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Special London Olympics
1948 Fact File
4041/ With World War II in recent
memory, Germany, Japan and the USSR were not represented at
the 1948 London Games; although Italy was. The 1948 Games
also saw the first participation of Communist countries and
the first boycotts. Many countries, including Burma, Ceylon,
Colombia, Guatemala, Lebanon, Panama, Puerto Rico, Syria and
Venezuela, were represented for the first time.
4042/ Fanny Blankers-Koen was
the star of the Games, winning four gold medals on the track-
the 100m dash, the 80m hurdles, the 200m and the 4x100m relay.
At the time she was in fact the world record holder in six
events (the high jump and long jump being the others). But
according to the rules of the day was only allowed to compete
in three individual events and one team event.
4043/ Two athletes who were Olympic
champions in 1936 managed to defend their titles twelve years
later. They were Ilona Elek of Hungary in women’s foil
fencing and Jan Brzak of Czechoslovakia in the canoeing Canadian
pairs 1,000m.
4044/ For the first time, Olympic
diplomas were awarded to the 6th highest placed athletes.
4045/ In a dramatic finish in
the marathon, Belgian Étienne Gailly entered the stadium
first, but was so physically drained that he could barely
walk around the track. Two men passed him before he finally
crossed the line.
4046/ Duncan White of Ceylon
(now Sri Lanka) won the first medal for his country, a silver,
in the 400 meter hurdles.
4047/ 59 Nations participated
in the 1948 London Olympics. Of these, 37 won at least one
medal.
4048/ The 1948 London Games were
the first to be shown on television, although very few people
in Great Britain actually owned sets.
4049/ A women’s canoeing
event was held for the first time - and won by Karen Hoff
of Denmark.
4050/ 17-year-old American Bob
Mathias won the decathlon only four months after taking up
the sport. He is the youngest athlete in Olympic history to
win a men’s athletics event. Asked what he would do
to celebrate, Mathias replied, "I'll Start shaving, I
guess."
4051/ Concert pianist Micheline
Ostermeyer of France won both the shot put and the discus
throw.
4052/ Karoly Takacs was a member
of the Hungarian world champion pistol shooting team in 1938
when a grenade shattered his right hand - his pistol hand.
Takacs taught himself to shoot with his left hand and, ten
years later, he won an Olympic gold medal in the rapid-fire
pistol event.
4053/ The candidate cities for
the 1948 Olympics were Baltimore (USA), Lausanne (SUI), Los
Angeles (USA), Minneapolis (USA) and Philadelphia (USA).
4054/ From 1928 to 1968, the
medals for the Summer Olympic Games were identical.
4055/ The 1948 Games saw the
introduction of starting blocks to facilitate the start for
athletes in sprint races (100m to 400m).
4056/ In 1948 Great Britain was
not a star performer at the Games in terms of Gold medals
won. The nations with the most Gold medals were the USA with
38, Sweden with 16 and France with 10. Great Britain won only
three gold medals. Two in rowing (mens double sculls and coxless
pairs), and one in the swallow sailing class. Great Britain
was however second in terms of the number of silver medals
(14 - compared to the USA's 27), with six bronzes. Making
for a total medal haul of 23.
4057/ During the Opening Ceremony
of the 1948 Olympics, the following message was posted on
the giant scoreboard overlooking the stadium:
"The important thing
in the Olympic Games is not winning but taking part.
The Essential thing in Life
is not conquering but fighting well."
4058/ On the day the 1948 Olympic
games began at Wembley Stadium in London, June 29th, the famed
Australian ‘Invincibles’ cricket side was finishing
off England in a test at nearby Lord’s, winning by 409
runs.
4059/ For the 1948 Games the
IOC ruled that the new state of Israel could not compete because
it was not yet a member of the IOC; this decision averted
an Arab walkout.
4060/ At Torbay, where yachting
events were held, Dane Paul Elvestrom began a string of victories
which would stretch over 4 consecutive Olympics.
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