker 4: Nobody dropped out and nobody needed a doctor, no matter. 68 00:04:46,680 --> 00:04:51,120 Speaker 4: Rather than celebrating the greatest women's middle distance race in history, 69 00:04:51,520 --> 00:04:55,520 Speaker 4: the pundits wrote whatever sensationalized nonsense they felt like writing. 70 00:04:56,120 --> 00:04:59,880 Speaker 4: The International Olympic Committee used the fuss as an excuse 71 00:05:00,560 --> 00:05:03,359 Speaker 4: to keep the women's eight hundred meters out of the 72 00:05:03,400 --> 00:05:12,599 Speaker 4: Olympics for the next three decades. If women couldn't be 73 00:05:12,640 --> 00:05:16,800 Speaker 4: allowed to run eight hundred meters until nineteen sixty, you 74 00:05:16,880 --> 00:05:20,560 Speaker 4: can imagine what the male dominated athletic establishment of the 75 00:05:20,640 --> 00:05:24,719 Speaker 4: nineteen sixties thought of the idea of women running a marathon. 76 00:05:25,520 --> 00:05:28,920 Speaker 4: But there were a few independent, spirited women who liked 77 00:05:28,960 --> 00:05:32,599 Speaker 4: to run. Then, naturally enough, their thoughts turned to that 78 00:05:33,080 --> 00:05:37,800 Speaker 4: iconic distance. One of those women was Katherine Switzer. As 79 00:05:37,839 --> 00:05:40,520 Speaker 4: a girl, she told her father she wanted to be 80 00:05:40,560 --> 00:05:44,599 Speaker 4: a cheerleader. You don't want to be a cheerleader, honey, 81 00:05:44,640 --> 00:05:49,000 Speaker 4: he told her. Cheerleaders cheer for other people. You want 82 00:05:49,040 --> 00:05:52,560 Speaker 4: people to cheer for you. He encouraged her to run 83 00:05:52,600 --> 00:05:55,400 Speaker 4: a mile each day to get fit for sports, and 84 00:05:55,480 --> 00:05:59,480 Speaker 4: she did. She became a journalism student at Syracuse, where 85 00:05:59,520 --> 00:06:03,200 Speaker 4: there were women's sports teams at all, So she asked 86 00:06:03,200 --> 00:06:06,760 Speaker 4: to train with a men's cross country team. Sure, said 87 00:06:06,760 --> 00:06:09,760 Speaker 4: the head coach, and then she heard him laughing with 88 00:06:09,839 --> 00:06:13,400 Speaker 4: the other coaches behind her back. That only made her 89 00:06:13,480 --> 00:06:19,159 Speaker 4: more determined. More encouraging was volunteer coach Arnie Briggs, the 90 00:06:19,279 --> 00:06:23,440 Speaker 4: university mailman and, at fifty years of age, the veteran 91 00:06:23,520 --> 00:06:27,720 Speaker 4: of fifteen Boston Marathons. He was full of stories about 92 00:06:27,720 --> 00:06:30,159 Speaker 4: the classic marathon, which had first been held in the 93 00:06:30,240 --> 00:06:35,000 Speaker 4: late eighteen hundreds, and one December night, on a miserable 94 00:06:35,080 --> 00:06:39,920 Speaker 4: training run through a snowstorm as cars skidded and honked around, 95 00:06:40,560 --> 00:06:44,799 Speaker 4: Catherine had heard one too many of those tales. Let's 96 00:06:44,920 --> 00:06:47,920 Speaker 4: quit talking about the Boston Marathon and run the damn thing. 97 00:06:48,839 --> 00:06:52,600 Speaker 4: No woman can run the Boston marathon. Why not, I'm 98 00:06:52,680 --> 00:06:57,800 Speaker 4: running ten miles a night, Arney relented. No dame ever 99 00:06:57,880 --> 00:07:00,760 Speaker 4: ran the Boston Marathon. If any woman could do it, 100 00:07:01,080 --> 00:07:03,080 Speaker 4: you could, but you'd have to prove it to me. 101 00:07:03,560 --> 00:07:06,040 Speaker 4: If you ran the distance in practice, I'd be the 102 00:07:06,040 --> 00:07:09,760 Speaker 4: first to take you to Boston. Now you're talking, she thought, 103 00:07:10,520 --> 00:07:13,640 Speaker 4: a few months later, and three weeks before the marathon, 104 00:07:14,080 --> 00:07:18,960 Speaker 4: they ran thirty one miles in training. Arnie turned gray 105 00:07:19,080 --> 00:07:23,680 Speaker 4: and passed out, but Catherine was feeling great. The next day, 106 00:07:23,760 --> 00:07:27,360 Speaker 4: at Arne's insistence, she signed up for the race, signing 107 00:07:27,400 --> 00:07:30,480 Speaker 4: her name as she always did, Ka v. 108 00:07:31,000 --> 00:07:31,520 Speaker 2: Switzer. 109 00:07:35,720 --> 00:07:38,360 Speaker 4: She and Arnie checked the rule book. There was nothing 110 00:07:38,400 --> 00:07:42,240 Speaker 4: forbidding women to enter. Arne signed up too, as did 111 00:07:42,320 --> 00:07:46,720 Speaker 4: Catherine's boyfriend, Big Tom Miller, all two hundred and thirty 112 00:07:46,720 --> 00:07:49,680 Speaker 4: five pounds of him. He was a promising hammer thrower, 113 00:07:49,760 --> 00:07:53,480 Speaker 4: had been a serious college football player. And no, he 114 00:07:53,640 --> 00:07:57,120 Speaker 4: wasn't planning on training. He was pretty fit anyway, and 115 00:07:57,640 --> 00:08:00,240 Speaker 4: if a girl can run a marathon, I can run 116 00:08:00,240 --> 00:08:06,840 Speaker 4: a marathon. On Wednesday, April nineteenth, nineteen sixty seven, race day, 117 00:08:07,440 --> 00:08:11,040 Speaker 4: it was snowing. Most of the field were running in tracksuits. 118 00:08:11,560 --> 00:08:15,800 Speaker 4: There were seven hundred and forty one entrance, and Katherine 119 00:08:15,960 --> 00:08:20,560 Speaker 4: pinned her number to her sweatshirt with pride. Kay Switzer 120 00:08:21,080 --> 00:08:24,080 Speaker 4: two to sixty one. From the other runners, she got 121 00:08:24,080 --> 00:08:28,120 Speaker 4: a few looks of surprise, but a warm welcome. Hey, 122 00:08:28,200 --> 00:08:30,760 Speaker 4: you're going to go the whole way. Gosh, it's great 123 00:08:30,760 --> 00:08:33,000 Speaker 4: to see a girl here. Can you give me some 124 00:08:33,040 --> 00:08:35,360 Speaker 4: tips to get my wife to run? She'd love it 125 00:08:35,400 --> 00:08:39,000 Speaker 4: if I could just get her started. Arnie was beaming. 126 00:08:39,600 --> 00:08:44,679 Speaker 4: Big Tom unmissible in his bright orange Syracuse sweatshirt, wasn't 127 00:08:44,679 --> 00:08:48,120 Speaker 4: happy that Katherine was wearing lipstick, which might attract attention. 128 00:08:49,000 --> 00:08:53,280 Speaker 4: Take it off, he said, I shan't, she replied. The 129 00:08:53,360 --> 00:08:57,360 Speaker 4: crowd of runners squeezed closer and closer together as they 130 00:08:57,400 --> 00:09:03,800 Speaker 4: approached the start, and then they were off and feeling great. 