

Athletics at the 1948 London Summer Games:

Women's High Jump

Athletics at the 1948 Summer Games: Previous Summer Games ▪ Next Summer Games


Host City: London, Great Britain
Venue(s): Empire Stadium, Wembley, London
Date Started: August 7, 1948
Date Finished: August 7, 1948
Format: Final only.

Gold: USA Alice Coachman
Silver: GBR Dorothy Odam-Tyler
Bronze: FRA Micheline Ostermeyer


Missing from the field was World Record holder Fanny Blankers-Koen. She would definitely have been a contender, but had decided to limit the number of starts in London following her experiences at the 1946 European Championships,in which she fell in the semi-finals of the 100 metres, breaking her concentration for the high jump event, held immediately afterwards. In London two women reaching 1.68 (5-6), the competition was a high level affair. Both Alice Coachman and Dorothy Tyler cleared the height, and failed at the next height, 1.70 (5-7) metres. As Coachman had cleared the height in her first try, she was awarded the gold ahead of Tyler. This was unlucky for the British woman, who had also won a silver medal (as Dorothy Odam) in 1936. Back then, she had cleared the winning height in fewer attempts, but the rules in Berlin called for a jump-off, which she lost. Coachman's victory was notable as she was the first black woman to win an Olympic gold medal.

Final Standings

Rank Athlete Age Team NOC Medal H
1 Alice Coachman 24 United States USA Gold 1.68 OR
2 Dorothy Odam-Tyler 28 Great Britain GBR Silver 1.68 OR
3 Micheline Ostermeyer 25 France FRA Bronze 1.61
4T Vinton Beckett 25 Jamaica JAM 1.58
4T Doreen Dredge 17 Canada CAN 1.58
6 Bertha Crowther 26 Great Britain GBR 1.58
7 Ilse Steinegger 22 Austria AUT 1.55
8 Dora Gardner 36 Great Britain GBR 1.55
9T Anne Iversen 24 Denmark DEN 1.50
9T Simone Ruas 29 France FRA 1.50
11T Carmen Phipps 20 Jamaica JAM 1.50
11T Bernice Robinson 21 United States USA 1.50
11T Shirley Gordon 21 Canada CAN 1.50
14T Anne-Marie Colchen 22 France FRA 1.40
14T Emma Reed 23 United States USA 1.40
14T Triny Bourkel 21 Luxembourg LUX 1.40
17T Elisabeth Müller 22 Brazil BRA 1.40
17T Olga Gyarmati 23 Hungary HUN 1.40
19 Elaine Silburn Canada CAN 1.40