1948 Summer Olympics - wikipedia 1948 Summer Olympics Games of the XIV Olympiad Host city London, United Kingdom Nations participating 59 Athletes participating 4,104 ( 3,714 men, 390 women ) Events 136 in 17 sports ( 23 disciplines ) Opening ceremony 29 July Closing ceremony 14 August Officially opened by King George VI Athlete 's Oath Donald Finlay Olympic Torch John Mark Stadium Wembley Stadium Summer < Berlin 1936 Helsinki 1952 > Winter < St. Moritz 1948 Oslo 1952 > Part of a series on 1948 Summer Olympics Bid process ( London bid ) Venues Torch relay Opening ceremony Medal table ( medalists ) Closing ceremony IOC BOA The 1948 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XIV Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event which was held in London, United Kingdom. After 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 ; the 1944 Olympic Games had been provisionally planned for London. This was the second occasion that London had hosted the Olympic Games, having previously hosted them in 1908, forty years earlier. The Olympics would again return to London 64 years later in 2012, making London the first city to have hosted the games three times, and the only such city until Paris and Los Angeles host their third games in 2024 and 2028, respectively. The 1948 Olympic Games were the first of two summer Olympic Games held under the IOC presidency of Sigfrid Edström. The event came to be known as the Austerity Games, because of the difficult economic climate and rationing imposed in the aftermath of World War II. No new venues were built for the games ( with events taking place mainly at Wembley Stadium and the Empire Pool at Wembley Park ), and athletes were housed in existing accommodation at the Wembley area instead of an Olympic Village, as were the 1936 Berlin Olympic Games and the subsequent 1952 Games. A record 59 nations were represented by 4,104 athletes, 3,714 men and 390 women, in 19 sport disciplines. Germany and Japan were not invited to participate in the games ; however, the Soviet Union was invited but chose not to send any athletes. The United States team won the most total medals, 84, and the most gold medals, 38. The host nation won 23 medals, three of them gold. One of the star performers at the Games was Dutch sprinter Fanny Blankers - Koen. Dubbed `` The Flying Housewife '', the thirty - year - old mother of two won four gold medals in athletics. In the decathlon, American Bob Mathias became the youngest male ever to win an Olympic gold medal at the age of seventeen. The most individual medals were won by Veikko Huhtanen of Finland who took three golds, a silver and a bronze in men 's gymnastics. Contents 1 Election as host city 2 Organization 3 Opening ceremony 4 Sports 4.1 Athletics 4.2 Arts 4.3 Basketball 4.4 Boxing 4.5 Canoeing 4.6 Cycling 4.7 Diving 4.8 Equestrian 4.9 Fencing 4.10 Field hockey 4.11 Football 4.12 Gymnastics 4.13 Lacrosse 4.14 Modern pentathlon 4.15 Rowing 4.16 Sailing 4.17 Shooting 4.18 Swimming 4.19 Water polo 4.20 Weightlifting 4.21 Wrestling 5 Political defection 6 Filming in colour 7 Venues 8 Participating NOCs 8.1 Number of athletes by National Olympic Committees ( by highest to lowest ) 9 Medal count 10 See also 11 Notes 12 References 13 External links Election as host city In June 1939, the International Olympic Committee ( IOC ) awarded the 1944 Olympic Summer Games to London, ahead of Rome, Detroit, Budapest, Lausanne, Helsinki, Montreal and Athens. World War II stopped the plans and the Games were cancelled so London again stood as a candidate for 1948. Great Britain almost handed the 1948 games to the United States due to post-war financial and rationing problems, but King George VI said that this could be the chance to restore Britain from World War II. The official report of the London Olympics shows that there was no case of London being pressed to run the Games against its will. It says : The Games of 1944 had been allocated to London and so it was that in October 1945, the Chairman of the British Olympic Council, Lord Burghley, went to Stockholm and saw the president of the International Olympic Committee to discuss the question of London being chosen for this great event. As a result, an investigating committee was set up by the British Olympic Council to work out in some detail the possibility of holding the Games. After several meetings they recommended to the council that the Lord Mayor of London should be invited to apply for the allocation of the Games in 1948. In May 1946 the IOC, through a postal vote, gave the summer Games to London and the winter competition to St Moritz. London was selected ahead of Baltimore, Minneapolis, Lausanne, Los Angeles, and Philadelphia. London, which had previously hosted the 1908 Summer Olympics, became the second city to host the Olympics twice ; Paris hosted the event in 1900 and 1924. London later became the first city to host the Olympics for a third time when the city hosted the 2012 Summer Olympics. Organization Lord Burghley, a gold medal winner at the 1928 Olympics, member of the International Olympic Committee ( IOC ), and