| | Event type

800 metres, Men

Date	30 July – 2 August 1948
Status	Olympic
Location	Empire Stadium, Wembley, London
Participants	41 from 24 countries

The favorite was American Mal Whitfield, but other favorites were difficult to choose as the War had interrupted most international competition. Also considered for the medals were Jamaica’s Arthur Wint and New Zealand’s Doug Harris. The fastest time of the year was 1:48.3, by France’s Marcel Hansenne.

Harris failed to finish his semi-final, but the other favorites made it to the Olympic final. The leader on the first lap was France’s Robert Chef d’Hôtel, but Whitfield passed him at the bell, going thru in 54.2. At 500 metres, Whitfield kicked hard and had five metres on Wint at the start of the curve. Wint closed slightly but Whitfield was too strong and won the gold medal. Hansenne finished quickly for the bronze medal.

Pos	Number	Competitor	NOC	R1	SF	Final
1	136	Mal Whitfield	USA	1:52.8 (1 h6)	1:50.7 (2 h1)	1:49.2 (1)	Gold	OR
2	122	Arthur Wint	JAM	1:53.9 (1 h4)	1:52.7 (2 h2)	1:49.5 (2)	Silver
3	151	Marcel Hansenne	FRA	1:54.6 (1 h1)	1:50.5 (1 h1)	1:49.8 (3)	Bronze
4	172	Herb Barten	USA	1:55.6 (1 h2)	1:51.7 (1 h3)	1:50.1 (4)
5	164	Ingvar Bengtsson	SWE	1:52.9 (2 h6)	1:51.2 (1 h2)	1:50.5 (5)
6	173	Bob Chambers	USA	1:54.3 (3 h3)	1:52.9 (3 h2)	1:52.1 (6)
7	152	Robert Chef d'Hôtel	FRA	1:56.2 (2 h5)	1:52.0 (2 h3)	1:53.0 (7)
8	155	John Parlett	GBR	1:55.0 (2 h1)	1:50.9 (3 h1)	1:53.4 (8)
9	106	Niels Holst-Sørensen	DEN	1:54.2 (1 h3)	1:52.4 (3 h3)	1:54.0 (9)
4 h1 r2/3	146	Jack Hutchins	CAN	1:55.5 (3 h6)	1:52.6 (4 h1)	–
4 h2 r2/3	153	Gaston Mayordomo	FRA	1:55.7 (4 h6)	1:54.3 (4 h2)	–
4 h3 r2/3	165	Olle Ljunggren	SWE	1:56.1 (1 h5)	1:52.5 (4 h3)	–
5 h1 r2/3	143	Joseph Brys	BEL	1:55.4 (4 h3)	1:53.2 (5 h1)	–
5 h2 r2/3	95	Bill Ramsay	AUS	1:55.0 (3 h1)	1:54.9 (5 h2)	–
5 h3 r2/3	157	Tom White	GBR	1:56.6 (3 h2)	1:53.0 (5 h3)	–
6 h1 r2/3	161	Josy Barthel	LUX	1:54.8 (3 h4)	1:54.6 (6 h1)	–
6 h2 r2/3	148	Václav Winter	TCH	1:55.1 (4 h4)	1:57.7 (6 h2)	–
6 h3 r2/3	158	Frits de Ruijter	NED	1:54.4 (2 h4)	1:54.6 (6 h3)	–
7 h1 r2/3	125	Bjørn Vade	NOR	1:54.2 (2 h3)	– (7 h1)	–
7 h3 r2/3	144	Raymond Rosier	BEL	1:56.7 (4 h2)	– (7 h3)	–
AC h1 r2/3	167	Karl Volkmer	SUI	1:55.3 (4 h1)	– (DNF h1)	–
AC h2 r2/3	156	Harry Tarraway	GBR	1:56.6 (4 h5)	– (DNF h2)	–
AC h2 r2/3	124	Doug Harris	NZL	1:56.6 (2 h2)	– (DNF h2)	–
AC h3 r2/3	166	Hans Streuli	SUI	1:56.5 (3 h5)	– (DNF h3)	–
5 h1 r1/3	141	Adán Torres	ARG	1:56.7 (5 h1)	–	–
5 h2 r1/3	154	Vasilios Mavroidis	GRE	1:57.4 (5 h2)	–	–
5 h3 r1/3	159	Óskar Jónsson	ISL	1:55.4 (5 h3)	–	–
5 h4 r1/3	145	Ezra Henniger	CAN	1:55.4 (5 h4)	–	–
5 h5 r1/3	140	Guillermo Ávalos	ARG	1:56.6 (5 h5)	–	–
5 h6 r1/3	114	Stylianos Stratakos	GRE	2:02.2 (5 h6)	–	–
6 h1 r1/3	160	Lee Yun-Seok	KOR	2:01.4 (6 h1)	–	–
6 h2 r1/3	162	Antero Mongrut	PER	1:58.7 (6 h2)	–	–
6 h3 r1/3	147	Bill Parnell	CAN	1:55.7 (6 h3)	–	–
6 h4 r1/3	168	Wilfred Tull	TTO	1:55.7 (6 h4)	–	–
6 h5 r1/3	170	Rıza Maksut İşman	TUR	2:01.1 (6 h5)	–	–
7 h1 r1/3	149	Rashad Khadr	EGY	– (7 h1)	–	–
7 h2 r1/3	171	Cahit Önel	TUR	– (7 h2)	–	–
7 h3 r1/3	163	Juan Adarraga	ESP	1:55.7 (7 h3)	–	–
7 h4 r1/3	169	Seydi Dinçtürk	TUR	– (7 h4)	–	–
7 h5 r1/3	115	Georgios Karageorgos	GRE	– (7 h5)	–	–
AC h2 r1/3	105	Herluf Christensen	DEN	– (DNF h2)	–	–
DNS	29	JJ Kelly	IRL	– (DNS h3)	–	–
DNS	142	Bruno Schneider	AUT	– (DNS h6)	–	–
DNS	150	Dermot McDermott	IRL	– (DNS h6)	–	–

