The final results of the 1936 Berlin Olympics not only left Germans feeling stifled, but also triggered a collective uproar across Europe. Some sensationalist European news outlets even cried, "The European era is over! East Africa and the United States are rising..."
Their evidence was quite persuasive: East Africa had taken first place, while the United States ranked third among the top three. Moreover, the gap between the United States and Germany was small, with only four medals separating them.
Besides East Africa and the United States, Japan also ranked eighth on the medal table, unchanged from its ranking in the previous life.
Although East Africa had joined the top ten, Germany's annexation of the Austro-Hungarian Empire meant that Hungary's results—which had ranked third in the previous life—were counted under Germany. The same went for Austria and Czechoslovakia, which had previously ranked eleventh and twelfth, both within the top twenty.
A British sports newspaper reported, "Among the top ten countries on the medal table, non-European countries account for three, and East Africa and the United States have performed exceptionally well."
"This fully demonstrates the powerful rise of countries outside Europe. Besides East Africa, the United States, and Japan, Argentina, Egypt, Canada, and Alaska have all squeezed into the top twenty. Other countries and regions outside Europe have also performed well, such as South Africa, Venezuela, East Kalimantan..."
The British newspaper mainly cited total gold medals rather than total medals. As a result, East Africa's Alaska successfully entered the top twenty with two gold medals and one bronze medal.
Two gold medals were enough to guarantee any country or region a place in the top twenty. Argentina, Egypt, and Canada were all examples of this.
The opposite example was Switzerland. Switzerland had won thirteen medals, an excellent result, but only one