131 00:09:04,360 --> 00:09:16,080 Speaker 4: Just four miles later, the fun would stop. Catherine Switzer 132 00:09:16,200 --> 00:09:19,280 Speaker 4: was running with her little group, including coach Arnie and 133 00:09:19,400 --> 00:09:23,719 Speaker 4: boyfriend Big Tom, feeling good and acknowledging the encouragement of 134 00:09:23,760 --> 00:09:27,319 Speaker 4: the other runners. But the four mile mark, the press 135 00:09:27,400 --> 00:09:31,240 Speaker 4: truck pulled alongside the little group to allow photographers a 136 00:09:31,240 --> 00:09:34,160 Speaker 4: good shot of that dame who was running the marathon. 137 00:09:35,040 --> 00:09:39,120 Speaker 4: Then Switzer recalled a man with an overcoat and felt 138 00:09:39,160 --> 00:09:41,679 Speaker 4: hat was there in the middle of the road, shaking 139 00:09:41,679 --> 00:09:43,880 Speaker 4: his finger at me. He said something to me as 140 00:09:43,880 --> 00:09:46,640 Speaker 4: I passed and reached out for my hand, catching my 141 00:09:46,679 --> 00:09:48,120 Speaker 4: glove instead and pulling it off. 142 00:09:49,280 --> 00:09:49,920 Speaker 2: Who was it? 143 00:09:50,400 --> 00:09:56,080 Speaker 4: A protester, a crank, but he was wearing an official's ribbon. 144 00:09:57,000 --> 00:10:00,600 Speaker 4: Moments later, I heard the scraping noise of leather shoes 145 00:10:00,640 --> 00:10:03,679 Speaker 4: coming up fast behind me. When a runner hears that 146 00:10:03,760 --> 00:10:07,320 Speaker 4: kind of noise, it's usually danger. Instinctively, I jerked my 147 00:10:07,360 --> 00:10:10,360 Speaker 4: head around quickly and looked square into the most vicious 148 00:10:10,440 --> 00:10:13,520 Speaker 4: face I'd ever seen. A big man, a huge man 149 00:10:13,760 --> 00:10:16,920 Speaker 4: with bad teeth, was set to pounds, and before I 150 00:10:16,920 --> 00:10:20,120 Speaker 4: could react, he grabbed my shoulder and flung me back, screaming, 151 00:10:20,480 --> 00:10:22,480 Speaker 4: get the hell out of my race and give me 152 00:10:22,520 --> 00:10:27,600 Speaker 4: those numbers. Katherine was terrified. She realized she'd wet her 153 00:10:27,720 --> 00:10:30,839 Speaker 4: pants in fear, and she turned to sprint away as 154 00:10:30,880 --> 00:10:34,160 Speaker 4: the furious official tried to rip the number off her sweatshirt. 155 00:10:35,040 --> 00:10:38,360 Speaker 4: The press truck was still there, The cameras were whirring 156 00:10:38,400 --> 00:10:43,640 Speaker 4: and clicking, and then, seemingly from nowhere, two hundred and 157 00:10:43,760 --> 00:10:49,000 Speaker 4: thirty five pounds of orange clad college football player crashed 158 00:10:49,000 --> 00:10:52,400 Speaker 4: into the official, who flew sideways and landed on the 159 00:10:52,480 --> 00:10:58,160 Speaker 4: roadside in a crumpled heap. Oh God, thought Katherine big 160 00:10:58,200 --> 00:11:03,560 Speaker 4: Tom's killed him. We're in trouble. Run like hell, yelled Arnie, 161 00:11:03,600 --> 00:11:06,120 Speaker 4: and they sprinted away from the scene with a press 162 00:11:06,160 --> 00:11:12,400 Speaker 4: truck in pursuit, cameras still clicking. It was an extraordinary scene, 163 00:11:12,920 --> 00:11:17,800 Speaker 4: and perhaps the strangest thing about it, Catherine Switzer wasn't 164 00:11:17,840 --> 00:11:20,720 Speaker 4: the first woman to run a marathon. She wasn't the 165 00:11:20,720 --> 00:11:23,880 Speaker 4: first woman to run the Boston Marathon. In fact, she 166 00:11:24,040 --> 00:11:27,800 Speaker 4: wasn't even the leading woman in this race. A mile 167 00:11:27,880 --> 00:11:32,760 Speaker 4: ahead of her, Roberta. Bobby Gibb was making serene progress 168 00:11:33,400 --> 00:11:36,160 Speaker 4: without an irate race official insight. 169 00:11:38,640 --> 00:11:42,920 Speaker 1: There's so much in this Cautionary Tales episode. Two groundbreaking 170 00:11:43,000 --> 00:11:46,400 Speaker 1: female marathoners and an epic two hundred and sixty eight 171 00:11:46,400 --> 00:11:49,600 Speaker 1: mile race two hundred and sixty eight miles along the 172 00:11:49,640 --> 00:11:53,040 Speaker 1: spine of England. You can find it now in the 173 00:11:53,080 --> 00:12:02,240 Speaker 1: Cautionary Tales feed. There are two things that define our era, 174 00:12:02,760 --> 00:12:09,520 Speaker 1: an absolute obsession with sports and incredible technological progress. Sylvia 175 00:12:09,520 --> 00:12:14,120 Speaker 1: Blemker works at their intersection. She's a professor of biomedical 176 00:12:14,160 --> 00:12:17,880 Speaker 1: engineering at the University of Virginia and the co founder 177 00:12:18,200 --> 00:12:22,560 Speaker 1: of Springbok Analytics. She figured out how to combine MRI 178 00:12:22,800 --> 00:12:29,000 Speaker 1: scans with artificial intelligence to create incredibly detailed analyzes of 179 00:12:29,080 --> 00:12:34,280 Speaker 1: our muscles. Springbox clients include Olympic athletes, major League Baseball, 180 00:12:34,440 --> 00:12:38,960 Speaker 1: and a bunch of professional basketball and soccer teams. Sylvia 181 00:12:39,000 --> 00:12:42,680 Speaker 1: Blenker talked about how her work helps elite athletes and 182 00:12:42,880 --> 00:12:47,479 Speaker 1: people with neuromuscular diseases in this interview with Jacob Goldstein 183 00:12:48,080 --> 00:12:50,600 Speaker 1: for What's Your Problem. 184 00:12:50,760 --> 00:12:53,640 Speaker 6: What's one surprising thing your work has taught you about 185 00:12:53,760 --> 00:12:54,720 Speaker 6: elite athletes. 186 00:12:55,760 --> 00:12:58,360 Speaker 7: I never thought I would see muscles that were so 187 00:12:59,200 --> 00:13:03,000 Speaker 7: developed they broke our scale. 188 00:13:03,800 --> 00:13:04,160 Speaker 5: Wow. 189 00:13:05,600 --> 00:13:08,200 Speaker 6: Yeah, like it was just too big the A I 190 00:13:08,240 --> 00:13:09,480 Speaker 6: couldn't figure out what it is. 191 00:13:09,600 --> 00:13:11,760 Speaker 7: Well, no, the AI found it. But we are like 192 00:13:11,840 --> 00:13:13,200 Speaker 7: our kind of rating system. 193 00:13:13,840 --> 00:13:14,080 Speaker 5: Wow. 194 00:13:14,400 --> 00:13:17,040 Speaker 6: Was there a particular athlete or a particular sport or 195 00:13:17,080 --> 00:13:18,040 Speaker 6: particular muscle? 196 00:13:18,160 --> 00:13:18,319 Speaker 5: What? 197 00:13:18,320 --> 00:13:19,959 Speaker 6: What? What muscle broke the scale? 198 00:13:21,040 --> 00:13:21,679 Speaker 2: Uh? 199 00:13:21,720 --> 00:13:27,000 Speaker 7: The gluteus maximus breaks it a fair Yeah, fantastic. Yes, 200 00:13:27,080 --> 00:13:28,280 Speaker 7: it's a pain in my butt. 201 00:13:30,440 --> 00:13:32,000 Speaker 6: Like because it's too big. 202 00:13:32,480 --> 00:13:35,920 Speaker 3: Yeah, yeah, it's just so big. The other thing is 203 00:13:35,960 --> 00:13:39,079 Speaker 3: that they have some tiny muscles too, huh, Like they have. 204 00:13:39,240 --> 00:13:42,120 Speaker 6: Like smaller than a normal person's muscle. 