1948 Summer Olympics / Athletics

Athletics at the 1948 Summer Olympics
information
venue	London
Competition venue	Wembley Stadium
date	July 30th to August 7th, 1948
decisions	33 (24 , 9 )
← Berlin 1936 Helsinki 1952 →

Olympic Games 1948 (athletics medal table)
space	team				Total
1	United States	12	5	10	29
2	Sweden	5	3	5	13
3	Netherlands	4th	-	2	6th
4th	France	2	3	3	8th
5	Hungary	2	-	1	3
6th	Australia	1	3	2	6th
7th	Italy	1	3	1	5
8th	Hungary	1	-	-	1
9	Finland	1	2	-	3
	Jamaica	1	2	-	3
11	Argentina	1	1	-	2
	Czechoslovakia	1	1	-	2
13	Belgium	1	-	1	2
	Austria	1	-	1	2
15th	Great Britain	-	6th	1	7th
16	Switzerland	-	1	1	2
17th	Ceylon	-	1	-	1
	Yugoslavia	-	1	-	1
	Norway	-	1	-	1
20th	Panama	-	-	2	2
21st	Denmark	-	-	1	1
	Canada	-	-	1	1
	Turkey	-	-	1	1

At the XIV Olympic Games in London in 1948 , 33 athletics competitions took place.

Attendees

As after the First World War, nations were excluded from participating in the first Olympic Games after the Second World War . This time, this affected the two nations of Germany and Japan . In addition, the Soviet Union did not take part - it did not have its own Olympic Committee at the time.

Stadion

The venue was London's Wembley Stadium , built in 1923 for the British Empire Exhibition taking place there and later mainly used for football events. For the athletics competitions at these Olympic Games, a previously non-existent cinder track was created.
Overall, the general conditions in London, which was very badly smog at the time, were not exactly conducive to performance. The bad breathing air bothered the athletes and also had an impact on the competitions. For example, the Jamaican Arthur Wint , who had been living in London for a few years, was able to adjust to these conditions very well in his 400-meter run and beat his highly favored compatriot Herb McKenley .

Competitions

There were a few extensions to the competition offer compared to 1936 . For the men, a second walking competition was added with the 10,000 meter walk . The men's competition program was almost identical to that of today, apart from the shorter distance of the newly introduced walking competition. For women there was an increase of three disciplines, plus the 200 meters , the long jump and the shot put . Thus there were now nine competitions in the women's program: in running the 100 and 200 meters , the 80 meter hurdles and the 4 x 100 meter relay , in jumping the high and long jump, in throwing the shot put, the discus and throwing a javelin . Numerous disciplines were still missing here, especially the running area was extremely limited without any middle or long distance .

Sporting successes

In view of the world war that was only three years ago and all the worries, restrictions and needs, the athletic performance was astonishingly good and of a high standard. Although there was no world record , nineteen Olympic records were set or set in the heats and finals.
As in all previous athletics games, the most successful nation was the United States with twelve gold medals. With five Olympic victories, Sweden was well behind in second place, just ahead of the Netherlands , who were four times in front. France and Hungary won two gold medals each .
The outstanding athlete in these games was Fanny Blankers-Koen from the Netherlands , who won all running competitions. She had already been successful as a high jump fifth in 1936 - at that time still under the name Fanny Koen. Two athletes were able to win two gold and one bronze medals: Micheline Ostermeyer from France was Olympic champion in the shot put and discus throw and came third in the high jump. Beyond sport, she was a very well-known and successful pianist. The American Mal Whitfield won gold over 800 meters and with the 4 x 400 meter relay as well as bronze over 400 meters . There were three other Americans who became Olympic champions twice: Harrison Dillard - 100 meters and 4 by 100 meters relay , Roy Cochran - 400 meters hurdles and 4 by 400 meters relay, Mel Patton - 200 meters and 4 x 100 meter relay

Results men

100 m

→ Main article : 1948 Summer Olympics / Athletics - 100 m (men)

space	athlete	country	Time (s)
1	Harrison Dillard	United States	10.3 ORe
2	Barney Ewell	United States	10.4
3	Lloyd LaBeach	PAN	10.4
4th	Alastair McCorquodale	GBR	10.4
5	Mel Patton	United States	10.5
6th	McDonald Bailey	GBR	10.6

