The 1948 Summer Olympics 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.
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, nine events in gymnastics were contested. Finland led all nations with six gold medals and ten medals overall.
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 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 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 50 kilometres walk event at the 1948 Summer Olympic Games took place July 31. The final was won by Swede John Ljunggren.
The women's 100 metres sprint event at the 1948 Olympic Games took place July 31 and August 2. The final was won by Dutchwoman Fanny Blankers-Koen.
The women's 4 × 100 metres relay event at the 1948 Olympic Games took place on August 7. The Dutch team won with a time of 47.5.
The women's long jump event was, for the first time, part of the track and field athletics programme at the 1948 Summer Olympics. The competition was held on August 4, 1948. The final was won by Hungarian Olga Gyarmati.
The women's high jump event was part of the athletics programme at the 1948 Summer Olympics. The competition was held on 7 August 1948. The final was won by Alice Coachman of the United States who became the first black woman to win an Olympic gold medal.
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.
The women's javelin throw event was part of the track and field athletics programme at the 1948 Summer Olympics. The competition was held on July 31, 1948. The final was won by Herma Bauma of Austria.
The individual dressage in equestrian at the 1948 Olympic Games in London was held in Aldershot from 9 to 10 August. Swiss rider Hans Moser won the gold medal. The silver was won by André Jousseaume of France and the bronze by Swedish rider Gustaf Adolf Boltenstern, Jr. The sixth place finisher, Gehnäll Persson, was disqualified when it was discovered that he was only a noncommissioned officer and thus ineligible to compete.
The team dressage in equestrian at the 1948 Olympic Games in London was held in the town of Aldershot on 9 August. The French team consisting of André Jousseaume, Jean Saint-Fort Paillard and Maurice Buret won the gold medal. The United States won silver and Portugal took bronze.
The team eventing in equestrian at the 1948 Olympic Games in London was held in the town of Aldershot and at the Tweseldown Racecourse from 10 to 13 August. The American team of Charles Anderson, Frank Henry and Earl Foster Thomson won the gold medal. Sweden won the silver medal and Mexico took bronze.
The individual show jumping in equestrian at the 1948 Summer Olympics in London was held at the Wembley Stadium on 14 August. The competition consisted of a single round of jumping. In the case of a tie in points, a jump-off was arranged. The jump-off had no time limit, however, the time taken to complete the jump-off was used as a tie-breaker. The points from the individual competition were also used in the team competition. There were 44 competitors from 15 nations, with nations able to send up to three riders each. The event was won by Humberto Mariles of Mexico, with his teammate Rubén Uriza taking silver at the top of a three-way jump-off for second place. Mariles' win was Mexico's first victory in the event. Jean-François d'Orgeix of France earned that nation's first individual jumping medal since 1928 with his bronze.
The team jumping in equestrian at the 1948 Olympic Games in London was held at the Empire Stadium on 14 August. The competition consisted of a single round of jumping. In the case of a tie in points, a jump-off was arranged. The jump-off had no time limit, however, the time taken to complete the jump-off was used as a tie-breaker. The points from the individual competition were also used in the team competition.