205 00:13:42,160 --> 00:13:42,720 Speaker 7: Much smaller. 206 00:13:42,840 --> 00:13:43,320 Speaker 2: Huh. 207 00:13:43,400 --> 00:13:44,920 Speaker 7: They put their muscle where they need it. 208 00:13:45,400 --> 00:13:47,920 Speaker 6: What's an example, like what muscle is tiny and what 209 00:13:48,000 --> 00:13:48,360 Speaker 6: kind of. 210 00:13:48,320 --> 00:13:54,240 Speaker 3: Athlete calf muscles are small and most fast athletes huh. 211 00:13:54,480 --> 00:13:58,040 Speaker 7: And either you look at a sprinter or like a 212 00:13:58,120 --> 00:13:58,960 Speaker 7: running back. 213 00:13:59,240 --> 00:14:02,559 Speaker 6: It's just all squad no calf, all. 214 00:14:02,320 --> 00:14:05,360 Speaker 7: Like thigh no calf, yeah bye and him. 215 00:14:05,760 --> 00:14:07,600 Speaker 3: It kind of makes sense because you know, if you're 216 00:14:07,600 --> 00:14:09,079 Speaker 3: trying to run fast, you wouldn't want to put a 217 00:14:09,080 --> 00:14:11,360 Speaker 3: lot of mass like at the end of your leg. 218 00:14:11,840 --> 00:14:13,840 Speaker 7: It's like as a lot of inertia to like move 219 00:14:13,880 --> 00:14:14,240 Speaker 7: your leg. 220 00:14:14,640 --> 00:14:15,199 Speaker 2: Huh. 221 00:14:15,240 --> 00:14:18,199 Speaker 3: Because you know, the muscles are important for sprinting, that's 222 00:14:18,240 --> 00:14:21,240 Speaker 3: the interesting thing. But they just don't they're small, They're 223 00:14:21,480 --> 00:14:21,920 Speaker 3: very small. 224 00:14:22,040 --> 00:14:26,240 Speaker 6: Huh uh huh. So I'm particularly interested at this moment 225 00:14:26,280 --> 00:14:32,960 Speaker 6: in the sports piece of what you do. I'm curious, 226 00:14:33,080 --> 00:14:36,440 Speaker 6: by the way, do you work with any Olympic teams 227 00:14:36,520 --> 00:14:37,480 Speaker 6: or Olympic athletes? 228 00:14:38,520 --> 00:14:43,320 Speaker 3: Yeah, yeah, We've actually been working with several different Olympic athletes. 229 00:14:44,720 --> 00:14:45,880 Speaker 7: The ones that probably that. 230 00:14:45,920 --> 00:14:49,080 Speaker 3: Come to mind most are multiple players on the US 231 00:14:49,120 --> 00:14:51,080 Speaker 3: women's national soccer team. 232 00:14:51,320 --> 00:14:54,000 Speaker 6: Oh cool, tell me, like, tell me the story of 233 00:14:54,040 --> 00:14:57,720 Speaker 6: that of that work. So they came to you, what 234 00:14:57,760 --> 00:14:59,440 Speaker 6: did what did they what do they want when they 235 00:14:59,440 --> 00:15:01,080 Speaker 6: came to like how did that? How did that begin? 236 00:15:03,120 --> 00:15:05,640 Speaker 7: They came to us along with their team. 237 00:15:06,240 --> 00:15:08,880 Speaker 3: So the technology we provide, you know, an athlete could 238 00:15:08,960 --> 00:15:12,280 Speaker 3: understand it, but really with their team to help them 239 00:15:12,400 --> 00:15:15,400 Speaker 3: figure out how to keep athletes healthy. 240 00:15:15,600 --> 00:15:18,240 Speaker 6: So what did they what did they say? What did 241 00:15:18,280 --> 00:15:20,240 Speaker 6: they say when they came to so? 242 00:15:21,600 --> 00:15:25,000 Speaker 3: Uh, for example, one athlete that's coming to mind had 243 00:15:25,880 --> 00:15:30,240 Speaker 3: a known imbalance side to side that based on a 244 00:15:30,400 --> 00:15:33,680 Speaker 3: history of injury, and they really wanted to know where 245 00:15:33,680 --> 00:15:35,160 Speaker 3: that imbalance was coming from. 246 00:15:35,360 --> 00:15:38,240 Speaker 6: So the the woman had had hurt one of her legs, 247 00:15:38,280 --> 00:15:40,760 Speaker 6: and that leg was even after she came back, that 248 00:15:40,840 --> 00:15:43,600 Speaker 6: leg was weaker essentially than the other. I mean, is 249 00:15:43,640 --> 00:15:46,479 Speaker 6: that the sort of gross macroy? 250 00:15:46,760 --> 00:15:49,040 Speaker 3: Yeah exactly, that's a that's a nice way to put it. 251 00:15:49,280 --> 00:15:52,520 Speaker 6: And and and they wanted a sort of finder like okay, 252 00:15:52,520 --> 00:15:54,680 Speaker 6: but we can see that, but what's going on on 253 00:15:54,720 --> 00:15:58,480 Speaker 6: the inside, like muscle by muscle tell us that, yes. 254 00:15:58,360 --> 00:16:00,480 Speaker 7: Exactly, that's precisely what we do. 255 00:16:00,520 --> 00:16:04,200 Speaker 3: We go on the inside because on the outside you 256 00:16:04,320 --> 00:16:09,240 Speaker 3: see perhaps that her knee extents or quads seem weaker 257 00:16:09,280 --> 00:16:12,080 Speaker 3: on one side than the other. But there's four quads, 258 00:16:12,440 --> 00:16:15,600 Speaker 3: quadre steps, four muscles, and so it's not clear which 259 00:16:15,640 --> 00:16:19,520 Speaker 3: of those muscles are actually the culprit for that imbalance 260 00:16:19,720 --> 00:16:21,040 Speaker 3: and in what way good. 261 00:16:21,160 --> 00:16:25,040 Speaker 6: So this is their question and then what happens next. 262 00:16:25,440 --> 00:16:29,240 Speaker 3: So this first step is an MRI scan, And so 263 00:16:30,240 --> 00:16:37,320 Speaker 3: with these athletes or teams, we have ways to connect 264 00:16:37,320 --> 00:16:40,760 Speaker 3: them with an MRI machine, whether it be through an 265 00:16:40,800 --> 00:16:44,680 Speaker 3: imaging center that they partner with, or we've even actually 266 00:16:44,680 --> 00:16:51,000 Speaker 3: brought MRI mobile trucks to sites to make it easier. 267 00:16:51,200 --> 00:16:53,600 Speaker 6: Run off the field and get an MRI and go 268 00:16:53,680 --> 00:16:54,600 Speaker 6: back and keep playing. 269 00:16:54,760 --> 00:16:56,280 Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, kind yeah. 270 00:16:56,840 --> 00:16:59,680 Speaker 3: It helps just with the timing of things. But so 271 00:16:59,760 --> 00:17:03,240 Speaker 3: for we connect them there, so it takes about ten minutes. 272 00:17:03,840 --> 00:17:07,280 Speaker 3: Then they send those pictures up into the cloud into 273 00:17:08,359 --> 00:17:11,840 Speaker 3: our server and then we crunched through it and then 274 00:17:11,960 --> 00:17:15,920 Speaker 3: we send back a report on their muscles. We also 275 00:17:16,200 --> 00:17:20,080 Speaker 3: have what we call it interactive viewer, and it's presented 276 00:17:20,160 --> 00:17:23,800 Speaker 3: in the form of a three D model. Three dimensional model, 277 00:17:23,880 --> 00:17:27,439 Speaker 3: so you actually see your own legs, the muscles and bones, 278 00:17:27,480 --> 00:17:31,560 Speaker 3: your own muscles and bones, that we've identified from the 279 00:17:31,600 --> 00:17:36,280 Speaker 3: images going through a process called segmentation where we find 280 00:17:36,280 --> 00:17:38,439 Speaker 3: all the muscles and bones and then we reconstruct them. 281 00:17:38,440 --> 00:17:40,320 Speaker 3: So it's kind of like a digital twin of that 282 00:17:40,359 --> 00:17:43,760 Speaker 3: person that they can see on their computer. And so 283 00:17:43,960 --> 00:17:46,560 Speaker 3: along with it or a number or all these metrics 284 00:17:46,600 --> 00:17:53,200 Speaker 3: that helps them understand their balance, the development or strength 285 00:17:53,200 --> 00:17:55,880 Speaker 3: of the muscles, and the health of the muscles. 