Finale: July 31

200 m

→ Main article : 1948 Summer Olympics / Athletics - 200 m (men)

space	athlete	country	Time (s)
1	Mel Patton	United States	21.1
2	Barney Ewell	United States	21.1
3	Lloyd LaBeach	PAN	21.2
4th	Herb McKenley	JAM	21.3
5	Cliff Bourland	United States	21.4
6th	Leslie Laing	JAM	21.9

Final: August 3rd

400 m

→ Main article : 1948 Summer Olympics / Athletics - 400 m (men)

space	athlete	country	Time (s)
1	Arthur Wint	JAM	46.2 ORe
2	Herb McKenley	JAM	46.4
3	Times Whitfield	United States	46.9
4th	David Bolen	United States	47.2
5	Morris Curotta	OUT	47.9
6th	George Guida	United States	50.2

Final: August 5th

800 m

→ Main article : 1948 Summer Olympics / Athletics - 800 m (men)

space	athlete	country	Time (min)
1	Times Whitfield	United States	1: 49.2 OR
2	Arthur Wint	JAM	1: 49.5
3	Marcel Hansenne	FRA	1: 49.8
4th	Herbert Barten	United States	1: 50.1
5	Ingvar Bengtsson	SWE	1: 50.5
6th	Robert Chambers	United States	1: 52.1
7th	Robert Chef d'Hôtel	FRA	1: 53.0
8th	John Parlett	GBR	1: 53.4

Final: August 2nd

1500 m

→ Main article : 1948 Summer Olympics / Athletics - 1500 m (men)

space	athlete	country	Time (min)
1	Henry Eriksson	SWE	3: 49.8
2	Lennart Beach	SWE	3: 50.4
3	Willem Slijkhuis	NED	3: 50.4
4th	Václav Čevona	TCH	3: 51.2
5	Gosta Bergkvist	SWE	3: 52.2
6th	Bill Nankeville	GBR	3: 52.6
7th	Donald Gehrmann	United States	k. A.
8th	Erik Jørgensen	THE	k. A.

Final: August 6th

5000 m

→ Main article : 1948 Summer Olympics / Athletics - 5000 m (men)

space	athlete	country	Time (min)
1	Gaston Reiff	BEL	14: 17.6 OR
2	Emil Zatopek	TCH	14: 17.8
3	Willem Slijkhuis	NED	14: 26.8
4th	Erik Ahlden	SWE	14: 28.6
5	Bertil Albertsson	SWE	14: 39.0
6th	Curtis Stone	United States	14: 39.4
7th	Väinö Koskela	FIN	14: 41.0
8th	Väinö Mäkelä	FIN	14: 43.0

Final: August 2nd

10,000 m

→ Main article : 1948 Summer Olympics / Athletics - 10,000 m (men)

space	athlete	country	Time (min)
1	Emil Zatopek	TCH	29: 59.6 OR
2	Alain Mimoun	FRA	30: 47.4
3	Bertil Albertsson	SWE	30: 53.6
4th	Martin Stokken	NOR	30: 58.6
5	Severt Dennolf	SWE	31: 05.0
6th	Ben Said Abdallah	FRA	31: 07.8
7th	Stan Cox	GBR	31: 08.0
8th	Jim Peters	GBR	31: 16.0

30th July

marathon

→ Main article : 1948 Summer Olympics / Athletics - marathon (men)

space	athlete	country	Time (h)
1	Delfo Cabrera	ARG	2: 34: 51.6
2	Tom Richards	GBR	2: 35: 07.6
3	Étienne Gailly	BEL	2: 35: 33.6
4th	John Coleman	RSA	2: 36: 06.0
5	Eusebio Guiñez	ARG	2: 36: 36.0
6th	Syd Luyt	RSA	2: 38: 11.0
7th	Gustav Östling	SWE	2: 38: 40.6
8th	John Systad	NOR	2: 38: 41.0

