The 1948 London Olympics were the first Games held after a twelve-year wartime hiatus, gathering 59 nations and 4,104 athletes amid postwar austerity.
Key Facts
- Nations represented
- 59
- Total athletes
- 4,104
- Male athletes
- 3,714
- Female athletes
- 385
- Sport disciplines
- 19
- Dates held
- July 29 – August 14, 1948
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
The 1940 and 1944 Olympic Games were cancelled due to the Second World War, creating a twelve-year gap in the Olympic calendar. London, originally scheduled to host in 1944, was selected again in May 1946 as the venue for the resumed Games, despite severe postwar rationing and shortages across Britain.
The XIV Olympiad took place in London from July 29 to August 14, 1948, involving 4,104 athletes from 59 nations competing across 19 sport disciplines. Germany and Japan were excluded as they remained under military occupation, and the Soviet Union sent only observers. Several nations, including Burma, Ceylon, Lebanon, Puerto Rico, and Syria, participated for the first time.
The Games demonstrated that international sporting competition could resume after global conflict, setting the stage for Soviet participation in the 1952 Helsinki Olympics. The event also exposed logistical gaps, such as the absence of a medals podium at the cycling road race, which left Belgian cyclist Eugène Van Roosbroeck without his gold medal until 2010.
Result
at London, United Kingdom