President of the Amateur Athletics Association was named Chairman of the Organising and Executive Committees. The other members of the committees were : Colonel Evan Hunter, General Secretary of the British Olympic Association, and Chef de mission for Great Britain ; Lord Aberdare, the other British member of the IOC ; Sir Noel Curtis - Bennett ; Alderman H.E. Fern ; E.J. Holt ; J. Emrys Lloyd, who became the committee 's legal advisor ; C.B. Cowley of the London Press and Advertising ; R.B. Studdert, Managing Director of the Army & Navy Stores ; A.E. Porritt, a member of the IOC for New Zealand who resided in London ; S.F. Rous, Secretary of The Football Association ; and Jack Beresford. Olympic pictograms were introduced for the first time. There were twenty of them -- one for each Olympic sport and three separate pictograms for the arts competition, the opening ceremony and the closing ceremony. They were called `` Olympic symbols '' and intended for use on tickets. The background of each pictogram resembled an escutcheon. Olympic pictograms appeared again 16 years later, and were used at all subsequent Summer Olympics. At the time of the Games food, petrol and building were still subject to the rationing imposed during the war in Britain ; because of this the 1948 Olympics came to be known as the `` Austerity Games ''. Athletes were given the same increased rations as dockers and miners, 5,467 calories a day instead of the normal 2,600. Building an Olympic Village was deemed too expensive, and athletes were housed in existing accommodation. Male competitors stayed at RAF camps in Uxbridge and West Drayton, and an Army camp in Richmond ; female competitors in London colleges. These were the first games to be held following the death of Pierre de Coubertin, founder of the International Olympic Committee, in 1937. They were also the last to include an arts competition, which took place at the Victoria and Albert Museum. Opening ceremony The XIV Olympic Games opens in London, 1948 The Games opened on 29 July. Army bands began playing at 2 pm for the 85,000 spectators in Wembley Stadium at Wembley Park. The international and national organisers arrived at 2.35 pm and King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, with Queen Mary and other members of the Royal Family, at 2.45 pm. Fifteen minutes later the competitors entered the stadium in a procession that took 50 minutes. The last team was that of the United Kingdom. When it had passed the saluting base, Lord Burghley began his welcome : Your Majesty : The hour has struck. A visionary dream has today become a glorious reality. At the end of the worldwide struggle in 1945, many institutions and associations were found to have withered and only the strongest had survived. How, many wondered, had the great Olympic Movement prospered ? After welcoming the athletes to two weeks of `` keen but friendly rivalry '', he said London represented a `` warm flame of hope for a better understanding in the world which has burned so low. '' At 4 pm, the time shown on Big Ben on the London Games symbol, the King declared the Games open, 2,500 pigeons were set free and the Olympic Flag raised to its 35 ft ( 11 m ) flagpole at the end of the stadium. The Royal Horse Artillery sounded a 21 - gun salute and the last runner in the Torch Relay ran a lap of the track -- created with cinders from the domestic coal fires of Leicester -- and climbed the steps to the Olympic cauldron. After saluting the crowd, he turned and lit the flame. After more speeches, Donald Finlay of the British team ( given his RAF rank of Wing Commander ) took the Olympic Oath on behalf of all competitors. The National Anthem was sung and the massed athletes turned and marched out of the stadium, led by Greece, tailed by Britain. The 580 - page official report concluded : Thus were launched the Olympic Games of London, under the most happy auspices. The smooth - running Ceremony, which profoundly moved not only all who saw it but also the millions who were listening - in on the radio throughout the world, and the glorious weather in which it took place, combined to give birth to a spirit which was to permeate the whole of the following two weeks of thrilling and intensive sport. The opening ceremony and over 60 hours of Games coverage was broadcast live on BBC television. The BBC paid £ 1,000 for the broadcasting rights. Sports A Boy Scout who fainted in the intense heat was the first ' casualty ' of the 1948 Olympic Games. The temperature was in the nineties ( 32 ° C ) as the sun blazed down mercilessly. The 1948 Summer Olympics featured 136 medal events, covering 23 disciplines in 17 different sports and in arts. In the list below, the number of events in each discipline is noted in parentheses. Aquatics Diving ( 4 ) Swimming ( 11 ) Water polo ( 1 ) Athletics ( 33 ) Basketball ( 1 ) Boxing ( 8 ) Canoeing ( 9 ) Cycling Road ( 2 ) Track ( 4 ) Equestrian Dressage ( 2 ) Eventing ( 2 ) Show jumping ( 2 ) Fencing ( 7 ) Field hockey ( 1 ) Football ( 1 ) Gymnastics ( 9 ) Modern pentathlon ( 1 ) Rowing ( 7 ) Sailing ( 5 ) Shooting ( 4 ) Weightlifting ( 6 ) Wrestling Freestyle ( 8 ) Greco - Roman ( 8 ) These Games also included Lacrosse as a demonstration sport. Athletics Main article : Athletics at the 1948 Summer Olympics Start of the 50 km walk Delfo Cabrera crossing the finish line to take gold in the marathon Wembley stadium was the venue for 33 athletics events at the Games ; 24 for men and nine for women. Of these, four were making their Olympic debut -- the men 's 10 km walk, and the women 's 200 metres, long jump and shot put. A total of 754 athletes from 53 countries participated in athletics. Fanny Blankers - Koen of the Netherlands, a 30 - year - old mother of three children nicknamed `` The Flying Housewife '', won four gold medals, in the 100 metres, 200 metres, 80 metre high hurdles, and 4 x 100 metre relay. As world record holder in the long jump and high jump Blankers - Koen may have been able to win further medals but, at this time, female athletes were limited to three individual events. Duncan White won the first medal of any kind for Sri Lanka ( then Ceylon ) when he finished second in the 400 metre hurdles. Arthur Wint became the first Jamaican to win an Olympic gold medal, in the men 's 400 metres ; he also won silver in the men 's 800 metres. Alice Coachman became the first woman of color in the world and the first African American woman to win a gold medal in track and field in the history of the modern Olympics with a jump of 1.68 m ( 5 ' 6 ​ ⁄ `` ). She also was the only American woman to win an athletics gold medal during the 1948 Olympics. The marathon saw a dramatic finish with the first man to enter the stadium, Etienne Gailly of Belgium, exhausted and nearly unable to run. While he was struggling, Argentinian athlete Delfo Cabrera and Tom Richards of Great Britain passed him, with Cabrera winning the gold medal and Richards obtaining the silver. Gailly managed to recover enough to cross the line for the bronze. The decathlon was won by 17 - year - old Bob Mathias of the United States. He became the youngest ever Olympic gold medallist in athletics and when asked how he would celebrate he replied : `` I 'll start shaving, I guess. '' Arts Main article : Art competitions at the 1948 Summer Olympics Categories : sports - related architecture, literature, music, painting, and sculpture. Basketball Main article : Basketball at the 1948 Summer Olympics Basketball made its second appearance as a medal sport, appearing as an indoor competition for the first time after poor weather disrupted the matches at the 1936 Berlin Games. The event, for men only, was contested by 23 nations split into four pools for the preliminary round ; the top two in each pool advanced to the quarterfinals with the other teams entering playoffs for the minor placings. The United States and France reached the final which was won by the Americans 65 -- 21 to claim the gold medal. This was the second of the United States ' seven consecutive gold medals in Olympic men 's and women 's basketball. Brazil defeated Mexico 52 -- 47 to claim bronze. Boxing Main article : Boxing at the 1948 Summer Olympics Eight different classifications were contested ranging from flyweight, for boxers weighing less than 51 kg, to heavyweight, for boxers over 80 kg. South Africa, Argentina and Hungary each won two gold medals. Canoeing Main article : Canoeing at the 1948 Summer Olympics Nine events were contested, eight for men and one for women. This marked the first time that a women 's canoeing event had been contested in the Olympics. Sweden won four gold medals ( two by Gert Fredriksson ) and Czechoslovakia three. Cycling Main article : Cycling at the 1948 Summer Olympics Six events were contested -- two road bicycle racing events and four track cycling events. No women 's cycling events were contested. France won three gold medals and Italy two, while Great Britain captured five medals overall, but none were gold. Diving Main article : Diving at the 1948 Summer Olympics Four diving events were contested, two for men, and two for women. The events are labelled as 3 metre springboard and 10 metre platform by the International Olympic Committee but appeared on the 1948 Official Report as springboard diving and highboard diving, respectively. All four gold medals, and 10 out of 12 awarded in total, were won by the United States. Victoria Manalo Draves, who won both gold medals in the women 's events, and Sammy Lee, who took a gold and a bronze in the men 's events, became the first Asian Americans to win gold medals at an Olympic Games. Equestrian Main article : Equestrian at the 1948 Summer Olympics Six gold medals were awarded in equestrian, individual and team dressage, individual and team eventing and individual and team show jumping. Harry Llewellyn and Foxhunter, who would claim a gold medal in Helsinki, won bronze in the team jumping event. Fencing Main article : Fencing at the 1948 Summer Olympics Seven events were contested, six for men and one for women. Ilona Elek, who had won the women 's foil competition in Berlin, was one of only two competitors to successfully defend an Olympic title in London. Elek 