August 7th

110 m hurdles

→ Main article : 1948 Summer Olympics / Athletics - 110 m hurdles (men)

space	athlete	country	Time (s)
1	William Porter	United States	13.9 OR
2	Clyde Scott	United States	14.1
3	Craig Dixon	United States	14.1
4th	Alberto Triulzi	ARG	14.6
5	Peter Gardner	OUT	14.7
6th	Håkan Lidman	SWE	14.9

Final: August 4th

400 m hurdles

→ Main article : 1948 Summer Olympics / Athletics - 400 m hurdles (men)

space	athlete	country	Time (s)
1	Roy Cochran	United States	51.1 OR
2	Duncan White	CEY	51.8
3	Rune Larsson	SWE	52.2
4th	Dick Ault	United States	52.4
5	Yves Cros	FRA	53.3
6th	Ottavio Missoni	ITA	54.0

Finale: July 31

3000 m obstacle

→ Main article : 1948 Summer Olympics / Athletics - 3000 m obstacle (men)

space	athlete	country	Time (min)
1	Tore Sjöstrand	SWE	9: 04.6
2	Erik Elmsäter	SWE	9: 08.2
3	God Hagstrom	SWE	9: 11.8
4th	Alex Guyodo	FRA	9: 13.6
5	Pentti Siltaloppi	FIN	9: 19.6
6th	Petar Šegedin	YUG	9: 20.4
7th	Browning Ross	United States	k. A.
8th	Constantino Miranda	ESP	k. A.

Final: August 5th

4 × 100 m relay

→ Main article : 1948 Summer Olympics / Athletics - 4 × 100 m (men)

space	country	Athletes	Time (s)
1	United States	Barney Ewell Lorenzo Wright Harrison Dillard Mel Patton	40.6
2	Great Britain	Jack Archer John Gregory Alastair McCorquodale Ken Jones	41.3
3	Italy	Enrico Perucconi Antonio Siddi Carlo Monti Michele Tito	41.5
4th	Hungary	Ferenc Tima László Bartha György Csányi Béla Goldoványi	41.6
5	Canada	Don McFarlane James O'Brien Donald Pettie Edward Haggis	41.9
6th	Netherlands	Jan Lammers Jan Meijer Gabe Scholten Jo Zwaan	41.9

Final: August 7th

4 × 400 m relay

→ Main article : 1948 Summer Olympics / Athletics - 4 × 400 m (men)

space	country	Athletes	Time (min)
1	United States	Arthur Harnden Cliff Bourland Roy Cochran Mal Whitfield	3: 10.4
2	France	Jean Kerebel Francis Schewetta Robert Chef d'Hôtel Jacques Lunis	3: 14.8
3	Sweden	Kurt Lundquist Lars-Erik Wolfbrandt Folke Alnevik Rune Larsson	3: 16.0
4th	Finland	Tauno Suvanto Olavi Talja Runar Holmberg Bertel Storskrubb	3: 24.8
	Jamaica	George Rhoden Leslie Laing Arthur Wint Herb McKenley	DNF
	Italy	Gianni Rocca Ottavio Missoni Luigi Paterlini Antonio Siddi	DNF

Final: August 7th

10,000 m walking

→ Main article : 1948 Summer Olympics / Athletics - 10,000 m walk (men)

space	athlete	country	Time (min)
1	John Mikaelsson	SWE	45: 13.2
2	Ingemar Johansson	SWE	45: 43.8
3	Fritz Schwab	SUI	46: 00.2
4th	Charles Morris	GBR	46: 04.0
5	Harry Churcher	GBR	46: 28.0
6th	Émile Maggi	FRA	47: 02.8
7th	Ronald West	GBR	k. A.
8th	Gianni Corsaro	ITA	k. A.

