At the Stockholm Olympics, Applegarth was eliminated in the semifinals of the 100 m competition and won a bronze medal in the 200 m. As the anchoring leg in the British 4 × 100 m relay team, he won a gold medal, in spite of finishing second after the US in the semifinal. The United States was later disqualified for a fault in passing the baton; the same mistake was made in the final by the world record holder and main favourite German team.