's sister, Margit, placed sixth in the same event. Edoardo Mangiarotti won three medals, two silver and a bronze, having previously won a gold medal in the 1936 Games. Throughout his career the Italian won 13 Olympic fencing medals and 27 world championship medals, both of which remain records. Field hockey Main article : Field hockey at the 1948 Summer Olympics Thirteen nations participated in the field hockey competition. The tournament was ultimately won by India, who defeated Great Britain to claim the country 's first gold medal as an independent nation under captain Kishan Lal and Vice-Captain Kunwar Digvijay Singh. Football Main article : Football at the 1948 Summer Olympics Eighteen teams entered the football competition at these Olympics. Due to the rise of the professional game during the 12 years since the Berlin Olympics the number of talented amateurs for teams to select from was reduced. The gold medal was won by Sweden, who defeated Yugoslavia 3 -- 1 in the final. Denmark defeated hosts Great Britain, managed by Matt Busby of Manchester United, 5 -- 3 to win the bronze medal. In the tournament 's 18 matches a total of 102 goals were scored ; an average 5.66 goals per match. The joint top scorers with seven goals each were Gunnar Nordahl of Sweden and Denmark 's John Hansen. Nordahl and Swedish teammates Gunnar Gren and Nils Liedholm went on to play for A.C. Milan and together were nicknamed Gre - No - Li. Gymnastics Main article : Gymnastics at the 1948 Summer Olympics Nine events were contested, eight for men, and one for women. In the men 's pommel horse, a tie was declared between three competitors, all Finns, and no medals other than gold were awarded in this event. Finland won six gold medals overall, and Switzerland three. Lacrosse Main article : Lacrosse at the Summer Olympics Lacrosse was an exhibition sport at these Olympics. An English team composed of players from various universities played a U.S. team represented by Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute at the Empire Stadium. Modern pentathlon Main article : Modern pentathlon at the 1948 Summer Olympics Gold medalist William Grut of Sweden ( foreground ) competing in the running component of the modern pentathlon. Only one modern pentathlon event was contested, the five component sports -- riding, fencing, shooting, swimming, and running - being held over six days. Scoring was by point - for - place system across the five phases with the winner being the athlete with the lowest combined ranking. The sport 's international federation, the Union Internationale de Pentathlon Moderne was founded during the Games, on 3 August 1948. Sweden won two medals in the event ; William Grut won the gold, with a final points total of 16, and Gösta Gärdin took bronze. American George Moore won the silver medal. Rowing Main article : Rowing at the 1948 Summer Olympics Seven rowing events were contested, all open to men only. Great Britain and the United States each claimed two gold medals. The events were held on the same course as the Henley Royal Regatta. Sailing Main article : Sailing at the 1948 Summer Olympics The sailing events at the Games took place in Torquay, in the southwest of Great Britain. Five events were contested, with the United States winning four total medals. One of host nation Great Britain 's three gold medals at the Games came in the Swallow class from Stewart Morris and David Bond. In the Firefly class Danish sailor Paul Elvstrøm won gold the despite the Danish Olympic Committee having misgivings about sending him to compete as the 18 - year - old could speak no English. This was the first of four consecutive Olympics with a gold medal for Elvstrøm. Shooting Main article : Shooting at the 1948 Summer Olympics Four events were contested, all open to both men and women, although all medals were won by men. In the 50 metre rifle, prone position, only two points separated the top three competitors. Károly Takács had been a member of the Hungary 's world champion pistol shooting team in 1938 when a grenade shattered his right hand -- his pistol hand. Takács taught himself to shoot with his left hand and, 10 years after his injury, he won an Olympic gold medal in the rapid - fire pistol event. Swimming Main article : Swimming at the 1948 Summer Olympics Eleven events were contested, six for men and five for women. The United States won eight gold medals, including all six men 's events, and 15 medals in total. Water polo Main article : Water polo at the 1948 Summer Olympics Eighteen nations fielded a team in these games, which were ultimately won by Italy, who were undefeated throughout. The tournament was conducted in a mult - tier bracket, with the best four teams from the group stages participating in a final round - robin bracket. Silver was claimed by Hungary, and bronze by the Netherlands. Weightlifting Main article : Weightlifting at the 1948 Summer Olympics Six events were contested, all for men only. These games marked the addition of the bantamweight class to the Olympic programme, the first change to the programme since 1920. The United