Finale: July 13th

50 km of walking

→ Main article : 1948 Summer Olympics / Athletics - 50 km walk (men)

Start the walker

space	athlete	country	Time (h)
1	John Ljunggren	SWE	4:41:52
2	Gaston Godel	SUI	4:48:17
3	Tebbs Lloyd Johnson	GBR	4:48:31
4th	Edgar Bruun	NOR	4:53:18
5	Herbert Martineau	GBR	4:53:58
6th	Bjurström rune	SWE	4:56:43
7th	Pierre Mazille	FRA	5:01:40
8th	Claude Hubert	FRA	5:03:12

July 31

high jump

→ Main article : 1948 Summer Olympics / Athletics - high jump (men)

space	athlete	country	Height (m)
1	John Winter	OUT	1.98
2	Bjorn Paulson	NOR	1.95
3	George Stanich	United States	1.95
4th	Dwight Eddleman	United States	1.95
5	Georges Mitio	FRA	1.95
6th	Arthur Jackes	CAN	1.90
7th	Alan Paterson	GBR	1.90
	Hans Wahli	SUI	1.90

Finale: July 30th

Pole vault

→ Main article : 1948 Summer Olympics / Athletics - pole vault (men)

space	athlete	country	Height (m)
1	Guinn Smith	United States	4.30
2	Erkki Kataja	FIN	4.20
3	Bob Richards	United States	4.20
4th	Erling Kaas	NOR	4.10
5	Ragnar Lundberg	SWE	4.10
6th	Boo Morcom	United States	3.95
7th	Hugo Göllors	SWE	3.95
	Valto Olenius	FIN	3.95

Final: August 2nd

Long jump

→ Main article : 1948 Summer Olympics / Athletics - long jump (men)

space	athlete	country	Width (m)
1	Willie Steele	United States	7.825
2	Theo Bruce	OUT	7.555
3	Herb Douglas	United States	7.545
4th	Lorenzo Wright	United States	7.450
5	Adegboyega Folaranmi Adedoyin	GBR	7.270
6th	Georges Mitio	FRA	7.070
7th	Harry Whittle	GBR	7.030
8th	Felix Würth	AUT	7,000

Finale: July 31

Triple jump

→ Main article : 1948 Summer Olympics / Athletics - Triple Jump (Men)

space	athlete	country	Width (m)
1	Arne Åhman	SWE	15,400
2	George Avery	OUT	15.365
3	Ruhi Sarıalp	DOOR	15.025
4th	Preben Larsen	THE	14.830
5	Geraldo de Oliveira	BRA	14.825
6th	Valle Rautio	FIN	14,700
7th	Les McKeand	OUT	14,530
8th	Adhemar da Silva	BRA	14,490

Final: August 3rd

Shot put

→ Main article : 1948 Summer Olympics / Athletics - Shot Put (Men)

space	athlete	country	Width (m)
1	Wilbur Thompson	United States	17.12 OR
2	Jim Delaney	United States	16.68
3	Jim Fox	United States	16.42
4th	Mieczysław Łomowski	POLE	15.43
5	Gosta Arvidsson	SWE	15.37
6th	Yrjö Lehtilä	FIN	15.05
7th	Jaakko Jouppila	FIN	14.59
8th	Čestmír Kalina	TCH	14.55

Final: August 3rd

Discus throw

→ Main article : 1948 Summer Olympics / Athletics - Discus throw (men)

space	athlete	country	Width (m)
1	Adolfo Consolini	ITA	52.78 OR
2	Giuseppe Tosi	ITA	51.78
3	Fortune Gordia	United States	50.77
4th	Ivar Ramstad	NOR	49.21
5	Ferenc Klics	HUN	48.21
6th	Veikko Nyqvist	FIN	47.33
7th	Nikolaos Syllas	GRE	47.25
8th	Stone Johnson	NOR	46.54

Final: August 2nd

Hammer throw

→ Main article : 1948 Summer Olympics / Athletics - hammer throw (men)

space	athlete	country	Width (m)
1	Imre Németh	HUN	56.07
2	Ivan Gubijan	YUG	54.27
3	Robert Bennett	United States	53.73
4th	Samuel Felton	United States	53.66
5	Lauri Tamminen	FIN	53.08
6th	Bo Ericson	SWE	52.98
7th	Teseo Taddia	ITA	51.74
8th	Einar Söderqvist	SWE	51.48

Finale: July 31

Javelin throw

→ Main article : 1948 Summer Olympics / Athletics - Javelin Throw (Men)

space	athlete	country	Width (m)
1	Tapio Rautavaara	FIN	69.77
2	Steve Seymour	United States	67.56
3	József Várszegi	HUN	67.03
4th	Pauli Vesterinen	FIN	65.89
5	Odd Mæhlum	NOR	65.32
6th	Martin Biles	United States	65.17
7th	Mirko Vujačić	YUG	64.89
8th	Bob Likins	United States	64.51