286 00:17:55,560 --> 00:18:00,720 Speaker 6: And so in the case of this soccer player who 287 00:18:00,760 --> 00:18:03,680 Speaker 6: came to you, who you know, knew knew she had 288 00:18:03,800 --> 00:18:05,840 Speaker 6: some kind of problem with her quadriceps on one side, 289 00:18:05,840 --> 00:18:08,320 Speaker 6: but didn't know what was going on, what did you find? 290 00:18:09,840 --> 00:18:14,080 Speaker 3: We found some imbalances and actually not just in those muscles. 291 00:18:14,840 --> 00:18:18,280 Speaker 3: It turns out that, you know, it's all connected. So 292 00:18:19,600 --> 00:18:23,719 Speaker 3: I think there were at least one calf muscle and 293 00:18:23,760 --> 00:18:26,920 Speaker 3: then some in the especially in the deep hip, those 294 00:18:27,000 --> 00:18:27,800 Speaker 3: were impacted. 295 00:18:28,720 --> 00:18:31,160 Speaker 7: So yeah, it kind of shows up everywhere. 296 00:18:31,280 --> 00:18:36,480 Speaker 6: To what extent can trainers or you know, strength coaches 297 00:18:39,520 --> 00:18:42,879 Speaker 6: develop programs that are sufficiently kind of fine grained to 298 00:18:42,960 --> 00:18:45,919 Speaker 6: match the kind of fine grained findings you're having, right Like, 299 00:18:46,000 --> 00:18:49,000 Speaker 6: for example, if you find, as I understand you did, 300 00:18:49,520 --> 00:18:54,199 Speaker 6: that a soccer player has one particular quadricep that is weak, Like, 301 00:18:54,520 --> 00:18:57,199 Speaker 6: are there workouts that target a single quadricep and not 302 00:18:57,280 --> 00:18:57,679 Speaker 6: the others? 303 00:18:58,200 --> 00:18:58,919 Speaker 7: Yep, there are. 304 00:18:59,320 --> 00:19:03,359 Speaker 6: That's cool for whichever quadricepp you're just like, just for fun, 305 00:19:03,440 --> 00:19:04,280 Speaker 6: give me an example. 306 00:19:05,640 --> 00:19:05,840 Speaker 5: You know. 307 00:19:05,880 --> 00:19:09,680 Speaker 3: One way that it's very simple is using something called biofeedback. 308 00:19:10,080 --> 00:19:10,800 Speaker 7: Huh. 309 00:19:10,840 --> 00:19:16,520 Speaker 3: So you can measure whether you use something called e MG, 310 00:19:16,760 --> 00:19:19,400 Speaker 3: which is a way to measure how much electrical activity 311 00:19:19,440 --> 00:19:21,679 Speaker 3: is a muscle, and then you can see which muscles 312 00:19:21,760 --> 00:19:24,600 Speaker 3: you're using for a given task. So if you give 313 00:19:24,640 --> 00:19:27,480 Speaker 3: people the feedback of which of those muscles they're using 314 00:19:28,119 --> 00:19:30,719 Speaker 3: and say, oh, no, you're not using this one, use 315 00:19:30,760 --> 00:19:33,879 Speaker 3: this one more, that actually works very effectively. 316 00:19:34,040 --> 00:19:38,440 Speaker 6: Oh really, So you can basically use your brain if 317 00:19:38,440 --> 00:19:42,840 Speaker 6: you're getting the feedback to focus on which quadricep you're exactly. 318 00:19:43,119 --> 00:19:45,440 Speaker 3: Yeah, and there's other ways you can you can give 319 00:19:45,480 --> 00:19:47,840 Speaker 3: the feedback in other different ways. But yeah, our brains 320 00:19:47,840 --> 00:19:50,560 Speaker 3: are very good at that. Once they get feedback, they're 321 00:19:50,680 --> 00:19:51,600 Speaker 3: very good at learning. 322 00:19:52,280 --> 00:19:55,199 Speaker 6: That's cool, especially somehow to think of what the lead athletes, right, 323 00:19:55,200 --> 00:19:58,159 Speaker 6: because they are already presumably like super dialed in in 324 00:19:58,240 --> 00:20:01,040 Speaker 6: terms of like the relationship between their brain and their 325 00:20:01,080 --> 00:20:02,240 Speaker 6: body at this very. 326 00:20:02,119 --> 00:20:03,200 Speaker 2: Elite level exactly. 327 00:20:03,600 --> 00:20:03,840 Speaker 5: Yeah. 328 00:20:03,960 --> 00:20:05,400 Speaker 7: The other I was going to mention. 329 00:20:06,720 --> 00:20:10,639 Speaker 3: A lot of players and teams use this not just 330 00:20:10,760 --> 00:20:15,119 Speaker 3: one time, but overtime. So they'll get a scan, figure 331 00:20:15,160 --> 00:20:18,960 Speaker 3: out a plan, work on that for maybe three months 332 00:20:19,720 --> 00:20:22,080 Speaker 3: or six months, and then do another scan and see 333 00:20:22,080 --> 00:20:25,760 Speaker 3: how things are progressing and adjust accordingly. So that's that's 334 00:20:25,800 --> 00:20:29,120 Speaker 3: definitely another way to in the long term see if 335 00:20:29,160 --> 00:20:31,720 Speaker 3: what they're doing is resulting in the change that they're 336 00:20:31,760 --> 00:20:32,720 Speaker 3: hoping to see. 337 00:20:33,359 --> 00:20:35,960 Speaker 6: So, what happened with that soccer player who had the 338 00:20:36,240 --> 00:20:38,200 Speaker 6: weak quadricep and other. 339 00:20:38,240 --> 00:20:42,359 Speaker 3: Related Yeah, No, I think she's doing great, like staying 340 00:20:42,359 --> 00:20:46,639 Speaker 3: healthy and and you know, getting ready. 341 00:20:47,080 --> 00:20:47,320 Speaker 1: Yeah. 342 00:20:47,359 --> 00:20:48,840 Speaker 6: So I know you can't tell us her name, but 343 00:20:48,920 --> 00:20:50,560 Speaker 6: will we see her in the Olympics this time? 344 00:20:50,640 --> 00:20:51,400 Speaker 7: Yeah. 345 00:20:53,560 --> 00:20:55,760 Speaker 1: You can hear more from that interview and a bunch 346 00:20:55,760 --> 00:20:58,680 Speaker 1: of other stories from people who are creating groundbreaking new 347 00:20:58,720 --> 00:21:03,600 Speaker 1: technologies on what's your problem. I'll be back in a 348 00:21:03,640 --> 00:21:06,640 Speaker 1: minute with the final leg of this relay race through 349 00:21:06,680 --> 00:21:22,600 Speaker 1: Pushkin's Olympics summer. Our last story today is one from 350 00:21:22,880 --> 00:21:26,920 Speaker 1: Revisionist Histories series about the nineteen thirty six Olympics in Berlin. 