States won four gold medals, and eight overall ; the remaining two gold medals were claimed by Egypt. Rodney Wilkes won the first medal for Trinidad and Tobago in an Olympic games, winning silver in the featherweight division ; the featherweight gold medal was won by Egyptian Mahmoud Fayad, with a new Olympic and World record of 332.5 kg. Wrestling Main article : Wrestling at the 1948 Summer Olympics Sixteen wrestling events were held, eight Greco - Roman and eight freestyle. All were open to men only. Both categories were dominated by two nations. Turkey was the most successful nation with six gold medals followed by Sweden receiving 5 gold medals. These two teams claimed 24 total medals, in other words half of the total medals given. Political defection London was the first Olympics to have a political defection. Marie Provazníková, the 57 - year - old Czechoslovakian President of the International Gymnastics Federation, refused to return home, citing `` lack of freedom '' after the Czech coup in February led to the country 's inclusion in the Soviet Bloc. Filming in colour For the 1948 Olympics, the Technicolor Corporation devised a bipack colour filming process -- dubbed `` Technichrome '' -- whereby hundreds of hours of film documented the events in colour, without having to use expensive and heavy Technicolor cameras. Venues Poster promoting the 1948 Olympics Main article : Venues of the 1948 Summer Olympics No new venues were built for the Games. A cinder track was laid inside Wembley Stadium and all other venues were adapted. For the first time at the Olympics swimming events were held undercover, at the 8000 capacity Empire Pool. As the pool was longer than the standard Olympic length of 50 metres a platform was constructed across the pool which both shortened it and housed officials. In 2010 one of the last remaining venues from the Games, the Herne Hill Velodrome where cycling events were staged, was saved when a new 15 - year lease was agreed meaning that repairs could take place. Campaigners and users of the track had feared that it would be forced to close as it was in desperate need of refurbishment. Wembley Empire Exhibition Grounds Empire Stadium -- opening and closing ceremonies, athletics, equestrian ( jumping ), football finals, field hockey finals Empire Pool -- boxing, diving, swimming, water polo Palace of Engineering -- fencing Other venues Empress Hall, Earl 's Court -- boxing preliminaries, wrestling, weightlifting, gymnastics Harringay Arena, Harringay -- basketball & wrestling Royal Regatta Course, Henley - on - Thames -- canoeing, rowing Herne Hill Velodrome, Herne Hill -- track cycling Windsor Great Park -- cycling road race Central Stadium, Military Headquarters, Aldershot -- equestrian ( jumping ), modern pentathlon ( riding, fencing, swimming ) Tweseldown Racecourse -- equestrian ( dressage, eventing ) Arsenal Stadium, Highbury -- football preliminaries Selhurst Park -- football preliminaries Craven Cottage, Fulham -- football preliminaries Ilford -- football preliminaries Griffin Park, Brentford -- football preliminaries Champion Hill, Dulwich -- football preliminaries Green Pond Road Stadium, Walthamstow -- football preliminaries White Hart Lane, Tottenham -- football preliminaries Lyons ' Sports Club, Sudbury -- field hockey preliminaries Guinness Sports Club, Park Royal -- field hockey preliminaries Polytechnic Sports Ground, Chiswick -- field hockey preliminaries National Rifle Association Ranges, Bisley -- shooting, modern pentathlon ( shooting ) Finchley Lido, Finchley -- water polo preliminaries English Channel, Torbay -- yachting Fratton Park, Portsmouth -- football preliminaries Goldstone Ground, Brighton -- football preliminaries Royal Military Academy -- modern pentathlon ( running ) Participating nocs Participants Number of athletes per country A total of 59 nations sent athletes. Fourteen made their first official appearance : British Guiana ( now Guyana ), Burma ( now Myanmar ), Ceylon ( now Sri Lanka ), Iran, Iraq, Jamaica, Korea, Lebanon, Pakistan, Puerto Rico, Singapore, Syria, Trinidad and Tobago, and Venezuela. It was the first time that the Philippines, India and Pakistan competed as fully independent nations at the Olympic Games. Germany and Japan, both under Allied military occupations, were not allowed to send athletes to the games. German forced labour was used for the construction of the facilities. Italy, although originally an Axis power, defected to the Allies in 1943 following Benito Mussolini being deposed, and was allowed to send athletes. The Soviet Union was invited but they chose not to send any athletes. The number in parentheses indicates the number of participants that each country contributed. hide Participating National Olympic Committees Afghanistan ( 25 ) Argentina ( 199 ) Australia ( 75 ) Austria ( 144 ) Belgium ( 152 ) Bermuda ( 12 ) Brazil ( 70 ) Burma ( 4 ) Canada ( 118 ) Ceylon ( 7 ) Chile ( 54 ) Republic of China ( 31 ) Colombia ( 6 ) Cuba ( 53 ) Czechoslovakia ( 87 ) Denmark ( 162 ) Egypt ( 85 ) Finland ( 129 ) France ( 316 ) Great Britain ( 398 ) ( host ) Greece ( 