Joe Rantz
As a child, he had many hardships—from the death of his mother, to an uncaring stepmother, to being abandoned in Sequim, WA. There he met Joyce, his future wife, and struggled to make a living as a teenager. He went to live in Seattle with his brother during his senior year and made it in to University of Washington. There, he joined crew and made it in to the first freshman boat; they beat Berkeley and won at Poughkeepsie at the national championships. The next year, Joe repeated that feat again in JV crew. Then in junior year, the year of the Olympics, Joe found his spot in jeopardy, switching between the number three and four boats. He eventually went to the number one varsity boat and beat Berkeley at the Pacific Coast Regatta, became national champion at Poughkeepsie, won the Olympic trials, and made it all the way to Berlin. At the Olympics, he would help propel his boat to an unlikely victory, defeating the German boat rowing for Adolf Hitler.
Chuck Day
Chuck Day met Joe Rantz working in the Grand Coulee so they could finance another year of college. They became close and eventually rowed together in the winning Olympic crew.
Don Hume
He was the essential stroke of the winning Olympic crew. But during the Olympics, he fell ill and was about to pass out whenever he rowed. The rest of the crew convinced the coach Al Ulbrickson to keep him in the boat. During the big race, he became unresponsive until the last part when he used all of his energy to set the stroke count to the highest they have ever rowed.
Bob Moch
He was the coxswain of the crew, and he barked out orders from the back of the boat. He was the perfect size for a coxswain and was extremely smart, making him one of the best coxswains in the University of Washington's history.
Harry Rantz
Harry Rantz was Joe's father. He has been absent for most of Joe's life and had abandoned Joe at multiple points when Joe was a child and adolescent.
Thule Rantz
Thule was Joe's stepmother. She was the sister of Fred Rantz's wife and was much younger than her husband, Harry. She was cruel to Joe and separated him from the family and her birth children. She died from a bowel obstruction at a young age.
Fred Rantz
Fred was Joe's brother. He had cared for Joe at various points in his life and lived in Seattle while Joe was at the University of Washington.
Roger Morris
Roger Morris was Joe's longtime friend in the boat house and a member of the Olympic winning team.
Al Ulbrickson
Al was the varsity head coach of the University of Washington.
Joyce Rantz
Joyce was Joe's high school sweetheart and wife.
