The 1948 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XIV Olympiad and officially branded as London 1948, were an international multi-sport event held from 29 July to 14 August 1948 in London, United Kingdom. Following a twelve-year hiatus caused by the outbreak of World War II, these were the first Summer Olympics held since the 1936 Games in Berlin. The 1940 Olympic Games had been scheduled for Tokyo and then for Helsinki, while the 1944 Olympic Games had been provisionally planned for London. This was the second time London hosted the Olympic Games, having previously hosted them in 1908, forty years earlier. The Olympics would return again to London 64 years later in 2012, making London the first city to host the games thrice, and the only such city until Paris and Los Angeles host their third games in 2024 and 2028, respectively. The 1948 Olympic Games were also the first of two summer Games held under the IOC presidency of Sigfrid Edström.
The 1948 Summer Olympics was an international multi-sport event held from July 29 through August 14, 1948, in London, United Kingdom. It was the first Olympic Games to take place in twelve years, due to the Second World War, with London being chosen as the host city in May 1946.
Iran competed at the Summer Olympic Games for the first time at the 1948 Summer Olympics in London, England. 36 competitors, all men, took part in 23 events in 5 sports. The country's sole medal was a weightlifting bronze won in the featherweight division by Jafar Salmasi.
Finland competed at the 1948 Summer Olympics in London, England. 129 competitors, 123 men and 6 women, took part in 84 events in 16 sports. As the country hosted the next Olympics in Helsinki, a Finnish segment was performed at the closing ceremony.
At the 1948 Summer Olympics in London, four diving events were contested. The competitions were held from Friday 30 July 1948 to Friday 6 August 1948.
The men's 10 metre platform, also reported as highboard diving, was one of four diving events on the diving at the 1948 Summer Olympics programme.
The men's 5000 metres event at the 1948 Olympic Games took place July 31 and August 2. The final was won by Gaston Reiff of Belgium. The Belgian Gaston Reiff became the Olympic champion ahead of the Czechoslovakian Emil Zátopek. Willem Slijkhuis from the Netherlands won bronze.
The men's 10,000 metres event at the 1948 Olympic Games took place July 30. The final was won by Emil Zátopek of Czechoslovakia.
The men's 3000 metres steeplechase event at the 1948 Summer Olympic Games took place on 3 and 5 August. The final was won by Swede Tore Sjöstrand. Sjöstrand's compatriots, Erik Elmsäter and Göte Hagström took 2nd and 3rd place.
The men's 4 × 100 metres relay event at the 1948 Olympic Games took place on August 6 & August 7. The United States team won the final, but was initially disqualified when officials thought the pass between Barney Ewell and Lorenzo Wright had taken place outside the zone. After further review, officials saw that the pass took place inside the zone, and restored U.S. results.
The men's 4 × 400 metres relay event at the 1948 Olympic Games took place on 6 and 7 August. The United States team won the final with a time of 3:10.4.
The men's 10 kilometres walk event at the 1948 Summer Olympic Games took place from 3 to 7 August. The final was won by Swede John Mikaelsson. This was the first time since 1924 the event took place.
The men's triple jump event was part of the track and field athletics programme at the 1948 Summer Olympics. The competition was held on 3 August 1948. Twenty-eight athletes from 17 nations competed. The maximum number of athletes per nation had been set at 3 since the 1930 Olympic Congress. The final was won by Arne Åhman of Sweden. It was Sweden's first victory in the event since 1912, and first medal since 1932. Australia reached the podium for the second Games in a row with Gordon George Avery's silver. Turkey received a medal in its first appearance in the triple jump with Ruhi Sarialp's bronze; it was the only track and field athletics medal won by Turkey in the 1900s.
The men's javelin throw event was part of the track and field athletics programme at the 1948 Summer Olympics. The competition was held on August 4. The final was won by Tapio Rautavaara from Finland.
The men's decathlon event at the 1948 Olympic Games took place between August 5 & August 6. 17-year-old Bob Mathias of the United States won with a points total of 7139.
A total of twenty-five sports venues were used to host the events of the 1948 Summer Olympics in London, United Kingdom. For the first time in the history of the modern Olympic Games, the diving, gymnastics, swimming, and water polo competitions were held indoors. These Games have since been nicknamed the "Austerity Games" for the tight control of costs at a time when the host nation was still under rationing, which resulted in a total expenditure of around £750,000. All of the venues were already in place and required only temporary modifications. The organizing committee decided not to build an Olympic Village; instead, foreign athletes were housed in makeshift camps at military bases and colleges around London, while local athletes were told to stay at home. Despite these measures, the combined venues of the 1948 Summer Olympics recorded the highest attendance figures for a Games at that time.
Herb Barten is an American former middle distance runner who competed in the 1948 Summer Olympics, where he placed fourth with a time of 1:50.1 in the 800 meter. Barten was the AAU 800 meter champion in 1948 and placed second the following year. Barten attended the University of Michigan from 1946 to 1949, where he claimed five individual Big Ten titles. In 2007, he was inducted into the Michigan Men's Track and Field hall of fame. As of 2016, Barten resides in Clemson, South Carolina where he "enjoys watching the youngsters compete [in the Olympics] every four years."
The men's team pursuit cycling event at the 1948 Summer Olympics took place on 7 to 9 August and was one of six events at the 1948 Olympics.
The men's double sculls competition at the 1948 Summer Olympics in London took place are at Henley Royal Regatta Course on the Henley-on-Thames.
