1948 Summer Olympics / Athletics - Marathon (Men)
sport | athletics | ||||||||
discipline | Marathon run | ||||||||
gender | Men | ||||||||
Attendees | 41 athletes from 21 countries | ||||||||
Competition location | Wembley Stadium (start and finish) | ||||||||
Competition phase | August 7, 1948 | ||||||||
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The men's marathon at the 1948 Olympic Games in London was held on August 7, 1948. The start and finish was Wembley Stadium . 41 athletes took part, 30 of whom finished.
The Olympic champion was the Argentine Delfo Cabrera ahead of the British Tom Richards . Bronze went to Étienne Gailly from Belgium.
Existing records
- World records are not set in marathons due to the different track conditions
- Olympic record : 2: 29: 19.2 h - official: Son Kitei ( Japan ), actually: son Kee-chung ( South Korea ), Berlin , August 9, 1936
Routing
The marathon course started at Wembley Stadium . After leaving the stadium went to the northwest. At the A 4088 the route turned right, following the road to Salmon Street , which led to the northwest. The Salmon Street , which later in the Fryant Way is crossed the Fryant Country Park . Further to the northwest, the route ran along Honeypot Lane and Marsh Lane . At Stanmore the road turned right onto London Lane . About the Spur Road it went on the Edgware Way to Edgware. After crossing the railway line, the route then led north over the Barnet By-Pass . Past Stirling Corner , it was now left into Elstree Way . Shortly before the railway line, the route led to the right into Theobald Street heading northwest parallel to the railway line that was crossed at the Radlett tennis club. Then it went left into Watling Street in a southeast direction again parallel to the railway line. At Elstree, the route turned onto Edgware Way until it finally turned right back onto Spur Road and back to the stadium.
The race
August 7, 1948, 3 p.m.
After the Second World War , it was difficult to pick a favorite for the marathon. The best chances were given to the Finn Viljo Heino, who held the world record over 10,000 meters.
The race started in dry but cloudy weather conditions. The Belgian Étienne Gailly, who completed his first marathon, immediately took the lead. He was able to maintain the lead up to kilometer 35 when he was overtaken by the Korean Yoon-chil. Gailly was able to counter the attack of the Korean and ran into the stadium first. Older viewers felt reminded of the 1908 marathon drama about the Italian Dorando Pietri , which had also taken place in London . The totally exhausted Gailly staggered along the track more than he ran. The Argentine Delfo Cabrera overtook the Belgian and won the gold medal. The British Tom Richards also pulled past the stumbling Gailly for the silver medal. Gailly barely made it to the finish line and collapsed. He had saved the bronze medal.
Étienne Gailly won the first Belgian medal in the marathon.
Bottom line
literature
- Ekkehard zur Megede , The History of Olympic Athletics, Volume 2: 1948–1968, Verlag Bartels & Wernitz KG, Berlin, 1st edition 1969, pp. 25f
Web links
- SportsReference Marathon , accessed August 20, 2017
- Official report , pages 252-254, engl. (PDF), accessed on August 20, 2017
- London 1948 Olympic Marathon | Marathon Week , published April 22, 2015 on youtube.com, accessed August 20, 2017