Final: August 4th

Decathlon

→ Main article : 1948 Summer Olympics / Athletics - Decathlon (men)

space	athlete	country	P - official value.	P - 85 value.
1	Bob Mathias	United States	7139	6628
2	Ignace Heinrich	FRA	6974	6559
3	Floyd Simmons	United States	6950	6531
4th	Enrique box maker	ARG	6929	6542
5	Erik Andersson	SWE	6877	6486
6th	Peter Mullins	OUT	6739	6334
7th	Per Axel Eriksson	SWE	6731	6391
8th	Irving moonlight	United States	6715	6331

5th / 6th August

Results women

100 m

→ Main article : 1948 Summer Olympics / Athletics - 100 m (women)

space	Athlete	country	Time (s)
1	Fanny Blankers-Koen	NED	11.9 ORe
2	Dorothy Manley	GBR	12.2
3	Shirley Strickland	OUT	12.2
4th	Viola Myers	CAN	12.3
5	Patricia Jones	CAN	12.3
6th	Cynthia Thompson	JAM	12.6

Final: August 2nd

200 m

→ Main article : 1948 Summer Olympics / Athletics - 200 m (women)

space	Athlete	country	Time (s)
1	Fanny Blankers-Koen	NED	24.4
2	Audrey Williamson	GBR	25.1
3	Audrey Patterson	United States	25.2
4th	Shirley Strickland	OUT	25.2
5	Margaret Walker	GBR	25.4
6th	Daphne Robb	RSA	25.5

Final: August 6th

80 m hurdles

→ Main article : 1948 Summer Olympics / Athletics - 80 m hurdles (women)

space	Athlete	country	Time (s)
1	Fanny Blankers-Koen	NED	11.2 OR
2	Maureen Gardner	GBR	11.2 OR
3	Shirley Strickland	OUT	11.4
4th	Yvette Monginou	FRA	11.8
5	Maria Oberbreyer	AUT	11.9
6th	Libuše Lomská	TCH	11.9

Final: August 4th

4 × 100 m relay

→ Main article : 1948 Summer Olympics / Athletics - 4 × 100 m (women)

space	country	Athletes	Time (s)
1	Netherlands	Xenia Stad-de Jong Nettie Witziers-Timmer Gerda van der Kade-Koudijs Fanny Blankers-Koen	47.5
2	Australia	Shirley Strickland June Maston Betty McKinnon Joyce King	47.6
3	Canada	Viola Myers Nancy Mackay Diane Foster Patricia Jones	47.8
4th	Great Britain	Dorothy Manley Muriel Pletts Margaret Walker Maureen Gardner	48.0
5	Denmark	Grethe Lovsø Bente Bergendorff Birthe Nielsen Hildegard Nissen	48.2
6th	Austria	Grete Jenny Elfriede Steurer Grete Pavlousek Maria Oberbreyer	49.2

Final: August 7th

high jump

→ Main article : 1948 Summer Olympics / Athletics - high jump (women)

space	Athlete	country	Height (m)
1	Alice Coachman	United States	1.68 OR
2	Dorothy Tyler	GBR	1.68 ORe
3	Micheline Ostermeyer	FRA	1.61
4th	Vinton Beckett	JAM	1.58
	Doreen Dredge	CAN	1.58
6th	Bertha Crowther	GBR	1.58
7th	Ilse Steinegger	AUT	1.55
8th	Dora Gardner	GBR	1.55

Final: August 7th

Long jump

→ Main article : 1948 Summer Olympics / Athletics - long jump (women)

space	Athlete	country	Width (m)
1	Olga Gyarmati	HUN	5,695 OR
2	Noemí Simonetto	ARG	5,600
3	Ann-Britt Leyman	SWE	5.575
4th	Gerda van der Kade-Koudijs	NED	5,570
5	Neeltje Karelse	NED	5.545
6th	Kathleen Russell	JAM	5.495
7th	Judy Canty	OUT	5.380
8th	Yvonne Curtet	FRA	5.350