351 00:21:28,040 --> 00:21:30,840 Speaker 1: The series is all about why America chose to compete 352 00:21:30,840 --> 00:21:34,359 Speaker 1: in the Games when it was already clear who Hitler 353 00:21:34,640 --> 00:21:39,760 Speaker 1: was and what the Nazis stood for. Ben Daphaffrey takes 354 00:21:39,800 --> 00:21:43,920 Speaker 1: everyone's favorite story from the Berlin Olympics about two athletes 355 00:21:44,240 --> 00:21:47,720 Speaker 1: making good on the promise of the Games and breaks 356 00:21:47,760 --> 00:21:48,480 Speaker 1: it wide open. 357 00:21:50,040 --> 00:21:52,199 Speaker 8: The Collock Street tears around the clay circle with the 358 00:21:52,200 --> 00:21:54,560 Speaker 8: speed of the wind, increasing his lead with every stride. 359 00:21:55,000 --> 00:21:59,560 Speaker 2: About four thousand athletes competed in the nineteen thirty six 360 00:21:59,640 --> 00:22:04,359 Speaker 2: Olympics Games. Jesse Owens is the one people remember. 361 00:22:04,520 --> 00:22:06,359 Speaker 5: Streak Jesse Owens in one hundred meters. 362 00:22:08,480 --> 00:22:11,040 Speaker 8: He started building the other out and got that capa 363 00:22:11,080 --> 00:22:15,040 Speaker 8: coming second up on him. 364 00:22:15,160 --> 00:22:18,560 Speaker 2: Jesse Owens was born in Alabama, the son of a sharecropper, 365 00:22:18,960 --> 00:22:23,840 Speaker 2: self effacing, soft spoken, and an unbelievable athlete. In nineteen 366 00:22:23,880 --> 00:22:26,320 Speaker 2: thirty five, as a twenty one year old, he had 367 00:22:26,359 --> 00:22:30,160 Speaker 2: already set three world records in a single day, all 368 00:22:30,200 --> 00:22:32,399 Speaker 2: in the same hour. With a bad back. 369 00:22:33,400 --> 00:22:35,600 Speaker 9: The world's most runner makes the others look as if 370 00:22:35,600 --> 00:22:37,919 Speaker 9: they're walking as he wins the final and equals the 371 00:22:37,920 --> 00:22:38,840 Speaker 9: words record of time. 372 00:22:39,960 --> 00:22:44,000 Speaker 2: And in nineteen thirty six, even the Germans were expecting 373 00:22:44,040 --> 00:22:46,399 Speaker 2: something great from him. 374 00:22:47,119 --> 00:22:49,920 Speaker 9: How many board medals do your host to win? The 375 00:22:50,000 --> 00:22:55,199 Speaker 9: two part times, it's to desire very athlete to win 376 00:22:55,280 --> 00:22:55,840 Speaker 9: a first. 377 00:22:55,640 --> 00:22:57,080 Speaker 3: Place in the Olympic Games. 378 00:22:57,800 --> 00:23:01,040 Speaker 2: In nineteen thirty six, he was slated to in three events, 379 00:23:01,880 --> 00:23:03,359 Speaker 2: and since I'm in three. 380 00:23:03,240 --> 00:23:05,199 Speaker 8: Events, I hope to emerge with. 381 00:23:05,200 --> 00:23:06,120 Speaker 3: Three victory. 382 00:23:11,400 --> 00:23:15,240 Speaker 2: Broad jump one hundred meters, two hundred meters and the 383 00:23:15,320 --> 00:23:18,920 Speaker 2: broad jump. Later they added a fourth event, the four 384 00:23:19,080 --> 00:23:22,320 Speaker 2: by one hundred meter relay. He would win gold in 385 00:23:22,560 --> 00:23:26,679 Speaker 2: all four, the only person to win four gold medals 386 00:23:26,760 --> 00:23:29,920 Speaker 2: in the Berlin Olympics. And that is why you know 387 00:23:30,040 --> 00:23:33,280 Speaker 2: the name Jesse Owens. But it all could have turned 388 00:23:33,320 --> 00:23:40,639 Speaker 2: out differently because of that broad jump. You've seen a 389 00:23:40,720 --> 00:23:43,359 Speaker 2: broad jump before today. It's called the long jump, and 390 00:23:43,480 --> 00:23:46,320 Speaker 2: it's one of the more dramatic Olympic sports. The jumpers 391 00:23:46,359 --> 00:23:48,600 Speaker 2: sprint down the runway, hit a take off board and 392 00:23:49,400 --> 00:23:52,159 Speaker 2: they look like they're flying and then they land in 393 00:23:52,240 --> 00:23:56,720 Speaker 2: a huge spray of sand. So the morning of August fourth, 394 00:23:56,960 --> 00:24:00,000 Speaker 2: nineteen thirty six, ten thirty am in the right place, 395 00:24:00,040 --> 00:24:04,760 Speaker 2: sport Feld, it's the long jump qualifying rounds. Best jumpers 396 00:24:04,840 --> 00:24:07,639 Speaker 2: go on to the final. Owens had just run his 397 00:24:07,760 --> 00:24:11,040 Speaker 2: heat in the two hundred meters immediately after he headed 398 00:24:11,119 --> 00:24:13,399 Speaker 2: over to the pit. It was the third day of 399 00:24:13,480 --> 00:24:15,680 Speaker 2: the Games, and by then he already had his first 400 00:24:15,720 --> 00:24:19,720 Speaker 2: gold medal, so it was a surprise when he botched 401 00:24:19,760 --> 00:24:22,480 Speaker 2: his first jump. By some accounts, he thought it was 402 00:24:22,520 --> 00:24:26,879 Speaker 2: a practice run no sweat, though he had two more tries, 403 00:24:27,640 --> 00:24:30,880 Speaker 2: so he lined himself back up and started jogging down 404 00:24:30,920 --> 00:24:36,320 Speaker 2: the runway. He took off and came up short. He 405 00:24:36,480 --> 00:24:40,760 Speaker 2: had one jump left. If he screwed up that last jump, 406 00:24:41,000 --> 00:24:43,040 Speaker 2: he'd have been out of the contest, and he'd have 407 00:24:43,119 --> 00:24:46,000 Speaker 2: gone from being the only athlete to win four gold 408 00:24:46,080 --> 00:24:49,120 Speaker 2: medals in nineteen thirty six to one of three athletes 409 00:24:49,200 --> 00:24:52,480 Speaker 2: who'd won three golds, right up there with Conrad Frey 410 00:24:52,560 --> 00:24:56,080 Speaker 2: and Hendrika Mastenbroke, who actually would have had more total 411 00:24:56,160 --> 00:24:59,600 Speaker 2: medals than him. And I ask you, be honest, have 412 00:24:59,760 --> 00:25:03,680 Speaker 2: you you ever heard of Conrad Frey and Hendrika mastenbrook No, 413 00:25:04,560 --> 00:25:09,119 Speaker 2: And probably if he'd missed that final qualifying jump, you 414 00:25:09,240 --> 00:25:15,639 Speaker 2: wouldn't have heard of Jesse Owens either. So after the 415 00:25:15,720 --> 00:25:22,120 Speaker 2: first two misses, Owens was rattled. But then something miraculous happened, 416 00:25:23,160 --> 00:25:27,720 Speaker 2: something that changed the course of Jesse Owens's life and 417 00:25:27,880 --> 00:25:34,080 Speaker 2: made him a legend. It was cool that day in August, 418 00:25:34,720 --> 00:25:38,000 Speaker 2: clouds had rolled in over the stadium. Around one hundred 419 00:25:38,119 --> 00:25:42,600 Speaker 2: thousand people were in the stands watching in. America's most 420 00:25:42,680 --> 00:25:47,920 Speaker 2: famous athlete, Jesse Owens, was screwing up badly, which makes 421 00:25:48,000 --> 00:25:51,080 Speaker 2: no sense. All he had to do was jump seven 422 00:25:51,200 --> 00:25:54,560 Speaker 2: point one five meters to qualify. He already had a 423 00:25:54,600 --> 00:25:57,920 Speaker 2: world record for jumping a meter farther than that, So 424 00:25:58,080 --> 00:26:02,080 Speaker 2: what was going wrong? Malcolm and I decided to ask 425 00:26:02,119 --> 00:26:05,760 Speaker 2: an expert a legend. Actually it was about. 