| | Event type

3,000 metres Steeplechase, Men

Date	3 – 5 August 1948
Status	Olympic
Location	Empire Stadium, Wembley, London
Participants	26 from 12 countries

Erik Elmsäter (SWE) had set world bests in 1943 and 1944, becoming the first man to better nine minutes in 1944, running 8:59.6 in Stockholm. He had finished second at the 1946 European Championships to France’s Raphaël Pujazon, with Swedish teammate Tore Sjöstrand in third place. In 1948, Sjöstrand led the year list going into the Olympics with 9:02.0. In the final, Pujazon dropped out early, as Elmsäter, Sjöstrand, and their teammate Göte Hagström ran a team race early. Elmsäter and Sjöstrand were too strong for Hagström, however, who dropped off the pace. He would have to finish strongly to get the bronze medal for the Swedish sweep. Sjöstrand won the gold medal by outkicking Elmsäter over the last lap.

Pos	Nr	Athlete	NOC	R1	Final
1	357	Tore Sjöstrand	SWE	9:21.0 (1 h3)	9:04.6 (1)	Gold
2	355	Erik Elmsäter	SWE	9:15.0 (1 h1)	9:08.2 (2)	Silver
3	356	Göte Hagström	SWE	9:22.6 (2 h2)	9:11.8 (3)	Bronze
4	358	Alexis Guyodo	FRA	9:17.2 (2 h1)	9:13.6 (4)
5	345	Pentti Siltaloppi	FIN	9:22.4 (3 h1)	9:19.6 (5)
6	361	Petar Šegedin	YUG	9:25.0 (3 h2)	9:20.4 (6)
7	359	Browning Ross	USA	9:30.4 (4 h2)	9:24.1 (7)
8	222	Constantino Miranda Justo	ESP	9:24.2 (4 h1)	9:26.6 (8)
9	235	Robert Everaert	BEL	9:26.4 (3 h3)	9:28.2 (9)
10	344	Aarne Kainlauri	FIN	9:25.8 (2 h3)	9:29.0 (10)
11	347	Roger Chesneau	FRA	9:27.6 (4 h3)	9:30.2 (11)
AC	349	Raphaël Pujazon	FRA	9:20.8 (1 h2)	– (DNF)
5 h1 r1/2	362	Đorđe Stefanović	YUG	9:39.6 (5 h1)	–
5 h2 r1/2	343	Alf Olesen	DEN	9:33.6 (5 h2)	–
5 h3 r1/2	171	Cahit Önel	TUR	9:28.4 (5 h3)	–
6 h1 r1/2	341	John Doms	BEL	9:41.8 (6 h1)	–
6 h2 r1/2	342	Lucien Theys	BEL	9:37.4 (6 h2)	–
6 h3 r1/2	360	Whitey Overton	USA	10:14.4 (6 h3)	–
7 h1 r1/2	351	Peter Curry	GBR	– (7 h1)	–
7 h2 r1/2	229	Mustafa Özcan	TUR	9:38.4est (7 h2)	–
7 h3 r1/2	350	Rene Howell	GBR	– (7 h3)	–
8 h1 r1/2	348	Bob McMillen	USA	– (8 h1)	–
8 h2 r1/2	346	Paavo Toivari	FIN	– (8 h2)	–
8 h3 r1/2	354	Paul Frieden	LUX	– (8 h3)	–
9 h1 r1/2	215	Vasilis Mavrapostolos	GRE	– (9 h1)	–
9 h2 r1/2	352	Geoffrey Tudor	GBR	– (9 h2)	–
DNS	353	László Jeszenszky	HUN	– (DNS h3)	–
DNS	245	Jenő Szilágyi	HUN	– (DNS h2)	–
DNS	189	Wim Slijkhuis	NED	– (DNS h3)	–

Round One (3 August 1948 — 16:15)

Top four in each heat advanced to the final.

Heat One

Pos	Ord	Athlete	NOC	Time (H)	Time (A)
1	1	Erik Elmsäter	SWE	9:15.0	9:14.6	Q
2	3	Alexis Guyodo	FRA	9:17.2	–	Q
3	2	Pentti Siltaloppi	FIN	9:22.4	–	Q
4	7	Constantino Miranda Justo	ESP	9:24.2	–	Q
5	8	Đorđe Stefanović	YUG	9:39.6	–
6	9	John Doms	BEL	9:41.8	–
7	5	Peter Curry	GBR	–	–
8	4	Bob McMillen	USA	–	–
9	6	Vasilis Mavrapostolos	GRE	–	–

Heat Two

Pos	Ord	Athlete	NOC	Time (H)	Time (A)
1	1	Raphaël Pujazon	FRA	9:20.8	9:20.8	Q
2	2	Göte Hagström	SWE	9:22.6	–	Q
3	9	Petar Šegedin	YUG	9:25.0	–	Q
4	4	Browning Ross	USA	9:30.4	–	Q
5	3	Alf Olesen	DEN	9:33.6	–
6	10	Lucien Theys	BEL	9:37.4	–
7	8	Mustafa Özcan	TUR	9:38.4est	–
8	5	Paavo Toivari	FIN	–	–
9	6	Geoffrey Tudor	GBR	–	–
DNS	7	Jenő Szilágyi	HUN	–	–

Heat Three

Pos	Ord	Athlete	NOC	Time (H)	Time (A)
1	1	Tore Sjöstrand	SWE	9:21.0	9:21.1	Q
2	2	Aarne Kainlauri	FIN	9:25.8	–	Q
3	10	Robert Everaert	BEL	9:26.4	–	Q
4	4	Roger Chesneau	FRA	9:27.6	–	Q
5	8	Cahit Önel	TUR	9:28.4	–
6	9	Whitey Overton	USA	10:14.4	–
7	6	Rene Howell	GBR	–	–
8	7	Paul Frieden	LUX	–	–
DNS	3	László Jeszenszky	HUN	–	–
DNS	5	Wim Slijkhuis	NED	–	–

Final (5 August 1948 — 16:15)

Pos	Nr	Athlete	NOC	Time (H)	Time (A)
1	357	Tore Sjöstrand	SWE	9:04.6	9:04.6
2	355	Erik Elmsäter	SWE	9:08.2	9:08.41
3	356	Göte Hagström	SWE	9:11.8	9:12.14
4	358	Alexis Guyodo	FRA	9:13.6	9:13.52
5	345	Pentti Siltaloppi	FIN	9:19.6	9:19.99
6	361	Petar Šegedin	YUG	9:20.4	9:20.68
7	359	Browning Ross	USA	9:24.1	9:24.02
8	222	Constantino Miranda Justo	ESP	9:26.6	9:26.60
9	235	Robert Everaert	BEL	9:28.2	9:28.64
10	344	Aarne Kainlauri	FIN	9:29.0	9:31.49
11	347	Roger Chesneau	FRA	9:30.2	9:32.05
DNF	349	Raphaël Pujazon	FRA	–	–