The men's triple jump event was part of the track and field athletics programme at the 1948 Summer Olympics. The competition was held on 3 August 1948. Twenty-eight athletes from 17 nations competed. The maximum number of athletes per nation had been set at 3 since the 1930 Olympic Congress. The final was won by Arne Åhman of Sweden. It was Sweden's first victory in the event since 1912, and first medal since 1932. Australia reached the podium for the second Games in a row (albeit twelve years apart) with Gordon George Avery's silver. Turkey received a medal in its first appearance in the triple jump with Ruhi Sarialp's bronze; it was the only track and field athletics medal won by Turkey in the 1900s.
Background
This was the 11th appearance of the event, which is one of 12 athletics events to have been held at every Summer Olympics. There were no returning jumpers from the pre-war 1936 Games. Japan had been dominant in the event before World War II, but was no longer. Valle Rautio of Finland was closest to being a favorite, having won the 1946 European championships.
Brazil, Ceylon, South Korea, Peru, Portugal, and Turkey each made their first appearance in the event. The United States competed for the 11th time, having competed at each of the Games so far.
Competition format
The competition used the two-round format introduced in 1936. In the qualifying round, each jumper received three attempts to reach the qualifying distance of 14.50 metres. Those who did advanced to the final round.Official Report, p. 269.
Records
Prior to the competition, the existing World and Olympic records were as follows.
No new world or Olympic records were set during the competition.
Schedule
All times are British Summer Time (UTC+1)
Date Time Round Tuesday, 3 August 1948 11:0015:30 QualifyingFinal
Results
Qualifying
Qual. rule: qualification standard 14.50 m (Q) or at least best 12 qualified (q).
Rank Athlete Nation Distance Notes 1 George Avery 15.335 2 Valle Rautio 14.860 3 Åke Hallgren 14.770 4 Adhemar da Silva 14.690 5 Henry Rebello 14.650 6 Hélio da Silva 14.640 7 Arne Åhman 14.600 7 Kim Won-kwon 14.600 9 Geraldo de Oliveira 14.590 Q 10 Lennart Moberg 14.570 11 Les McKeand 14.550 12 Bill Albans 14.550 13 Ruhi Sarıalp 14.530 14 Preben Larsen 14.520 15 Máximo Reyes 14.380 16 Erkki Koutonen 14.370 17 João Vieira 14.280 18 Robert Bobin 14.130 19 Bob Beckus 14.030 20 Charles Épalle 14.020 21 Felix Würth 13.920 22 Luís García 13.920 23 Carlos Vera 13.850 24 Allan Lindsay 13.700 25 Sidney Cross 13.455 26–27 Robert Hawkey Unknown Jorge Aguirre Unknown — G. D. Peiris No mark — Stefán Sörensson Charles Thompson
Final
Rank Athlete Nation 1 2 3 4 5 6 Distance Arne Åhman 15.400 14.68014.89014.580 X X 15.400 George Avery 15.365 X 14.67014.32014.780 — 15.365 Ruhi Sarıalp 14.23015.02014.91015.025 X — 15.025 4Preben Larsen Unknown 14.830 5Geraldo de Oliveira Unknown 14.825 6 Valle Rautio Unknown 14.700 7 Les McKeand Unknown 14.530 8 Adhemar da Silva Unknown 14.490 9 Åke Hallgren Unknown 14.485 10 Bill Albans Unknown 14.330 11 Hélio da Silva Unknown 14.310 12 Kim Won-Gwon Unknown 14.250 13 Lennart Moberg Unknown 14.215 — Henry Rebello X X X X X X No mark
References
Sources Organising Committee for the XIV Olympiad, The (1948). The Official Report of the Organising Committee for the XIV Olympiad. LA84 Foundation. Retrieved 5 September 2016.