In 1948, after a break of 12 years due to World War II, the Olympic Games resumed. London became the capital of the summer competition, although this city, like many others in Europe, was badly damaged by the war.
Some traditional participating states did not attend the London Olympics. Teams from Germany and Japan were not invited to the games due to the aggression of these countries during the Second World War. Italy nevertheless received the right to send its athletes, since the fascist regime in this country was overthrown even before the end of the war.
The involvement of the Soviet Union also became a problem. The USSR team received an invitation, but the political leadership decided not to accept it. As a result, the national teams of 59 countries came to the games. Some of them have participated in such competitions for the first time, for example, Guiana, Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), Puerto Rico, Lebanon, Pakistan, Syria, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica and Venezuela. Also, the still unified team of Korea performed, which by that time had not finally split into North and South. China was represented by the team of the Republic of China - this is the official name of Taiwan. Mainland China, where the establishment of the power of the communists took place, did not take part in the games.
The US team took the first place in the unofficial medal standings by a significant margin. Traditionally, American athletes have shown themselves well. Gold was awarded to the US basketball team. Male swimmers, as well as weightlifters and wrestlers performed especially well.
The second place was taken by the Swedish team. The gold was awarded to the football team of this country. Also, the athletes of this state, performing in Greco-Roman wrestling, have achieved great success. The men's canoeing team performed excellently.
The third was the French team. French cyclists have shown a traditionally high level of training. The host team, Great Britain, took only 12th place. Two gold medals were awarded to British rowers, and one more to a British sailor.
