# Australia at the 1948 Summer Olympics

Australia competed at the 1948 Summer Olympics in London, England. 75 competitors, 66 men and 9 women, took part in 52 events in 11 sports. Australian athletes have competed in every Summer Olympic Games.

## Medalists

| Medal | Name | Sport | Event | Date |
| Gold | John Winter | Athletics | High Jump | 30 July |
| Gold | Mervyn Wood | Rowing | Single sculls | 9 August |
| Silver | Theo Bruce | Athletics | Long Jump | 31 July |
| Silver | George Avery | Athletics | Triple Jump | 3 August |
| Silver | Joyce King June Maston Betty McKinnon Shirley Strickland | Athletics | 4 × 100 m relay | 7 August |
| Silver | John Marshall | Swimming | 1500m freestyle | 7 August |
| Silver | Beatrice Lyons | Swimming | 200m breaststroke | 3 August |
| Silver | Dick Garrard | Wrestling | Welterweight | 31 July |
| Bronze | Shirley Strickland | Athletics | 100m | 2 August |
| Bronze | Shirley Strickland | Athletics | 80m hurdles | 4 August |
| Bronze | John Marshall | Swimming | 400m freestyle | 4 August |
| Bronze | Judy-Joy Davies | Swimming | 100m backstroke | 5 August |
| Bronze | Jim Armstrong | Wrestling | Heavyweight | 31 July |

## Athletics
### Key

* Note–Ranks given for track events are within the athlete's heat only
* Q = Qualified for the next round
* q = Qualified for the next round as a fastest loser or, in field events, by position without achieving the qualifying target
* NR = National record
* N/A = Round not applicable for the event
* Bye = Athlete not required to compete in round
* NP = Not placed

### Track & road events

| Athlete | Event | Heat | Heat | Quarterfinal | Quarterfinal | Semifinal | Semifinal | Final | Final |
| Athlete | Event | Result | Rank | Result | Rank | Result | Rank | Result | Rank |
| John Bartram | 100 m | 10.8 | 2 Q | 10.6 | 3 Q | | 4 | did not advance | did not advance |
| John Treloar | 100 m | 10.5 | 1 Q | 10.5 | 2 Q | | 4 | did not advance | did not advance |
| Morris Curotta | 100 m | 10.7 | 1 Q | 10.8 | 3 Q | | 6 | did not advance | did not advance |
| John Treloar | 200 m | 21.7 | 1 Q | 21.5 | 2 Q | | 6 | did not advance | did not advance |
| Morris Curotta | 400 m | 49.1 | 1 Q | 48.4 | 2 Q | 47.2 | 2 Q | 47.9 | 5 |
| John Bartram | 400 m | 50.8 | 2 Q | 49.9 | 4 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| Bill Ramsey | 400 m | 50.3 | 5 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| Bill Ramsey | 800 m | 1:55.0 | 3 Q | — | — | 1:54.9 | 5 | did not advance | did not advance |
| Peter Gardner | 110 m hurdles | 14.6 | 2 Q | — | — | 14.5 | 2 Q | 14.7 | 5 |
| Ray Weinberg | 110 m hurdles | 15.0 | 2 Q | — | — | | 5 | did not advance | did not advance |
| Charles Green | 110 m hurdles | 15.4 | 5 | — | — | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| George Knott | 10 km walk | | 7 | — | — | — | — | did not advance | did not advance |
| Theo Bruce John Bartram Morris Curotta John Treloar | 4 × 100 m relay | 41.5 | 3 | — | — | — | — | did not advance | did not advance |

### Field Events

| Athlete | Event | Qualification | Qualification | Final | Final |
| Athlete | Event | Distance | Position | Distance | Position |
| Theo Bruce | Long Jump | 7.22 | 4 Q | 7.55 | |
| John Winter | High Jump | 1.87 | Q | 1.98 | |
| George Avery | Triple Jump | 15.33 | 1 Q | 15.36 | |
| Les McKeand | Triple Jump | 14.55 | 11 Q | 14.53 | 7 |