Round One

Date	30 July 1948 — 16:00
Format	Top 4 in each heat advanced to the semi-finals.

Pos	Number	Competitor	NOC	Time (hand)	Time (hand)
1	136	Mal Whitfield	USA	1:52.8	1:52.8	Q
2	164	Ingvar Bengtsson	SWE	1:52.9	1:52.9	Q
3	122	Arthur Wint	JAM	1:54.0	1:54.0	Q
4	125	Bjørn Vade	NOR	1:54.2	1:54.2	Q
5	173	Bob Chambers	USA	1:54.3	1:54.3	Q
=6	106	Niels Holst-Sørensen	DEN	1:54.4	1:54.4	Q
=6	158	Frits de Ruijter	NED	1:54.4	1:54.4	Q
=8	151	Marcel Hansenne	FRA	1:54.8	1:54.8	Q
=8	161	Josy Barthel	LUX	1:54.8	1:54.8	Q
10	155	John Parlett	GBR	1:55.0	1:55.0	Q
11	95	Bill Ramsay	AUS	1:55.0	1:55.0	Q
12	148	Václav Winter	TCH	1:55.1	1:55.1	Q
13	167	Karl Volkmer	SUI	1:55.3	1:55.3	Q
14	143	Joseph Brys	BEL	1:55.4	1:55.4	Q
15	159	Óskar Jónsson	ISL	1:55.4	1:55.4
16	145	Ezra Henniger	CAN	1:55.4	1:55.4
17	146	Jack Hutchins	CAN	1:55.5	1:55.5	Q
18	147	Bill Parnell	CAN	1:55.7	1:55.7
19	163	Juan Adarraga	ESP	1:55.7	1:55.7
=20	168	Wilfred Tull	TTO	1:55.7	1:55.7
=20	153	Gaston Mayordomo	FRA	1:55.7	1:55.7	Q
22	172	Herb Barten	USA	1:55.8	1:55.8	Q
23	165	Olle Ljunggren	SWE	1:56.2	1:56.2	Q
24	152	Robert Chef d'Hôtel	FRA	1:56.2	1:56.2	Q
25	166	Hans Streuli	SUI	1:56.5	1:56.5	Q
26	124	Doug Harris	NZL	1:56.6	1:56.6	Q
27	157	Tom White	GBR	1:56.6	1:56.6	Q
28	156	Harry Tarraway	GBR	1:56.6	1:56.6	Q
29	140	Guillermo Ávalos	ARG	1:56.6	1:56.6
=30	141	Adán Torres	ARG	1:56.7	1:56.7
=30	144	Raymond Rosier	BEL	1:56.7	1:56.7	Q
32	154	Vasilios Mavroidis	GRE	1:57.4	1:57.4
33	162	Antero Mongrut	PER	1:58.7	1:58.7
34	170	Rıza Maksut İşman	TUR	2:01.1	2:01.1
35	160	Lee Yun-Seok	KOR	2:01.4	2:01.4
36	114	Stylianos Stratakos	GRE	2:02.2	2:02.2
AC	149	Rashad Khadr	EGY	–	–		1
AC	171	Cahit Önel	TUR	–	–		2
AC	169	Seydi Dinçtürk	TUR	–	–		3
AC	115	Georgios Karageorgos	GRE	–	–		4
DNF	105	Herluf Christensen	DEN	–	–
DNS	29	JJ Kelly	IRL	–	–
DNS	142	Bruno Schneider	AUT	–	–
DNS	150	Dermot McDermott	IRL	–	–

