Athletics at the 1948 London Summer Games

After the ravages of World War II, London seemed an unlikely choice to host the Olympic Games, but as Antwerp had done in 1920, London hosted an austere Olympics, and it has been written that “London saved the Olympic Games.” Track & field was held in Wembley Stadium, which sat 83,000 people. The weather was wet and cool throughout most of the competitions, with several of them being held in downpours. The athletics star was a Dutch housewife, Fanny Blankers-Koen. Koen had competed at the 1936 Olympics in the high jump and running on the 4x100 relay team. By the time of the London Olympics, she was 30 years old, but she was the world record holder in the 100 metres, the 80 metre hurdles, high jump, and long jump. She elected to compete in the 100, 200, high hurdles and on the Dutch relay team, and she won gold medals in all four events, sitting out two events in which she was the world record holder. The 1948 Olympics also saw the Olympic début of two of its great stars, Czech runner Emil Zátopek and American decathlete Bob Mathias. Mathias won the decathlon when only 17-years-old, still the youngest man to win an athletics gold medal at the Olympics, while Zátopek won the 10,000 and placed second in the 5,000. They would both be back for more. As would Blankers-Koen, who competed again in 1952, although she was then past her prime and did not win a medal.