Final: August 4th

Shot put

→ Main article : 1948 Summer Olympics / Athletics - Shot put (women)

space	Athlete	country	Width (m)
1	Micheline Ostermeyer	FRA	13,750 OR
2	Amelia Piccinini	ITA	13.095
3	Ine Schäffer	AUT	13,080
4th	Paulette Veste	FRA	12.985
5	Jaroslava Komárková	TCH	12,920
6th	Anni Bruk	AUT	12,500
7th	Marija Radosavljević	YUG	12.355
8th	Bevis Reid	GBR	12,170

Final: August 4th

Discus throw

→ Main article : 1948 Summer Olympics / Athletics - Discus throw (women)

space	Athlete	country	Width (m)
1	Micheline Ostermeyer	FRA	41.92
2	Edera Gentile	ITA	41.17
3	Jacqueline Mazéas	FRA	40.47
4th	Jadwiga Marcinkiewicz	POLE	39.30
5	Lotte Haidegger	AUT	38.81
6th	To Panhorst-Niesink	NED	38.74
7th	Majken Åberg	SWE	38.48
8th	Ingeborg Mello	ARG	38.44

Finale: July 30th

Javelin throw

→ Main article : 1948 Summer Olympics / Athletics - Javelin throw (women)

space	Athlete	country	Width (m)
1	Herma Bauma	AUT	45.57 OR
2	Kaisa Parviainen	FIN	43.79
3	Lily Carlstedt	THE	42.08
4th	Dorothy Dodson	United States	41.96
5	Jo Teunissen-Waalboer	NED	40.92
6th	Johanna Koning	NED	40.33
7th	Dana Ingrová	TCH	39.64
8th	Elly Dammers	NED	38.23

Finale: July 31

literature

• Ekkehard zur Megede , The History of Olympic Athletics, Volume 2: 1948–1968, Verlag Bartels & Wernitz KG, Berlin, 1st edition 1969

Web links

• XIV Olympic Game, London 1948 on trackfield.brinkster.net
• IOC website on athletics at the 1948 Olympic Games at olympic.org, accessed August 15, 2017
• THE OFFICIAL REPORT OF THE ORGANIZING COMMITTEE FOR THE XIV OLYMPIAD at library.la84.org, accessed on August 15, 2017
• London 1948: Post-war games without Germany on sportschau.de, accessed on August 15, 2017
• London 1948. First games after the World War , Federal Agency for Civic Education August 1, 2012 from Wissen.de, accessed on August 15, 2017
• Wembley Stadium Myth - 1948 Summer Olympics , Süddeutsche Zeitung May 22, 2016 at sueddeutsche.de, accessed on August 15, 2017
• Also very nice , Der Spiegel August 21, 1948, issue 34/1948 on spiegel.de, accessed on August 15, 2017
• Feuer-Zauber , Der Spiegel May 8, 1948, issue 19/1948 on spiegel.de, accessed on August 15, 2017
• Olympic marathon 1948: decision in the last meters on runnersworld.de, accessed on August 15, 2017
• Amazing moments at the Olympics in London , Frankfurt August 15 August 2017 on fr.de, accessed on 15 August 2017

Videos

• London 1948 Olympics - Official Full Film , published October 9, 2014 on youtube.com, accessed August 15, 2017
• 1948 London Olympics , published January 23, 2015 on youtube.com, accessed August 15, 2017
• London Olympics, Track and Field Events (1948) , published March 2, 2014 on youtube.com, accessed August 15, 2017
• Herma Bauma - Olympic Champion 1948 , published July 19, 2008 on youtube.com, accessed August 15, 2017
• The Incredible Dominance Of Fanny Blankers-Koen | Olympic Records , published December 28, 2013 on youtube.com, accessed August 15, 2017
• Micheline Ostermeyer - Discus, Shot Put & Artist | London 1948 Olympics , published January 15, 2013 on youtube.com, accessed August 15, 2017
• Before Usain Bolt - The First Jamaican Sprint Star Arthur Wint - London 1948 Olympics , published February 26, 2013 on youtube.com, accessed August 15, 2017
• 1948 OLYMPIC HIGHLIGHTS , published January 29, 2013 on youtube.com, accessed August 15, 2017