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London 1948

Athletics

Boxing

Canoe Sprint

Diving

Fencing

Football

Hockey

Rowing

Sailing

Shooting

Swimming

Water Polo

Algeria

Belgium

Czechia

Czechoslovakia

Denmark

France

Great Britain

Hungary

India

Italy

Jamaica

Netherlands

New Zealand

Sweden

United States

If Audrey Patterson had lit the path for black athletes in 1948, Alice Coachman followed it gloriously\. The day after Patterson's historic Bronze medal, Alice Coachman became the first black woman from any country to win a gold medal in track and field\.

Alice Coachman, the first woman of colour to win athletics gold

There was, perhaps, no more naturally talented shooter than Hungary's Karoly Takacs, yet he had to face some huge obstacles in his career\. The first was military rank – despite being a provenly world\-class marksman by 1936, he was denied a place in the team for the 1936 Olympic Games

Karoly Takacs ok

Karoly Takacs shoots to victory - with the "wrong" hand!

Before 1948, Bob Mathias had never completed a decathlon\. In fact, he'd never even started one\. Mathias, a 17\-year\-old athlete studying at Tulare High School in California, took up the sport just four months before the Games on the suggestion of a coach at his school\.

Bob Mathias makes history by winning the decathlon at just 17!

The men's marathon at the 1948 Games was a curious affair\. Two of the three medallists had never run the distance before and the man who led the way for most of the race ended up staggering across the line, almost unable to move\. And yet, despite losing the title,

A well-deserved marathon bronze for Etienne Gailly

In 1948, she was specialist at the 100\-metre freestyle and was pitched against the American Ann Curtis\. At the end, there was just 0\.2 seconds between them, with Anderson just touching first\. Curtis was to get some measure of revenge, though, at the 4x100m Relay, when Denmark's early lead was

Greta Andersen, one of the most versatile athletes swimming has known

Octogenarian Voisk delighted her fellow Olympians, including WOA president Jo&euml;l Bouzou, when she visited the Olympians Reunion Centre \(ORC\) in Rio, regaling those around her with her memories of 1948 and other past editions of the Games\.

1948 Games veteran Voisk tells Rio generation: ‘Be your best self’

Balbir Singh remembers the events of 12 August 1948 as if they were yesterday\. Some 25,000 spectators packed into the stands at Wembley Stadium for the final of the men&rsquo;s Olympic hockey tournament between the host nation Great Britain and India\. The Punjab\-born forward, then 23, recalls how he looked

Legendary hockey star Balbir Singh takes you back... to 1948!

Ran Laurie and Jack Wilson were British establishment through and through\. University friends who first met at Cambridge, the pair rowed together in The Boat Race, the annual rowing duel between Oxford and its historic rivals Cambridge, from 1934 to 1936\. Laurie competed in the 1936 Olympic Games, as stroke,

Victory on water for two desert rats!

The Modern Pentathlon is one of the most gruelling events in the Games, requiring versatility, stamina and a little bit of luck\. Rarely does one person dominate from the start, but then again, rarely does someone like Captain William Grut crop up\. Although his sport was little known at the

Captain William Grut dominates the modern pentathlon

In the Water Polo tournament, Italy entered for the first time but not as novices\. Much had changed in the sport since the 1936 Games, where Hungary and Germany had been the dominant nations\. This time, there was no German involvement and Hungary's star had waned\. At the previous year's

Eight wins out of eight and gold for Italy

There were many athletes in these Games whose sporting careers had been blighted by the Second World War\. Karen Magrethe Harup had been a prodigiously talented youngster in Denmark, on the brink of selection to compete for her country in the 1940 Olympic Games at the age of just 15,

Three events, three medals for Karen Harup

Victoria “Vicki” Draves seemed as if she had been born to be in the water\. An elegant diver, she was married to her diving coach and seemed a natural\. To many who watched the 1948 Games, she seemed to have the world at her feet\.

Vicki Draves, the first woman to achieve diving's golden double

Ann Curtis was born in San Francisco and was taught to swim by nuns at her convent school\. When she showed great talent, her coaching switched to Charlie Sava, at the Crystal Splash club, one of the best known and most highly regarded coaches of the time\. There were tensions,

Ann Curtis, the most successful female swimmer at London 1948

There are times when the best athletes in the world search for a just little more inspiration\. Some find it in the fervour of support, others in their own desire to prove their excellence to the world\.

A broken hand but gold for Julius Torma!

As a six\-year\-old boy growing up in Hawaii, Bill Smith contracted typhoid\. Once recovered, his family's response was to get him swimming, in an effort to rebuild his battered body, and he responded well enough to reach the national championships\. But he wanted to improve, and found a perfect mentor

Olympic freestyle gold for Bill Smith

When a young Danish sailor, shy and sensitive, arrived in the south\-west of England, few who saw him would have imagined that they were about to witness the start of an unprecedented run of success\. Paul Elvstrøm was here to take part, and win, the Firefly class, and he would

Sailing - Paul Elvstrøm (DEN)

Olympic teams can take years to blend\. They might include people who hardly know each other at the start and end up as close as family\. Or, as in the case of the 1948 Star sailing class, they feature people who start off as close as family – because that's

Smart Senior and Junior - stars of the Star!

Some champions rely on their focus and preparation\. Others prosper because of their flexibility and their ability to adapt\. Jehan Buhan was very much in the latter group A 36\-year\-old French wine merchant, he had arrived in London expecting to compete in the épée category but things changed, and his

Two gold medals and a case of wine

As the Olympic Games began in London, it was still just a year since India had gained its independence from Great Britain\. The country craved a gold medal to mark its achievement, and the one it wanted more than any was in the hockey tournament, India's national sport and the

Hockey gold for newly independent India

Ce fut le début d’une remarquable participation olympique qui s’étendit sur quatre éditions des Jeux en tant qu’athlète, suivies d’une autre en tant qu’entraîneur\. En effet, en1948, Gert Fredriksson débuta une carrière de canoéiste olympique qui allait devenir la plus accomplie de l’histoire\.