Heat #1

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time (Hand)	Time (Automatic)
1	1	Marcel Hansenne	FRA	1:54.6	1:54.8	Q
2	4	John Parlett	GBR	1:55.0	–	Q
3	5	Bill Ramsay	AUS	1:55.0	–	Q
4	6	Karl Volkmer	SUI	1:55.3	–	Q
5	7	Adán Torres	ARG	1:56.7	–
6	3	Lee Yun-Seok	KOR	2:01.4	–
7	2	Rashad Khadr	EGY	–	–

Heat #2

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time (Hand)	Time (Automatic)
1	7	Herb Barten	USA	1:55.6	1:55.8	Q
2	8	Doug Harris	NZL	1:56.6	–	Q
3	4	Tom White	GBR	1:56.6	–	Q
4	5	Raymond Rosier	BEL	1:56.7	–	Q
5	2	Vasilios Mavroidis	GRE	1:57.4	–
6	1	Antero Mongrut	PER	1:58.7	–
7	6	Cahit Önel	TUR	–	–
DNF	3	Herluf Christensen	DEN	–	–

Heat #3

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time (Hand)	Time (Automatic)
1	3	Niels Holst-Sørensen	DEN	1:54.2	1:54.4	Q
2	2	Bjørn Vade	NOR	1:54.2	–	Q
3	7	Bob Chambers	USA	1:54.3	–	Q
4	8	Joseph Brys	BEL	1:55.4	–	Q
5	6	Óskar Jónsson	ISL	1:55.4	–
6	4	Bill Parnell	CAN	1:55.7	–
7	1	Juan Adarraga	ESP	1:55.7	–
DNS	5	JJ Kelly	IRL	–	–

Heat #4

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time (Hand)	Time (Automatic)
1	3	Arthur Wint	JAM	1:53.9	1:54.0	Q
2	4	Frits de Ruijter	NED	1:54.4	–	Q
3	5	Josy Barthel	LUX	1:54.8	–	Q
4	1	Václav Winter	TCH	1:55.1	–	Q
5	7	Ezra Henniger	CAN	1:55.4	–
6	2	Wilfred Tull	TTO	1:55.7	–
7	6	Seydi Dinçtürk	TUR	–	–

Heat #5

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time (Hand)	Time (Automatic)
1	3	Olle Ljunggren	SWE	1:56.1	1:56.2	Q
2	5	Robert Chef d'Hôtel	FRA	1:56.2	–	Q
3	7	Hans Streuli	SUI	1:56.5	–	Q
4	1	Harry Tarraway	GBR	1:56.6	–	Q
5	2	Guillermo Ávalos	ARG	1:56.6	–
6	4	Rıza Maksut İşman	TUR	2:01.1	–
7	6	Georgios Karageorgos	GRE	–	–

Heat #6

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time (Hand)	Time (Automatic)
1	6	Mal Whitfield	USA	1:52.8	1:52.8	Q
2	1	Ingvar Bengtsson	SWE	1:52.9	–	Q
3	2	Jack Hutchins	CAN	1:55.5	–	Q
4	4	Gaston Mayordomo	FRA	1:55.7	–	Q
5	5	Stylianos Stratakos	GRE	2:02.2	–
DNS	3	Bruno Schneider	AUT	–	–
DNS	7	Dermot McDermott	IRL	–	–

Semi-Finals

Date	31 July 1948 — 15:15
Format	Top 3 in each heat advanced to the final.