### Combined events – Decathlon

| Athlete | Event | 100 m | LJ | SP | HJ | 400 m | 110H | DT | PV | JT | 1500 m | Final | Rank |
| Peter Mullins | Result | 11.2 | 6.64 | 12.75 | 1.83 | 53.2 | 15.2 | 33.94 | 3.40 | 51.32 | 5:17.6 | 6739 | 6 |
| Peter Mullins | Points | 787 | 711 | 691 | 822 | 706 | 896 | 541 | 652 | 612 | 321 | 6739 | 6 |

### Track & road events

| Athlete | Event | Heat | Heat | Semifinal | Semifinal | Final | Final |
| Athlete | Event | Result | Rank | Result | Rank | Result | Rank |
| Shirley Strickland | 100 m | 12.4 | 1 Q | 12.4 | 2 Q | 12.2 | |
| Joyce King | 100 m | 13.1 | 4 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| Betty McKinnon | 100 m | 12.7 | 3 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| Shirley Strickland | 200 m | 25.8 | 2 Q | 24.9 | 1 Q | 25.3 | 4 |
| Joyce King | 200 m | 25.9 | 1 Q | | 6 | did not advance | did not advance |
| Betty McKinnon | 200 m | 25.9 | 1 Q | | 7 | did not advance | did not advance |
| Shirley Strickland | 80 m Hurdles | 11.9 | 2 Q | 11.7 | 1 Q | 11.4 | |
| Shirley Strickland June Maston Betty McKinnon Joyce King | 4 × 100 m relay | 48.0 | 2 Q | — | — | 47.6 | |

### Field events

| Athlete | Event | Qualification | Qualification | Final | Final |
| Athlete | Event | Distance | Position | Distance | Position |
| Judy Canty | long jump | 5.29 | 11 Q | 5.38 | 7 |
| June Maston | long jump | 5.06 | 22 | did not advance | did not advance |

## Boxing

| Athlete | Event | Round of 32 | Round of 16 | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Final | Final |
| Athlete | Event | Opposition Result | Opposition Result | Opposition Result | Opposition Result | Opposition Result | Rank |
| Ronald Gower | Flyweight | Bondi (HUN) W PTS | Martinez (ESP) L PTS | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| Jimmy Carruthers | Bantamweight | Daigle (CAN) W DQ2 | Parés (ARG) W PTS | Csik (HUN) L W/O | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| Laurie Birks | Featherweight | Tammelin (FIN) W PTS | Seo B (KOR) L KO2 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| Billy Barber | Lightweight | Vissers (BEL) L PTS | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| Billy Boyce | Welterweight | Bye | Roller (LUX) W PTS | Du Preez (RSA) L PTS | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| Graham Higham | Middleweight | Garcia (ARG) L PTS | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| Adrian Holmes | Light heavyweight | bye | El-Minabawi (EGY) W KO2 | O'Hagan (IRL) W PTS | Scott (GBR) L PTS | 3rd/4th place Cia (ARG) L RSC-3 | 4 |

## Cycling

Six cyclists, all men, represented Australia in 1948.

### Road races

Individual times added to together for team race, 3 times needed for team event.
| Cyclist | Event | Final | Final |
| Cyclist | Event | Result | Rank |
| Jack Hoobin | Road race | 5:18:18.2 | 7 |
| Russell Mockridge | Road race | 5:39:54.6 | 26 |
| Ken Caves | Road race | did not finish | did not finish |
| Jim Nestor | Road race | did not finish | did not finish |
| Jack Hoobin Russell Mockridge Ken Caves Jim Nestor | Team road race | did not finish | did not finish |