61 ) Guyana ( 4 ) Hungary ( 129 ) Iceland ( 20 ) India ( 79 ) Iran ( 36 ) Iraq ( 11 ) Ireland ( 73 ) Italy ( 213 ) Jamaica ( 13 ) South Korea ( 46 ) Lebanon ( 8 ) Liechtenstein ( 2 ) Luxembourg ( 45 ) Malta ( 1 ) Mexico ( 88 ) Monaco ( 4 ) Netherlands ( 149 ) New Zealand ( 7 ) Norway ( 81 ) Pakistan ( 35 ) Panama ( 1 ) Peru ( 41 ) Philippines ( 26 ) Poland ( 37 ) Portugal ( 48 ) Puerto Rico ( 9 ) Singapore ( 1 ) South Africa ( 35 ) Spain ( 65 ) Sweden ( 181 ) Switzerland ( 181 ) Syria ( 1 ) Trinidad and Tobago ( 5 ) Turkey ( 58 ) United States ( 300 ) Uruguay ( 61 ) Venezuela ( 1 ) Yugoslavia ( 90 ) Number of athletes by National Olympic Committees ( by highest to lowest ) show IOC Country Athletes GBR Great Britain 398 FRA France 316 USA United States 300 ITA Italy 213 ARG Argentina 199 SWE Sweden 181 SUI Switzerland 181 DEN Denmark 162 BEL Belgium 150 NED Netherlands 149 AUT Austria 144 FIN Finland 129 HUN Hungary 129 CAN Canada 118 YUG Yugoslavia 90 MEX Mexico 88 TCH Czechoslovakia 87 EGY Egypt 85 NOR Norway 81 IND India 79 AUS Australia 75 IRL Ireland 72 BRA Brazil 70 ESP Spain 65 GRE Greece 61 URU Uruguay 61 TUR Turkey 58 CHI Chile 54 CUB Cuba 53 POR Portugal 48 KOR South Korea 46 LUX Luxembourg 45 PER Peru 41 POL Poland 37 IRI Iran 36 PAK Pakistan 35 RSA South Africa 35 ROC Republic of China 31 PHI Philippines 26 AFG Afghanistan 25 ISL Iceland 20 JAM Jamaica 13 BER Bermuda 12 IRQ Iraq 11 PUR Puerto Rico 9 LIB Lebanon 8 CEY Ceylon 7 NZL New Zealand 7 COL Colombia 6 BIR Burma 5 TRI Trinidad and Tobago 5 GUY Guyana MON Monaco LIE Liechtenstein MLT Malta PAN Panama SGP Singapore SYR Syria VEN Venezuela Total 4,104 Medal count Main article : 1948 Summer Olympics medal table Further information : Olympic medal table These are the top ten nations that won medals at the 1948 Summer Games, ranked by number of gold medals won. The host nation was 12th, with 23 medals, including three golds. Rank Nation Gold Silver Bronze Total United States 38 27 19 84 Sweden 16 11 17 44 France 10 6 13 29 Hungary 10 5 12 27 5 Italy 8 11 8 27 6 Finland 8 7 5 20 7 Turkey 6 12 8 Czechoslovakia 6 11 9 Switzerland 5 10 5 20 10 Denmark 5 7 8 20 12 Great Britain ( host nation ) 14 6 23 See also Art competitions at the 1948 Summer Olympics Olympics portal 1948 Winter Olympics Summer Olympic Games Olympic Games International Olympic Committee List of IOC country codes 1908 Summer Olympics and 2012 Summer Olympics -- also hosted by London Notes Jump up ^ The 1940 Games ( scheduled for Tokyo, rescheduled for Helsinki ) and the 1944 Games ( scheduled for London ), were cancelled due to World War II. References ^ Jump up to : `` London 1948 ''. olympic.org. Archived from the original on 4 October 2009. Retrieved 28 April 2010. Jump up ^ `` Past Olympic Host City Election Results ''. gamesbids.com. Archived from the original on 20 June 2009. Retrieved 29 April 2010. Jump up ^ Organising Committee for the XIV Olympiad London 1948 ( 1951 ), pp. 17 Jump up ^ `` Olympic Games Fonds '' ( PDF ). International Olympic Committee Historical Archives. 6 November 2007. Retrieved 29 April 2010. Jump up ^ `` David George Burghley -- lord of the hurdles ( photos attached ) ''. The official website of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games. Archived from the original on 29 April 2009. Retrieved 27 April 2010. Jump up ^ Organising Committee for the XIV Olympiad London 1948 ( 1951 ), pp. 18 Jump up ^ Organising Committee for the XIV Olympiad London 1948 ( 1951 ), pp. 131, 135 Jump up ^ Two sample tickets from 1948 Summer Olympics at the Official Website of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games ^ Jump up to : `` British Olympic Movement ''. British Olympic Association. Archived from the original on 8 April 2008. Retrieved 26 April 2010. Jump up ^ Mike Rowbotham ( 7 July 2005 ). `` 1948 Olympics : ' We had much more fun and a greater sense of achievement than modern athletes do ' ''. The Independent. Retrieved 26 April 2010. ^ Jump up to : `` London 1948 ''. British Olympic Association. Archived from the original on 8 April 2009. Retrieved 26 April 2010. Jump up ^ Organising Committee for the XIV Olympiad London 1948 ( 1951 ), pp. 221 Jump up ^ Organising Committee for the XIV Olympiad London 1948 ( 1951 ), pp. 225 Jump up ^ `` Landmarks in the history of the media and the Olympics '' ( PDF ). The British Library. Retrieved 28 April 2010. Jump up ^ `` Athletics at the 1948 London Summer Games ''. sports-reference.com. Archived from the original on 23 March 2010. Retrieved 27 April 2010. Jump up ^ `` 1948 London Summer Games ''. sports-reference.com. Archived from the original on 11 May 2010. Retrieved 27 April 2010. Jump up ^ Chris Dhambarage ( 4 February 2010 ). `` Sports striving for greater heights after Independence ''. Daily News. Archived from the original on 9 February 2010. Retrieved 27 April 2010. Jump up ^ Donald McRae ( 1 April 2010 ). `` Cradle of champions where Jamaican sprinters earn their spurs ''. The Guardian. Archived from the original on 30 April 2010. Retrieved 27 April 2010. Jump up ^ `` Alice Coachman -- First African American Gold Medallist ''. olympics30.com. Retrieved 27 April 2010. Jump up ^ Martin, David E. ; Roger W.H. Gynn ( 2000 ). The Olympic marathon. Human Kinetics. p. 188. ISBN 978 - 0 - 88011 - 969 - 6. Jump up ^ `` Former congressman Bob Mathias dies at 75 ''. USA Today. Associated Press. 