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Tebbs Lloyd-Johnson (GBR)

Britain’s male athletes only won three medals in 1948 - two silvers and a bronze. Happily, the women’s team won another four silvers. Perhaps the most remarkable of our medallists was Tebbs Lloyd-Johnson, shown here finishing third in the 50km road walk. He was 48 years and 15 days old, and became the oldest ever winner of an Olympic track and field medal.

Up until 1952 there was also a 10km track walk on the programme, but in that year the silver and bronze medallists literally began running over the last 30 metres of the race. The resulting controversy led to the event being discontinued and replaced with another road walk, over a distance of 20km.