426 00:26:05,520 --> 00:26:06,240 Speaker 7: Ten years ago. 427 00:26:06,480 --> 00:26:08,879 Speaker 8: So the age is sixty five, I think. And I 428 00:26:09,000 --> 00:26:11,560 Speaker 8: jumped further than my high school mark. 429 00:26:12,240 --> 00:26:13,120 Speaker 5: Is that right? Yeah? 430 00:26:13,359 --> 00:26:15,560 Speaker 1: And you're the first American who jumped fifty seven feet. 431 00:26:16,080 --> 00:26:16,280 Speaker 8: Yeah. 432 00:26:17,680 --> 00:26:20,760 Speaker 2: One of the greatest American triple jumpers of all time, 433 00:26:21,680 --> 00:26:22,760 Speaker 2: Milan tiff. 434 00:26:23,760 --> 00:26:26,879 Speaker 8: I actually jumped sixty feet, but they didn't wouldn't recognize 435 00:26:26,920 --> 00:26:28,640 Speaker 8: it because I jumped out of the pit. 436 00:26:29,720 --> 00:26:30,960 Speaker 1: And where should you do that? 437 00:26:31,359 --> 00:26:31,600 Speaker 8: Right here? 438 00:26:31,640 --> 00:26:34,480 Speaker 5: You say, wow? And I jumped. 439 00:26:34,560 --> 00:26:37,520 Speaker 8: I completely jumped over the sand pit and landed on 440 00:26:37,600 --> 00:26:39,680 Speaker 8: the grass. I had grass stands all over the back 441 00:26:39,720 --> 00:26:39,879 Speaker 8: of me. 442 00:26:41,800 --> 00:26:44,000 Speaker 2: Going to see Milan was Malcolm's idea. 443 00:26:45,080 --> 00:26:47,920 Speaker 1: So when I was in high school, starting at the 444 00:26:47,960 --> 00:26:51,399 Speaker 1: age of twelve, I became a competitive runner, and I 445 00:26:51,520 --> 00:26:54,480 Speaker 1: was obsessed with track and field, and I subscribed to 446 00:26:54,520 --> 00:26:57,359 Speaker 1: Track and Field News, the Bible of the sport, as 447 00:26:57,400 --> 00:27:04,840 Speaker 1: it's called. And Millen Tiff was this extraordinary. First of all, 448 00:27:04,880 --> 00:27:07,920 Speaker 1: he was astonishing looking. He looked there was something kind 449 00:27:07,960 --> 00:27:11,560 Speaker 1: of ethereal about him, and he had as a kid, 450 00:27:11,640 --> 00:27:14,080 Speaker 1: he couldn't walk because he had I think polio or something. 451 00:27:14,320 --> 00:27:18,120 Speaker 1: And he was also an artist, really really bright colors 452 00:27:18,280 --> 00:27:22,720 Speaker 1: and kind of wildly imaginative and a little bit psychedelic. 453 00:27:23,440 --> 00:27:25,960 Speaker 1: But I was I was just obsessed with him as 454 00:27:26,040 --> 00:27:31,080 Speaker 1: this kind of like this this strange, otherworldly figure. And 455 00:27:31,160 --> 00:27:33,119 Speaker 1: he was a favorite in nineteen eighty. Had we not 456 00:27:33,240 --> 00:27:35,800 Speaker 1: boycotted the nineteen eighty Games, he might well have won 457 00:27:35,840 --> 00:27:38,680 Speaker 1: a gold medal. Anyway, I cannot wait. He's going to 458 00:27:38,720 --> 00:27:41,400 Speaker 1: be He's going to be a little bit. He might 459 00:27:41,480 --> 00:27:43,119 Speaker 1: be a little I don't know, but I have a 460 00:27:43,240 --> 00:27:46,600 Speaker 1: sense that he might be. He might be a little 461 00:27:46,960 --> 00:27:47,440 Speaker 1: out there. 462 00:27:49,160 --> 00:27:52,040 Speaker 2: This turned out to be pretty prescient. After meeting Lawn Tiff, 463 00:27:52,240 --> 00:27:54,560 Speaker 2: I felt like I had taken some kind of intense 464 00:27:54,600 --> 00:27:57,200 Speaker 2: psychedelic the effects of which I've yet to wear off. 465 00:27:57,440 --> 00:27:58,280 Speaker 8: The first humans. 466 00:27:58,480 --> 00:28:02,440 Speaker 2: It's unbelievable understood that to walk is just to take 467 00:28:02,480 --> 00:28:06,000 Speaker 2: a number of tiny, long jumps. I found myself transfixed 468 00:28:06,240 --> 00:28:09,440 Speaker 2: by an actually gorgeous painting of Milans portraying a pair 469 00:28:09,680 --> 00:28:13,240 Speaker 2: of empty tidy whities suspended in a blue abstract space 470 00:28:13,680 --> 00:28:17,080 Speaker 2: called mysteriously palm springs. 471 00:28:17,240 --> 00:28:19,760 Speaker 8: And the birds and the trees would all fly down. 472 00:28:19,880 --> 00:28:22,240 Speaker 8: They're just tapped into the same frequency as I have 473 00:28:22,400 --> 00:28:23,480 Speaker 8: when I'm running and jumping. 474 00:28:24,359 --> 00:28:26,760 Speaker 2: We flew out to Los Angeles, where he lives, so 475 00:28:26,880 --> 00:28:29,320 Speaker 2: he could take us out to the UCLA track, and 476 00:28:29,520 --> 00:28:32,400 Speaker 2: when we got there, there were several helicopters hovering above 477 00:28:32,480 --> 00:28:34,720 Speaker 2: us the whole time, which only made everything a little 478 00:28:34,760 --> 00:28:38,280 Speaker 2: more surreal, and Olympic legends just walking up to him, 479 00:28:38,560 --> 00:28:43,120 Speaker 2: literally bowing down. This, I think because they wouldn't normally 480 00:28:43,280 --> 00:28:46,440 Speaker 2: see him. He told us he prefers to run in 481 00:28:46,520 --> 00:28:53,360 Speaker 2: the morning, by which he meant three am. Tiff took 482 00:28:53,440 --> 00:28:55,760 Speaker 2: us out to the broad jump pit to help us 483 00:28:55,840 --> 00:28:59,800 Speaker 2: get inside Jesse Owens's mind, which we thought he could 484 00:28:59,800 --> 00:29:02,880 Speaker 2: do because he's a master of the approach. The part 485 00:29:03,000 --> 00:29:07,280 Speaker 2: Jesse Owens was screwing up. But also because so you 486 00:29:07,320 --> 00:29:09,440 Speaker 2: actually knew Jesse Owens when you were a kid. Yeah, yeah, 487 00:29:09,880 --> 00:29:12,200 Speaker 2: you know, I sit and he. 488 00:29:12,320 --> 00:29:15,560 Speaker 8: Tell the stories. Yeah, and not hear all the stories. 489 00:29:15,920 --> 00:29:19,160 Speaker 8: And you know he talked about his experience in Berlin. 490 00:29:20,520 --> 00:29:23,440 Speaker 2: You know, we asked him to tell us about how 491 00:29:23,480 --> 00:29:24,920 Speaker 2: you're supposed to approach a jump. 492 00:29:25,400 --> 00:29:28,000 Speaker 8: Yeah, you gotta have a gidea up first, that kind 493 00:29:28,040 --> 00:29:30,360 Speaker 8: of rockings. You have to have some or a jiggle 494 00:29:30,400 --> 00:29:32,240 Speaker 8: where you will call it. Yeah, you have to have 495 00:29:32,480 --> 00:29:34,960 Speaker 8: a jiggle or a gide up before you even get 496 00:29:35,000 --> 00:29:37,480 Speaker 8: into your run. Yeah, that adjustice your run. 497 00:29:37,800 --> 00:29:40,040 Speaker 2: Is that why this is obviously the broad jump, but 498 00:29:40,440 --> 00:29:42,200 Speaker 2: lose long. I noticed he does this sort of like 499 00:29:42,360 --> 00:29:45,600 Speaker 2: hitch in his leg before he starts running. Yeah, it's 500 00:29:45,680 --> 00:29:46,240 Speaker 2: like a dance. 