3 September 2006. Retrieved 29 April 2010. Jump up ^ Martin Weil ( 3 September 2006 ). `` Bob Mathias ; Congressman, Twice Olympic Champion ''. The Washington Post. Retrieved 29 April 2010. Jump up ^ `` Basketball Men 's Basketball Medalists ''. sports-reference.com. Archived from the original on 4 April 2010. Retrieved 27 April 2010. Jump up ^ `` Basketball at the 1948 London Summer Games : Men 's Basketball Final Round ''. sports-reference.com. Retrieved 27 April 2010. Jump up ^ Organising Committee for the XIV Olympiad London 1948 ( 1951 ), pp. 637 Jump up ^ Melody Merin ( 30 May 2008 ). `` Asian Americans First Won Olympic Gold 60 Years Ago ''. america.gov. Retrieved 27 April 2010. Jump up ^ `` Ilona Elek ''. The Official Website of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games. Retrieved 27 April 2010. Jump up ^ `` Portraits : The Great `` Edoardo Mangiarotti '' ``. schermaonline.com. Archived from the original on 8 March 2010. Retrieved 27 April 2010. Jump up ^ `` Edoardo Mangiarotti ''. sports-reference.com. Retrieved 27 April 2010. Jump up ^ `` When India bagged its first Olympic medal as an Independent nation ''. 11 August 2018. Retrieved 11 August 2018. Jump up ^ `` London, 1948 ''. FIFA. Retrieved 28 April 2010. Jump up ^ `` Modern Pentathlon at the 1948 London Summer Games ''. sports-reference.com. Retrieved 27 April 2010. ^ Jump up to : `` 1948 London Olympic Sailing Competition ''. The International Sailing Federation. Archived from the original on 25 April 2010. Retrieved 4 May 2010. Jump up ^ `` Sailing at the 1948 London Summer Games ''. sports-reference.com. Retrieved 4 May 2010. Jump up ^ `` Weightlifting at the 1948 London Summer Games ''. sports-reference.com. Retrieved 29 April 2010. Jump up ^ Patrick Watson ( 27 November 2008 ). `` Help Wilkes now ''. Trinidad and Tobago Express. Retrieved 29 April 2010. Jump up ^ `` Weightlifting at the 1948 London Summer Games : Men 's Featherweight ''. sports-reference.com. Retrieved 29 April 2010. Jump up ^ Alan Hubbard ( 17 February 2008 ). `` London 1948 to London 2012 : Rags to riches for the ' high - class Del Boy ' who dreamt of gold, not money ''. The Independent. Retrieved 4 May 2010. Jump up ^ `` A Political Refugee ''. The Guardian. 19 August 1948. Retrieved 4 May 2010. Jump up ^ `` The History and Technology of Technicolor ''. The American Widescreen Museum. 2003. Jump up ^ `` Last remaining 1948 Olympic Games venue is saved ''. BBC Sport. 21 April 2011. Archived from the original on 29 April 2011. Retrieved 26 April 2011. Jump up ^ Christopher Lyles ( 14 July 2008 ). `` Countdown to the Beijing Olympics ''. The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 28 April 2010. Jump up ^ `` ' Wembley Way ' built by German Prisoners of War ''. BBC News. 15 March 2010. Retrieved 22 May 2010. Jump up ^ `` ' A very British Olympics ' ''. BBC Sport. 18 October 2005. Archived from the original on 4 October 2008. Retrieved 28 April 2010. Jump up ^ `` Medal Table ''. British Olympic Association. Archived from the original on 18 September 2007. Retrieved 27 April 2010. External links Wikimedia Commons has media related to 1948 Summer Olympics. `` London 1948 ''. Olympic.org. International Olympic Committee. `` Results and Medalists -- 1948 Summer Olympics ''. Olympic.org. International Olympic Committee. Organising Committee for the XIV Olympiad London 1948 ( 1951 ). The Official Report of the Organising Committee for the XIV Olympiad London 1948 ( PDF ). Organising Committee for the XIV Olympiad London 1948. Archived from the original ( PDF ) on 6 May 2010. Retrieved 27 April 2010. Exploring 20th century London -- 1948 Olympics Objects and photographs from the collections of the Museum of London, London Transport Museum, Jewish Museum and Museum of Croydon. Preceded by London ( 1944 ) cancelled due to World War II Summer Olympic Games London XIV Olympiad ( 1948 ) Succeeded by Helsinki Olympic Games Ceremonies Charter Participating nations Summer Olympics Winter Olympics Host cities Bids Venues IOC NOCs Country codes Medal Medal tables Medalists Ties Diploma Scandals and controversies Colonialism Doping Sports Symbols Torch relays Pierre de Coubertin medal Women Deaths WWI Olympic video games Summer Games 1896 Athens 1900 Paris 1904 St. Louis 1908 London 1912 Stockholm 1916 1920 Antwerp 1924 Paris 1928 Amsterdam 1932 Los Angeles 1936 Berlin 1940 1944 1948 London 1952 Helsinki 1956 Melbourne 1960 Rome 1964 Tokyo 1968 Mexico City 1972 Munich 1976 Montreal 1980 Moscow 1984 Los Angeles 1988 Seoul 1992 Barcelona 1996 Atlanta 2000 Sydney 2004 Athens 2008 Beijing 2012 London 2016 Rio de Janeiro 2020 Tokyo 2024 Paris 2028 Los Angeles 2032 TBD Winter Games 1924 Chamonix 1928 St. Moritz 1932 Lake Placid 1936 Garmisch - Partenkirchen 1940 1944 1948 St. Moritz 1952 Oslo 1956 Cortina d'Ampezzo 1960 Squaw Valley 1964 Innsbruck 