### Track

Ranks given are within the heat.
| Cyclist | Event | First round | First round | First repechage | First repechage | Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals | Second repechage | Second repechage | Semifinals | Semifinals | Final | Final |
| Cyclist | Event | Result | Rank | Result | Rank | Result | Rank | Result | Rank | Result | Rank | Result | Rank |
| Charlie Bazzano | Sprint | | 2 | 14.1 | 1 Q | 14.3 | 1 Q | Directly advanced | Directly advanced | | 2 | | 4 |
| Sid Patterson | Time trial | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | 1:15.7 | 6 |
| Sid Patterson Jim Nestor Jack Hoobin Russell Mockridge | Team pursuit | 5:06.5 | 2 q | n/a | n/a | 5:07.7 | 2 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |

## Diving

| Diver | Event | Final | Final |
| Diver | Event | Result | Rank |
| David Norris | 3m springboard | 109.67 | 16 |

## Rowing

Australia had eight male rowers participate in three out of seven rowing events in 1948.
Ranks given are within the heat.
| Rower | Event | First round | First round | Repechage | Repechage | Semifinals | Semifinals | Final | Final |
| Rower | Event | Result | Rank | Result | Rank | Result | Rank | Result | Rank |
| Merv Wood | Single sculls | 7:25.9 | 1 Q | n/a | n/a | 8:08.5 | 1 Q | 7:24.4 | |
| Spencer Grace Ted Bromley | Coxless pair | 7:26.8 | 2 r | 7:28.4 | 1 Q | 7:54.5 | 2 | did not advance | did not advance |
| Wal Lambert Hugh Lambie Colin Douglas-Smith Jack Webster Tom Darcy | Coxed four | 7:04.3 | 2 r | 7:07.1 | 2 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |

## Sailing

| Rank | Helmsman | Crew | Class | Race I | Race I | Race II | Race II | Race III | Race III | Race IV | Race IV | Race V | Race V | Race VI | Race VI | Race VII | Race VII | Total Points | Total -1 |
| Rank | Helmsman | Crew | Class | Rank | Points | Rank | Points | Rank | Points | Rank | Points | Rank | Points | Rank | Points | Rank | Points | Total Points | Total -1 |
| 18 | Robert French | | Firefly | 18 | 168 | 11 | 382 | 19 | 144 | 16 | 219 | 9 | 469 | 12 | 344 | 10 | 423 | 2149 | 2005 |
| 7 | Jock Sturrock | Leslie A. Fenton | Star | DNF | 0 | 4 | 729 | 15 | 155 | 6 | 553 | 10 | 331 | 4 | 729 | 1 | 1331 | 3828 | 3828 |

## Shooting

| Shooter | Event | Final | Final |
| Shooter | Event | Score | Rank |
| Reginald Parker | 300 m rifle 3 positions | 926 | 30 |
| Mill Menghini | 300 m rifle 3 positions | 856 | 32 |
| John Wise | 300 m rifle 3 positions | 852 | 33 |
| Claude Platt | 50 m rifle, prone | 584 | 46 |
| Neville Holt | 50 m rifle, prone | 584 | 47 |
| Leo Dove | 50 m rifle, prone | 578 | 55 |

## Swimming

Ranks given are within the heat.

### Men

| Swimmer | Event | Heats | Heats | Semifinals | Semifinals | Final | Final |
| Swimmer | Event | Result | Rank | Result | Rank | Result | Rank |
| Bruce Bourke | 100 m freestyle | 59.1 | 2 Q | 1:00.0 | 5 | did not advance | did not advance |
| Warren Boyd | 100 m freestyle | 1:00.4 | 3 q | 1:01.1 | 8 | did not advance | did not advance |
| Bruce Bourke | 100 m backstroke | 1:11.3 | 1 Q | 1:11.4 | 8 | did not advance | did not advance |
| John Davies | 200 m breaststroke | 2:48.3 | 2 Q | 2:44.8 | 4 Q | 2:43.7 | 4 |
| Kevin Hallett | 200 m breaststroke | 3:02.0 | 7 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| John Marshall | 400 m freestyle | 4:51.4 | 2 Q | 4:50.0 | 2 Q | 4:47.4 | |
| Garrick Agnew | 400 m freestyle | 5:06.1 | 4 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| John Marshall | 1500 m freestyle | 20:01.1 | 1 Q | 19:53.8 | 1 Q | 19:31.3 | |
| Garrick Agnew | 1500 m freestyle | 21:40.1 | 6 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |

### Women

| Swimmer | Event | Heats | Heats | Semifinals | Semifinals | Final | Final |
| Swimmer | Event | Result | Rank | Result | Rank | Result | Rank |
| Marjorie McQuade | 100 m freestyle | 1:08.5 | 3 Q | 1:09.6 | 6 | did not advance | did not advance |
| Denise Spencer | 100 m freestyle | 1:10.0 | 3 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| Judy-Joy Davies | 100 m backstroke | 1:16.4 | 1 Q | 1:17.8 | 2 Q | 1:16.7 | |
| Nancy Lyons | 200 m breaststroke | 3:02.9 | 1 Q | 3:00.9 | 1 Q | 2:57.7 | |
| Denise Spencer | 400 m freestyle | 5:40.9 | 4 Q | 5:35.6 | 6 | did not advance | did not advance |

## Water polo

This was the first time Australia had entered the water polo competition.

### Men's Team Competition

Head coach:
| Player | DoB | Age | Caps | Club | Tournament games | Tournament goals |
| Ben Dalley | 15 March 1916 | 32 | ? | Balmain Water Polo Club | 2 | ? |
| Jack King | 23 August 1910 | 37 | ? | | 1 | ? |
| Eric Johnston | 24 February 1914 | 34 | ? | Balmain Water Polo Club | 2 | ? |
| Les McKay | 27 May 1917 | 31 | ? | | 1 | ? |
| Leon Ferguson | 19 June 1923 | 25 | ? | Bondi ASC | 1 | ? |
| Arthur Burge | 24 August 1917 | 31 | ? | Drummoyne Water Polo Club | 2 | ? |
| Herman Doerner | 1914 | | ? | Bondi ASC | 2 | ? |
| Colin French | 20 November 1916 | 31 | ? | | 1 | ? |
| Roger Cornforth | 19 January 1919 | 29 | ? | | 1 | ? |
| Jack Ferguson | 12 April 1922 | 26 | ? | Bondi ASC | 1 | ? |
Group D
| Rank | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | Pts | | | |
| 1. | Italy (ITA) | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 13 | 4 | 3 | X | 4:4 | 9:0 |
| 2. | Yugoslavia (YUG) | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 16 | 7 | 3 | 4:4 | X | 12:3 |
| 3. | Australia (AUS) | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 21 | 0 | 0:9 | 3:12 | X |

## Weightlifting

| Lifter | Event | Final | Final |
| Lifter | Event | Kg | Rank |
| Keith Caple | Bantamweight | 272.5 | 9 |
| Ray Magee | Heavyweight | 357.5 | 12 |

## Wrestling
### Men's Freestyle

| Athlete | Event | Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3 | Round 4 | Round 5 | Round 6 | Final / BM | Final / BM |
| Athlete | Event | Opposition Result | Opposition Result | Opposition Result | Opposition Result | Opposition Result | Opposition Result | Opposition Result | Rank |
| Bert Harris | Flyweight | Jhadav (IND) L 0-3 | Raisi (IRI) L Fall | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance | 10 |
| Dick Garrard | Welterweight | Angst (SUI) W 3-0 | Sóvári (HUN) W 2-1 | Bhargava (IND) W Fall | Leclerc (FRA) W Fall | Merrill (USA) L 1-2 | Bye | Doğu (TUR) L Fall | |
| Bruce Arthur | Middleweight | Candemir (TUR) L Fall | Roy (IND) W Fall | Brand (USA) L Fall | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance | 9 |
| Jim Armstrong | Heavyweight | Oberlander (GBR) W 3-0 | Bóbis (HUN) L Fall | Hutton (USA) W Retired | Esen (TUR) W Fall | n/a | n/a | Antonsson (SWE) L Fall | |