London 1948 Summer Olympics

London, UK. The Austerity Games, staged with rationed materials and no new venues

Overview

With Britain still rationing food and materials, no new venues were built and athletes slept in schools and army camps; the press dubbed them the Austerity Games. Germany and Japan were excluded. Dutch runner Fanny Blankers-Koen, a 30 year old mother of two, won four athletics golds, and Alice Coachman of the United States became the first Black woman to win Olympic gold, in the high jump.