1968 Grenoble 1972 Sapporo 1976 Innsbruck 1980 Lake Placid 1984 Sarajevo 1988 Calgary 1992 Albertville 1994 Lillehammer 1998 Nagano 2002 Salt Lake City 2006 Turin 2010 Vancouver 2014 Sochi 2018 Pyeongchang 2022 Beijing 2026 TBD 2030 TBD Ancient Olympic Games Intercalated Games 1906 Paralympic Games Youth Olympic Games Nations at the 1948 Summer Olympics in London, United Kingdom Africa Egypt South Africa America Argentina Bermuda Brazil British Guiana Canada Chile Colombia Cuba Jamaica Mexico Panama Peru Puerto Rico Trinidad United States Uruguay Venezuela Asia Afghanistan Burma Ceylon China India Iran Iraq Philippines Korea Lebanon Pakistan Singapore Syria Turkey Europe Austria Belgium Czechoslovakia Denmark Finland France Great Britain Greece Hungary Iceland Ireland Italy Liechtenstein Luxembourg Malta Monaco Netherlands Norway Poland Portugal Spain Sweden Switzerland Yugoslavia Oceania Australia New Zealand Events at the 1948 Summer Olympics in London Athletics Basketball Boxing Canoeing Cycling Diving Equestrian Fencing Field hockey Football Gymnastics Lacrosse ( demonstration ) Modern pentathlon Rowing Sailing Shooting Swimming Water polo Weightlifting Wrestling Art competitions ( unofficial ) Venues of the 1948 Summer Olympics Aldershot Arsenal Stadium Bisley National Rifle Association Ranges Champion Hill Craven Cottage Empire Pool Empire Stadium Empress Hall, Earl 's Court Finchley Lido Green Pond Road Griffin Park Guinness Sports Club Harringay Arena Henley Royal Regatta Herne Hill Velodrome Lynn Road Lyons ' Sports Club Polytechnic Sports Ground Royal Military Academy Selhurst Park Tweseldown Racecourse Torbay Wembley Palace of Engineering White Hart Lane Windsor Great Park History of London Evolution Londinium Lundenwic City of London City of Westminster Middlesex County of London Greater London Timeline Periods Roman London Anglo - Saxon London Norman and Medieval London Tudor London Stuart London 18th - century London 19th - century London 1900 -- 39 The Blitz 1945 -- 2000 21st century Events Peasants ' Revolt Black Death Great Plague Great Fire 1854 cholera outbreak Great Stink Great Exhibition 1908 Franco - British Exhibition The Battle of Cable Street Festival of Britain Great Smog Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II Swinging London London Plan 1966 FIFA World Cup Final Hyde Park and Regent 's Park bombings Funeral of Princess Diana Anti-war protests 7 / 7 bombings Olympic Games ( 1908 1948 2012 ) 2012 Summer Paralympics Grenfell Tower fire Government Metropolitan Board of Works London County Council Greater London Council Greater London Authority London Assembly Mayor of London London independence Services Bow Street Runners Metropolitan Police Service London Ambulance Service London Fire Brigade Port of London Authority London sewerage system London Underground London Metropolitan Archives City of London City of London Corporation Lord Mayor of the City of London Wards of the City of London Guildhall Livery Companies Lord Mayor 's Show City of London Police Bank of England Structures St Paul 's Cathedral Tower of London Palace of Whitehall Westminster Hall London Bridge Tower Bridge Westminster Abbey Big Ben The Monument Fortifications GND : 5183339 - 6 LCCN : n92087238 NKC : xx0046990 VIAF : 140392389 Olympics portal 1940s portal United Kingdom portal London portal Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=1948_Summer_Olympics&oldid=854733570 '' Categories : 1948 Summer Olympics Events at Wembley Stadium History of the London Borough of Brent Summer Olympics in London 1948 in multi-sport events 1948 in British sport Olympic Games in the United Kingdom Summer Olympics by year July 1948 sports events August 1948 sports events 20th century in Middlesex Hidden categories : Use British English from July 2011 Use dmy dates from October 2012 Wikipedia articles with GND identifiers Wikipedia articles with LCCN identifiers Wikipedia articles with NKC identifiers Wikipedia articles with VIAF identifiers Talk Contents About Wikipedia Afrikaans Аҧсшәа Aragonés Asturianu Azərbaycanca Bân - lâm - gú Беларуская Беларуская ( тарашкевіца ) ‎ Български Català Čeština Cymraeg Dansk Deutsch Eesti Ελληνικά Español Esperanto Euskara فارسی Français Frysk Galego 한국어 हिन्दी Hrvatski Ido Bahasa Indonesia Íslenska Italiano עברית Қазақша Кыргызча Latina Latviešu Lietuvių Magyar Македонски मराठी مصرى Bahasa Melayu Монгол Nāhuatl Nederlands 日本 語 Norsk Norsk nynorsk Occitan Олык марий ਪੰਜਾਬੀ Polski Português Română Русский Саха тыла Scots Sicilianu සිංහල Simple English Slovenčina Slovenščina Српски / srpski Srpskohrvatski / српскохрватски Suomi Svenska தமிழ் Татарча / tatarça ไทย Türkçe Українська اردو Tiếng Việt Walon Yorùbá 粵語 中文 68 more Edit links This page was last edited on 13 August 2018, at 12 : 09 ( UTC ). Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution - ShareAlike License ; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia ® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization. About Wikipedia

Question: which country was invited to the london olympics 1948 but did not attend
Answer: Soviet Union