Pos	Number	Competitor	NOC	Time (hand)	Time (hand)
1	151	Marcel Hansenne	FRA	1:50.6	1:50.6	Q
2	136	Mal Whitfield	USA	1:50.89	1:50.89	Q
3	155	John Parlett	GBR	1:50.90	1:50.90	Q
4	164	Ingvar Bengtsson	SWE	1:51.3	1:51.3	Q
5	172	Herb Barten	USA	1:52.0	1:52.0	Q
6	152	Robert Chef d'Hôtel	FRA	1:52.0	1:52.0	Q
7	106	Niels Holst-Sørensen	DEN	1:52.4	1:52.4	Q
8	165	Olle Ljunggren	SWE	1:52.5	1:52.5
9	122	Arthur Wint	JAM	1:52.7	1:52.7	Q
10	146	Jack Hutchins	CAN	1:52.75	1:52.75		5
11	173	Bob Chambers	USA	1:52.9	1:52.9	Q
12	157	Tom White	GBR	1:53.0	1:53.0
13	143	Joseph Brys	BEL	1:53.34	1:53.34
14	153	Gaston Mayordomo	FRA	1:54.3	1:54.3
15	158	Frits de Ruijter	NED	1:54.6	1:54.6
16	161	Josy Barthel	LUX	1:54.78	1:54.78
17	95	Bill Ramsay	AUS	1:54.9	1:54.9
18	125	Bjørn Vade	NOR	1:55.39	1:55.39
19	148	Václav Winter	TCH	1:57.7	1:57.7
20	144	Raymond Rosier	BEL	–	–		6
DNF	167	Karl Volkmer	SUI	–	–
DNF	156	Harry Tarraway	GBR	–	–
DNF	124	Doug Harris	NZL	–	–
DNF	166	Hans Streuli	SUI	–	–		7

Heat #1

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time (Hand)	Time (Automatic)
1	2	Marcel Hansenne	FRA	1:50.5	1:50.6	Q
2	1	Mal Whitfield	USA	1:50.7	1:50.89	Q
3	3	John Parlett	GBR	1:50.9	1:50.90	Q
4	5	Jack Hutchins	CAN	1:52.6	1:52.75		8
5	7	Joseph Brys	BEL	1:53.2	1:53.34
6	4	Josy Barthel	LUX	1:54.6	1:54.78
7	6	Bjørn Vade	NOR	–	1:55.39
DNF	8	Karl Volkmer	SUI	–	–

Heat #2

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time (Hand)	Time (Automatic)
1	1	Ingvar Bengtsson	SWE	1:51.2	1:51.3	Q
2	4	Arthur Wint	JAM	1:52.7	–	Q
3	3	Bob Chambers	USA	1:52.9	–	Q
4	7	Gaston Mayordomo	FRA	1:54.3	–
5	8	Bill Ramsay	AUS	1:54.9	–
6	5	Václav Winter	TCH	1:57.7	–
DNF	6	Harry Tarraway	GBR	–	–
DNF	2	Doug Harris	NZL	–	–

Heat #3

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time (Hand)	Time (Automatic)
1	3	Herb Barten	USA	1:51.7	1:52.0	Q
2	5	Robert Chef d'Hôtel	FRA	1:52.0	–	Q
3	2	Niels Holst-Sørensen	DEN	1:52.4	–	Q
4	1	Olle Ljunggren	SWE	1:52.5	–
5	8	Tom White	GBR	1:53.0	–
6	4	Frits de Ruijter	NED	1:54.6	–
7	7	Raymond Rosier	BEL	–	–
DNF	6	Hans Streuli	SUI	–	–		9

Final Round

Date	2 August 1948 — 16:00

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time (Hand)	Time (Automatic)
1	5	Mal Whitfield	USA	1:49.2	1:49.3	OR
2	8	Arthur Wint	JAM	1:49.5	1:49.58
3	4	Marcel Hansenne	FRA	1:49.8	1:50.08
4	1	Herb Barten	USA	1:50.1	1:50.34
5	7	Ingvar Bengtsson	SWE	1:50.5	1:50.86
6	9	Bob Chambers	USA	1:52.1	1:52.14
7	2	Robert Chef d'Hôtel	FRA	1:53.0	1:54.19
8	6	John Parlett	GBR	1:53.4	1:56.27
9	3	Niels Holst-Sørensen	DEN	1:54.0	1:56.36

Split Times

Time	Athlete(s)	NOC	Result	Notes
400 m	Mal Whitfield		54.2