Athletics at the 1948 Summer Olympics – Men's long jump

Last updated

Contents

Men's long jump
at the Games of the XIV Olympiad
Opening of the Olympic Games in London, 29 July, 1948. (7649948798).jpg
Olympic Stadium (during opening ceremony)
Venue Wembley Stadium
DateJuly 31, 1948 (qualifying and final)
Competitors21 from 17 nations
Winning distance7.825
Medalists
Gold medal icon.svg Willie Steele
US flag 48 stars.svg  United States
Silver medal icon.svg Theo Bruce
Flag of Australia.svg  Australia
Bronze medal icon.svg Herb Douglas
US flag 48 stars.svg  United States
  1936
1952  
Video on YouTube Official Video
@ 19:25 TV-icon-2.svg
Video on YouTube Official Video
@ 19:25

The men's long jump event was part of the track and field athletics programme at the 1948 Summer Olympics. The competition was held on July 31, 1948. Twenty-one athletes from 17 nations competed. [1] The maximum number of athletes per nation had been set at 3 since the 1930 Olympic Congress. The final was won by 27 cm by American Willie Steele. [2] It was the United States' fifth consecutive and tenth overall gold medal in the men's long jump. Theo Bruce won Australia's first long jump medal with his silver.

Background

This was the 11th appearance of the event, which is one of 12 athletics events to have been held at every Summer Olympics. None of the jumpers from the pre-war 1936 Games returned. Willie Steele was the favorite; he had won the 1946 and 1947 AAU championships as well as the 1948 U.S. Olympic trials (nearly breaking Jesse Owens's world record, fouling on his would-be record jump). However, Steele came into London with an injured ankle. [1]

Ceylon, Guyana, Iceland, South Korea, and Portugal each made their first appearance in the event. The United States appeared for the 11th time, the only nation to have long jumpers at each of the Games thus far.

Competition format

The 1948 competition used a two-round format that took aspects from both the pre-1936 formats and the unusual three-round 1936 tournament. The qualifying round gave each competitor three jumps to achieve a distance of 7.20 metres; if fewer than 12 men did so, the top 12 (including all those tied) would advance. The final provided each jumper with six jumps, with the best to count (qualifying round jumps were not considered for the final). [1] [3]

Records

Prior to the competition, the existing World and Olympic records were as follows.

World recordFlag of the United States.svg  Jesse Owens  (USA)8.13 Ann Arbor, United States 25 May 1935
Olympic recordUS flag 48 stars.svg  Jesse Owens  (USA)8.06 Berlin, Germany 4 August 1936

No new world or Olympic records were set during the competition.

Schedule

All times are British Summer Time (UTC+1)

DateTimeRound
Friday, 31 July 194811:00
16:45
Qualifying
Finals

Results

Qualifying

Qual. rule: qualification standard 7.20m (Q) or at least best 12 qualified (q).

RankGroupAthleteNation123DistanceNotes
1B Willie Steele US flag 48 stars.svg  United States 7.7807.780 Q
2B Lorenzo Wright US flag 48 stars.svg  United States 7.5307.530 Q
3A Herb Douglas US flag 48 stars.svg  United States 7.2407.240 Q
4A Theo Bruce Flag of Australia.svg  Australia 7.2007.200 Q
5A Enrique Kistenmacher Flag of Argentina (1861-2010).svg  Argentina 7.180X7.1007.180 q
6A Harry Askew Flag of the United Kingdom (3-2).svg  Great Britain 7.1406.8107.0707.140 q
7A Adegboyega Folaranmi Adedoyin Flag of the United Kingdom (3-2).svg  Great Britain 7.1307.0306.9607.130 q
8B Felix Würth Flag of Austria.svg  Austria 7.0806.9806.9507.080 q
9A Edward Adamczyk Flag of Poland (1928-1980).svg  Poland 5.0707.0307.0307.030 q
10B Harry Whittle Flag of the United Kingdom (3-2).svg  Great Britain 6.5607.0306.9307.030 q
11B Baldev Singh Flag of India.svg  India X7.0006.7807.000 q
12A Georges Damitio Flag of France.svg  France 6.9806.7706.6106.980 q
13B Jean Studer Civil Ensign of Switzerland (Pantone).svg  Switzerland 6.8206.8806.9406.940
14B Finnbjörn Þorvaldsson Flag of Iceland.svg  Iceland XX6.8606.860
15A Jaroslav Fikejz Flag of Czechoslovakia.svg  Czechoslovakia 6.5606.8606.7906.860
16B Álvaro Dias Flag of Portugal.svg  Portugal 6.4606.7806.8606.860
17A Kyros Marinis Flag of Greece (1828-1978).svg  Greece XX6.7506.750
18A Kim Won-kwon Flag of South Korea (1945-1948).svg  South Korea 6.710XX6.710
19B Charles Thompson Flag of British Guiana (1919-1955).svg  Guyana 6.5806.580
20A Jorge Aguirre Flag of Mexico (1934-1968).svg  Mexico 5.910XX5.910
21B Gallage Peiris Flag of Ceylon (1948-1951).svg  Ceylon XXXNo mark
Gordon George Avery Flag of Australia.svg  Australia DNS
Lionel Fournier Flag of Canada (1921-1957).svg  Canada DNS
Peter Mullins Flag of Australia.svg  Australia DNS
Geraldo de Oliveira Flag of Brazil (1889-1960).svg  Brazil DNS
Jack ParryFlag of Canada (1921-1957).svg  Canada DNS
René Valmy Flag of France.svg  France DNS

Final

Results of individual jumps are not known other than for Steele. Steele's first jump was 7.825 metres and his second 7.680 metres; he did not take any further jumps. Steele's result was the best non-wind-assisted jump in Olympic history.

RankAthleteNationDistance
Gold medal icon.svg Willie Steele US flag 48 stars.svg  United States 7.825
Silver medal icon.svg Theo Bruce Flag of Australia.svg  Australia 7.555
Bronze medal icon.svg Herb Douglas US flag 48 stars.svg  United States 7.545
4 Lorenzo Wright US flag 48 stars.svg  United States 7.450
5 Adegboyega Folaranmi Adedoyin Flag of the United Kingdom (3-2).svg  Great Britain 7.270
6 Georges Damitio Flag of France.svg  France 7.070
7 Harry Whittle Flag of the United Kingdom (3-2).svg  Great Britain 7.030
8 Felix Würth Flag of Austria.svg  Austria 7.000
9 Harry Askew Flag of the United Kingdom (3-2).svg  Great Britain 6.935
10 Enrique Kistenmacher Flag of Argentina (1861-2010).svg  Argentina 6.800
11 Edward Adamczyk Flag of Poland (1928-1980).svg  Poland 6.735
Baldev Singh Flag of India.svg  India DNS

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Long Jump, Men". Olympedia. Retrieved 1 September 2020.
  2. "Athletics at the 1948 London Summer Games: Men's Long Jump". sports-reference.com. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 13 December 2017.
  3. Official Report, p. 267.