Gert Fredriksson paddles to victory

Favourites don't always win\. Just ask Jamaica's Herb McKenley, who most people considered a definite for gold in the 400m in 1948\. Most people, that is, except for McKenley himself\. Whenever he was asked for his opinion, he would announce that the real favourite was, yes, a Jamaican – but

Arthur Wint wins Jamaica's first Olympic gold

Childhood inspiration can push a person far\. Mal Whitfield was inspired to take up athletics after sneaking into the stadium to watch the 1932 Olympic Games in Los Angeles\.

Marvellous Mal the middle-distance man

Harrison Dillard was a mere 13\-year\-old schoolboy in 1936 when he attended a huge parade in honour of Jesse Owens, hero of that year's Olympic Games in Berlin\. Later he actually met Owens, who gave him his first pair of running shoes and inspired him to devote himself to athletics\.

Deprived of his hurdles, Dillard still wins two golds

Zatopek delighted the crowd whenever he raced by virtue of three great traits – firstly, he was a champion who enjoyed his sport immensely\. Secondly, he looked exhausted during the races, the embodiment of a hard trier\. And thirdly, he was, clearly, a delightful and friendly person, someone who charmed

Emil Zatopek begins his gold haul in London

Sporting greatness is not always about winning medals\. It is, as Baron Pierre de Coubertin said, the taking part that counts, the fighting well rather than the conquering\.

10th July 1948:  The Empire Olympic swimming pool, built for the 1948 Olympic Games, Wembley, London.  (Photo by Harrison /Topical Press Agency/Getty Images)

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Alfred Nakache, from concentration camp to Olympic pool

Pianist Micheline Ostermeyer came from artistic stock\. Her relations included the great novelist Victor Hugo and her mother had insisted she start learning the piano at the age of four\.

Micheline Ostermeyer, a piano, discus and shot put virtuoso

Of the three, Gunnar was the best player\. Indeed, he was the best player in the tournament, and one of the best natural goalscorers seen in European football\.

The Nordahl brothers lead Sweden to football victory

Success in sport is often about beating adversity\. Audrey “Mickey” Patterson is assured of her place in history because, in 1948, she became the first African\-American woman to earn an Olympic medal, in the 200m dash\. But she nearly didn't make it to the Games at all\.

"Mickey" Patterson overcomes adversity to win 200m bronze

Three Finns tied for victory in the pommel horse &ndash; all of whom were awarded gold\. No other medals were awarded\. It was a remarkable clean sweep\.

The US team marching past at the opening ceremony of the London Olympic Games at Wembley Stadium, 29th July 1948. (Photo by Topical Press Agency/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

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A one-two-three finish for the Finnish gymnasts

The Swallow class was new to the Olympic sailing competition – or Yachting, as it was known in 1948\. It was to be the only time that the Swallows appeared in the Olympics, for the class was dropped for 1952 never to appear again, but it did produce a memorable

The French yacht La Bandera (nearest camera) in Torbay, off Torquay, Devon, on the final day of the 6 metre class sailing competition of the London Olympic Games, 12th August 1948. (Photo by Keystone/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

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Morris and Bond in a class of their own

Normally, there's no consensus, no certainty about who really did deliver the most memorable performances\. It is, as Olympian Sebastian Coe described it in 2012, &ldquo;the ultimate pub question: who is the greatest Olympian ever?&rdquo;

Fanny BLANKERS-KOEN

The incredible dominance of Fanny Blankers-Koen

This was an era when Hungary was almost synonymous with great fencing\. The depth of talent was marvellous, steering the nation to all those team medals, but also pushing the individuals to ever greater heights\. Hungary's dominance of the Team Sabre event went through two generations, with the country's athletes

Aladar Gerevich, one of the greatest of all Olympic fencers

London 1948 - Stories Mosaic

There are many lessons that one can learn from the long life of Felix Fructuoso Sienra Castellanos.
The Uruguayan, who finished sixth in sailing at the Olympic Games London 1948, was the oldest living Olympian until he passed on 1 February 2023, aged 107.
Sienra revealed some of his tips

London 1948 | Olympic Games

Felix Sienra

The secrets to a long and healthy life from former world’s oldest Olympian Felix Sienra

Sammy Lee, who was the first Asian-American man to win Olympic gold, has passed away at the age of 96.

Samuel LEE

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Groundbreaking diver Sammy Lee dies at 96

In the 10,000m final at the 1948 London Games, Emil Zátopek lapped all but two runners and won by more than 300m. Three days later, Zátopek ran in the final of the 5,000m. Trailing by 50m at the start of the final lap, he closed the gap with a stunning sprint finish. But he had to settle for silver finishing just 1.5 metres behind the victor, Gaston Etienne Reiff of Belgium.

Emil ZATOPEK

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Emil Zátopek's Golden Olympic Debut

The theme of London 2012 was "Inspire a Generation". The Games created opportunities across sport, education, culture, volunteering, and sustainability.

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London Olympic Legacy

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Olympic Games London 1948

London 1948Stories

All Stories

The secrets to a long and healthy life from former world’s oldest Olympian Felix Sienra

Groundbreaking diver Sammy Lee dies at 96

Legendary hockey star Balbir Singh takes you back... to 1948!

Emil Zátopek's Golden Olympic Debut

London Olympic Legacy