Athletics at the 1948 London Summer Games:

Missing from the field was World Record holder Fanny Blankers-Koen. She would definitely have been a contender, but had decided to limit the number of starts in London following her experiences at the 1946 European Championships,in which she fell in the semi-finals of the 100 metres, breaking her concentration for the high jump event, held immediately afterwards. In London two women reaching 1.68 (5-6), the competition was a high level affair. Both Alice Coachman and Dorothy Tyler cleared the height, and failed at the next height, 1.70 (5-7) metres. As Coachman had cleared the height in her first try, she was awarded the gold ahead of Tyler. This was unlucky for the British woman, who had also won a silver medal (as Dorothy Odam) in 1936. Back then, she had cleared the winning height in fewer attempts, but the rules in Berlin called for a jump-off, which she lost. Coachman's victory was notable as she was the first black woman to win an Olympic gold medal.