501 00:29:46,480 --> 00:29:48,520 Speaker 8: It's like it's like a preparation. 502 00:29:48,680 --> 00:29:50,520 Speaker 6: Can you show us what your gidea up was, Well, 503 00:29:50,600 --> 00:29:51,280 Speaker 6: it's like a one. 504 00:29:51,280 --> 00:29:54,720 Speaker 8: Two, three, four five, then you start your run. Yeah. 505 00:29:55,040 --> 00:29:58,720 Speaker 8: And I told it to Willie Banks World Ragged, taught 506 00:29:58,760 --> 00:30:02,360 Speaker 8: it to h Bike Pile whol record. 507 00:30:03,480 --> 00:30:05,640 Speaker 2: We gave it a shot on the track where at 508 00:30:05,680 --> 00:30:09,000 Speaker 2: the very same time actual Olympic athletes were practicing for 509 00:30:09,120 --> 00:30:13,160 Speaker 2: this year's games. Was it embarrassing? It was mortifying. Did 510 00:30:13,200 --> 00:30:16,840 Speaker 2: we set a world record? Not even close. Did we 511 00:30:16,920 --> 00:30:20,880 Speaker 2: become friends with any Olympians they were otherwise occupied. But 512 00:30:21,200 --> 00:30:25,720 Speaker 2: this is the kind of dedication that deep historical investigations demand. 513 00:30:26,120 --> 00:30:27,840 Speaker 2: What was Did Jesse Owens have a gideo? 514 00:30:28,400 --> 00:30:31,320 Speaker 8: No, he had a stamp start because he was a sprinterer, 515 00:30:32,720 --> 00:30:35,600 Speaker 8: you see. Yeah, that's why he was losing the steps 516 00:30:35,600 --> 00:30:36,120 Speaker 8: all the time. 517 00:30:36,920 --> 00:30:39,440 Speaker 2: He didn't have a jiggle, well, he didn't have a che. 518 00:30:39,560 --> 00:30:41,920 Speaker 8: No, he didn't have a jiggle or a giddy. Yeah. 519 00:30:42,480 --> 00:30:44,880 Speaker 8: And it took his competitor to say, man, come on, 520 00:30:45,440 --> 00:30:46,840 Speaker 8: you gotta do something first. 521 00:30:48,320 --> 00:30:52,120 Speaker 2: Jesse Owens's competitor, facing down the pit there export feld 522 00:30:53,040 --> 00:30:59,960 Speaker 2: Loots Long. Lutzlong was Germany's champion broad jumper, Hitler's champ, 523 00:31:00,720 --> 00:31:03,720 Speaker 2: and he looked the part, a fine ak line nose 524 00:31:04,040 --> 00:31:07,120 Speaker 2: framed by your classic blonde hair and blue eyes. As 525 00:31:07,160 --> 00:31:10,040 Speaker 2: Owens wrote later, Hitler was in the stadium that morning 526 00:31:10,120 --> 00:31:13,880 Speaker 2: to watch. Owens knew that he'd like nothing better than 527 00:31:13,960 --> 00:31:16,920 Speaker 2: to see a black man lose to an Arian. The 528 00:31:17,040 --> 00:31:20,920 Speaker 2: thought was nanging at him, messing up his focus. And 529 00:31:21,000 --> 00:31:23,479 Speaker 2: then he'd looked up at the box where Hitler had 530 00:31:23,520 --> 00:31:27,120 Speaker 2: been watching the games, and saw that when Owens's turn came, 531 00:31:28,000 --> 00:31:33,320 Speaker 2: Hitler had just left. It made his blood boil. That's 532 00:31:33,360 --> 00:31:36,080 Speaker 2: why he was fouling out. He was psyched out by 533 00:31:36,080 --> 00:31:38,680 Speaker 2: all of it. Distract it, and when he saw how 534 00:31:38,720 --> 00:31:41,640 Speaker 2: amazing Lutslong was at the broad jump, he began to 535 00:31:41,720 --> 00:31:44,640 Speaker 2: wonder if there was something true about all this arian stuff. 536 00:31:45,600 --> 00:31:49,360 Speaker 2: He was down to his last jump, and then came 537 00:31:49,440 --> 00:31:54,520 Speaker 2: the miracle. In an autobiography he published in nineteen seventy eight, 538 00:31:54,640 --> 00:31:57,480 Speaker 2: Owens wrote, suddenly I felt a hand on my shoulder. 539 00:31:58,400 --> 00:31:59,280 Speaker 2: It was Lutslong. 540 00:32:00,600 --> 00:32:04,240 Speaker 9: Look, there is no time to waste with manners. What 541 00:32:04,400 --> 00:32:05,400 Speaker 9: has taken your goat? 542 00:32:06,240 --> 00:32:07,800 Speaker 2: Obviously we had to reenact this. 543 00:32:09,160 --> 00:32:11,479 Speaker 9: I had to smile a little in spite of myself 544 00:32:11,880 --> 00:32:16,080 Speaker 9: hearing his mixed up American idiom ah nothing, I said, 545 00:32:16,480 --> 00:32:19,040 Speaker 9: you know how it is? He was silent for a 546 00:32:19,080 --> 00:32:23,720 Speaker 9: few seconds. Yes, he said, finally, I know how it is. 547 00:32:24,400 --> 00:32:27,800 Speaker 9: But I also know you are a better jumper than this. Now, 548 00:32:28,480 --> 00:32:32,320 Speaker 9: what has taken your goat? I laughed out loud this time, 549 00:32:33,000 --> 00:32:36,680 Speaker 9: but I couldn't tell him him. Above all, I glanced 550 00:32:36,720 --> 00:32:39,000 Speaker 9: over at the broad jump pit. I was about to 551 00:32:39,040 --> 00:32:43,040 Speaker 9: be called. Lutz didn't waste words, even if he wasn't 552 00:32:43,080 --> 00:32:47,120 Speaker 9: sure of which ones to use. Is it what Reichkanze 553 00:32:47,240 --> 00:32:47,760 Speaker 9: Hitler did? 554 00:32:48,120 --> 00:32:48,640 Speaker 2: He asked. 555 00:32:49,640 --> 00:32:53,960 Speaker 9: I was thunderstruck that he'd say it. I started to answer, 556 00:32:54,520 --> 00:32:58,960 Speaker 9: but I didn't know what to say. I see he said, Look, 557 00:32:59,480 --> 00:33:02,720 Speaker 9: we talk of that later. Now you must jump and 558 00:33:02,880 --> 00:33:07,760 Speaker 9: you must qualify. But how I shot back? I have thought? 559 00:33:08,040 --> 00:33:11,400 Speaker 9: He said, you are like Aya. You must do it 560 00:33:11,560 --> 00:33:13,520 Speaker 9: one hundred percent correct. 561 00:33:14,400 --> 00:33:14,880 Speaker 2: I nodded. 562 00:33:15,280 --> 00:33:18,520 Speaker 9: Yet you must be sure not to foul. I nodded again, 563 00:33:18,920 --> 00:33:22,080 Speaker 9: this time in frustration, And as I did, I heard 564 00:33:22,120 --> 00:33:26,600 Speaker 9: the loudspeaker call my name. Lutz talked quickly. Then you 565 00:33:26,760 --> 00:33:30,400 Speaker 9: do both things, Jesse. You remeasure your steps, You take 566 00:33:30,480 --> 00:33:33,800 Speaker 9: off six inches behind the foul board. You jump as 567 00:33:33,920 --> 00:33:36,920 Speaker 9: hard as you can, but you need not fear to foul. 568 00:33:38,280 --> 00:33:40,920 Speaker 9: All at once, the panic emptied out of me like 569 00:33:41,000 --> 00:33:41,800 Speaker 9: a cloudburst. 