1948 Summer Olympics

The Games of the XIV Olympiad were held in 1948 in London, United Kingdom. After a hiatus of 12 years caused by the outbreak of World War II, these were the first Summer Olympics to be held since the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin. The 1940 games had been scheduled for Tokyo, and later Helsinki as WWII started; no plans were made to hold games in 1944.

Highlights

• With World War II in recent memory, Germany and Japan were not invited for the Games, although Italy was.
• Fanny Blankers-Koen was the star of the Games, winning four gold medals on the track.
• Ilona Elek (Hungary) and Jan Brzak (Czechoslovakia) successfully defended their Olympic titles they won 12 years prior.
• In field hockey, India and Pakistan first participated as independent nations, and the homeland of the sport, Great Britain, played the triple Olympic champions from India for the first time - and lost.
• For the first time, Olympic diplomas were awarded to the 6th highest placed athletes.
• 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.
• Duncan White of Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) won the first medal for his country, a silver, in the 400 meter hurdles.