570 00:33:43,080 --> 00:33:45,640 Speaker 2: Owens jogged up to the line and laid a towel 571 00:33:45,760 --> 00:33:48,480 Speaker 2: to mark where Long had told him to jump. He 572 00:33:48,760 --> 00:33:52,720 Speaker 2: lined up on the runway, maybe wiped his hands on 573 00:33:52,840 --> 00:33:57,640 Speaker 2: his jersey, and then he ran one step, two steps, 574 00:33:58,040 --> 00:34:00,760 Speaker 2: closer and closer to the pit, and he hit that 575 00:34:00,880 --> 00:34:04,000 Speaker 2: mark on the towel leapt into the air, and when 576 00:34:04,040 --> 00:34:07,200 Speaker 2: he finally got that, he qualified, and later that day, 577 00:34:07,520 --> 00:34:10,200 Speaker 2: with Hitler back in the stands in the metal event 578 00:34:10,280 --> 00:34:16,759 Speaker 2: itself well record, he set an Olympic record. And that's 579 00:34:16,800 --> 00:34:19,880 Speaker 2: when Lootes along the Aryan poster child who had just 580 00:34:20,080 --> 00:34:25,160 Speaker 2: lost to Jesse Owens, hugged him in front of Adolf Hitler, 581 00:34:25,960 --> 00:34:30,640 Speaker 2: and the Hitler was pissed man, but Long didn't just 582 00:34:30,800 --> 00:34:35,480 Speaker 2: embrace him, According to Jesse Owens, Later that night they 583 00:34:35,600 --> 00:34:40,480 Speaker 2: met up in the Olympic village. The hours ticked on 584 00:34:41,160 --> 00:34:44,400 Speaker 2: and they stayed up late, talking about their lives, the 585 00:34:44,520 --> 00:34:48,000 Speaker 2: state of the world in the uncertain future. Some kind 586 00:34:48,040 --> 00:34:50,839 Speaker 2: of strange bond had been formed between the men that day, 587 00:34:51,480 --> 00:34:54,920 Speaker 2: because then the next day they did it again, and 588 00:34:55,040 --> 00:35:00,839 Speaker 2: after that, again and again and again. Every single night 589 00:35:00,960 --> 00:35:05,400 Speaker 2: of the Games they met up to talk. They became friends. 590 00:35:06,160 --> 00:35:08,560 Speaker 2: The dream of the Olympics was real for them. They 591 00:35:08,680 --> 00:35:13,920 Speaker 2: bridged an unbridgable gap between two cultures, two races. Something 592 00:35:14,120 --> 00:35:18,120 Speaker 2: unbreakable had bound them. After the Games, when Owens was 593 00:35:18,200 --> 00:35:21,160 Speaker 2: back in America and Lutzlang was still in Nazi Germany, 594 00:35:21,560 --> 00:35:24,400 Speaker 2: they wrote letters to each other even after long was 595 00:35:24,480 --> 00:35:27,759 Speaker 2: serving in the Wehrmacht the Nazi army, back and forth 596 00:35:27,840 --> 00:35:33,560 Speaker 2: across the Atlantic for years. They kept coming until right 597 00:35:33,719 --> 00:35:38,360 Speaker 2: before Lutzlang was killed in the war. He was stationed 598 00:35:38,520 --> 00:35:42,560 Speaker 2: in the deserts of North Africa. On some lonely desert hour, 599 00:35:43,160 --> 00:35:46,120 Speaker 2: he sat down to write one last letter to his friend. 600 00:35:47,520 --> 00:35:50,160 Speaker 9: I am here, Jesse, where it seems there is only 601 00:35:50,239 --> 00:35:54,080 Speaker 9: the dry sand and the wet blood. I do not 602 00:35:54,200 --> 00:35:56,000 Speaker 9: fear so much for myself. 603 00:35:55,760 --> 00:35:56,479 Speaker 6: My friend, Jesse. 604 00:35:57,239 --> 00:35:59,400 Speaker 9: I fear for my woman, who was at home, and 605 00:35:59,800 --> 00:36:03,399 Speaker 9: my young son, Karl, who has never really known his father. 606 00:36:05,600 --> 00:36:08,440 Speaker 9: My heart tells me, if I be honest with you, 607 00:36:09,160 --> 00:36:11,680 Speaker 9: that this is the last letter I shall ever write. 608 00:36:13,200 --> 00:36:17,400 Speaker 9: If it is so, I ask you something. It is 609 00:36:17,800 --> 00:36:22,239 Speaker 9: something so very important to me. It is you go 610 00:36:22,400 --> 00:36:26,200 Speaker 9: to Germany when this war done. Someday find my Carl 611 00:36:27,080 --> 00:36:31,279 Speaker 9: and tell him about his father. Tell him, Jesse, what 612 00:36:31,480 --> 00:36:34,200 Speaker 9: times were like when we were not separated by war, 613 00:36:35,280 --> 00:36:40,239 Speaker 9: I am saying, Tell him how things can be between. 614 00:36:40,040 --> 00:36:47,600 Speaker 2: Men on this earth. There are tears in your eyes. 615 00:36:47,640 --> 00:36:50,879 Speaker 2: You would not be alone. This story is a big 616 00:36:51,000 --> 00:36:55,239 Speaker 2: part of the legend of Jesse Owens. If you look 617 00:36:55,320 --> 00:36:59,840 Speaker 2: up Jesse Owens in the Encyclopedia Britannica. There's the story 618 00:37:00,200 --> 00:37:03,359 Speaker 2: when they made a star studied Hollywood film about Jesse 619 00:37:03,440 --> 00:37:07,680 Speaker 2: Owens's life. Lutslog and that qualifying jump are the pivotal moment. 620 00:37:08,200 --> 00:37:11,040 Speaker 2: Retelling this story would help launch the career of the 621 00:37:11,160 --> 00:37:15,520 Speaker 2: greatest Olympic documentarian of all time, Bud Greenspan. And I'm 622 00:37:15,560 --> 00:37:17,960 Speaker 2: not an auctioneer, but I think it is the reason 623 00:37:18,080 --> 00:37:22,440 Speaker 2: why Lutslog's silver medal sold for nearly half a million 624 00:37:22,560 --> 00:37:26,520 Speaker 2: dollars two years ago, about five times the amount earned 625 00:37:27,000 --> 00:37:30,600 Speaker 2: for any other silver medal at auction. It's arguably the 626 00:37:30,760 --> 00:37:34,680 Speaker 2: most important story in Olympic history. It is proof of 627 00:37:34,760 --> 00:37:37,640 Speaker 2: the Olympic dream. It made the case that it was 628 00:37:37,719 --> 00:37:40,279 Speaker 2: good that America went to the Vilin Games because it 629 00:37:40,400 --> 00:37:44,440 Speaker 2: made possible this improbable friendship that transcended even the Second 630 00:37:44,480 --> 00:37:50,120 Speaker 2: World War, a story that was just too good to 631 00:37:50,200 --> 00:37:50,680 Speaker 2: be true. 632 00:38:00,960 --> 00:38:03,000 Speaker 1: You can hear the rest of this episode and the 633 00:38:03,160 --> 00:38:09,239 Speaker 1: whole Hitler's Olympics series by following Revisionist History, And if 634 00:38:09,239 --> 00:38:11,839 Speaker 1: you're looking for more Olympic content, take a look at 635 00:38:11,840 --> 00:38:16,280 Speaker 1: Happiness Lab Slight Change of Plans, and other Pushkin shows 636 00:38:16,680 --> 00:38:20,759 Speaker 1: This summer We're all going to the Olympics. Thanks for 637 00:38:20,920 --> 00:38:24,960 Speaker 1: help with this special episode goes to Sarah Nix, Sophie Crane, 638 00:38:25,440 --> 00:38:27,640 Speaker 1: Sarah Bugaier and Nina Lorence.