| | Event type
High Jump, Men
| Date | 30 July 1948 |
|---|---|
| Status | Olympic |
| Location | Empire Stadium, Wembley, London |
| Participants | 27 from 16 countries |
For the first time, ties were broken by the countback rule of fewer misses at heights. The final had 20 competitors, and seemed endless. The Americans had dominated the world lists in 1948. Jack Winter (AUS) was perfect thru 1.90 (6-2¾) but had a miss at 1.95 (6-4¾), which put Bjørn Paulson (NOR) into the lead as he had a first attempt clearance at that height. But Winter was the only jumper able to clear 1.98 (6-6) to win the gold medal. He used the scissors style, actually termed the Eastern cut-off, and is the last jumper to win Olympic gold using that technique. Winter would also win the 1950 Commonwealth Games gold medal.
| Pos | Number | Competitor | NOC | Qualifying | Final | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 406 | Jack Winter |  AUS | 1.87 ( | 1.98 (1) | Gold | ||
| 2 | 421 | Bjørn Paulson |  NOR | 1.87 ( | 1.95 (2) | Silver | ||
| 3 | 429 | George Stanich |  USA | 1.87 ( | 1.95 (3) | Bronze | ||
| 4 | 427 | Dike Eddleman | USA | 1.87 ( | 1.95 (4) | |||
| 5 | 412 | Georges Damitio |  FRA | 1.87 ( | 1.95 (5) | |||
| 6 | 408 | Art Jackes |  CAN | 1.87 ( | 1.90 (6) | |||
| =7 | 413 | Alan Paterson |  GBR | 1.87 ( | 1.90 (=7) | |||
| =7 | 426 | Hans Wahli |  SUI | 1.87 ( | 1.90 (=7) | |||
| =9 | 409 | Alfredo Jadresic |  CHI | 1.87 ( | 1.90 (=9) | |||
| =9 | 410 | Pierre Lacaze | FRA | 1.87 ( | 1.90 (=9) | |||
| =9 | 424 | Göran Widenfelt |  SWE | 1.87 ( | 1.90 (=9) | |||
| 12 | 414 | Adegboyega, Omoba Adedoyin | GBR | 1.87 ( | 1.90 (12) | 1 | ||
| 13 | 420 | Birger Leirud | NOR | 1.87 ( | 1.90 (13) | |||
| =14 | 423 | Lloyd Valberg |  SGP | 1.87 ( | 1.80 (=14) | |||
| =14 | 430 | Hércules Azcune |  URU | 1.87 ( | 1.80 (=14) | |||
| 16 | 428 | Vern McGrew | USA | 1.87 ( | 1.80 (16) | |||
| 17 | 819 | Kuuno Honkonen |  FIN | 1.87 ( | 1.80 (17) | |||
| 18 | 417 | Gurnam Singh |  IND | 1.87 ( | 1.80 (18) | |||
| AC r2/2 | 820 | Nils Nicklén | FIN | 1.87 ( | – ( | |||
| AC r2/2 | 419 | Bjørn Gundersen | NOR | 1.87 ( | – ( | |||
| =21 r1/2 | 407 | Arnulf Pilhatsch |  AUT | 1.84 (=21) | – | |||
| =21 r1/2 | 411 | Claude Bénard | FRA | 1.84 (=21) | – | |||
| =21 r1/2 | 416 | Ioannis Lamprou |  GRE | 1.84 (=21) | – | |||
| =21 r1/2 | 422 | Benjamín Casado |  PUR | 1.84 (=21) | – | |||
| =21 r1/2 | 431 | Pedro Listur | URU | 1.84 (=21) | – | |||
| =21 r1/2 | 425 | Arne Åhman | SWE | 1.84 (=21) | – | 2 | ||
| 27 r1/2 | 415 | Ron Pavitt | GBR | 1.80 (27) | – | |||
| 404 | Bill Bruce | AUS | – ( | – | ||||
| 405 | Peter Mullins | AUS | – ( | – | ||||
| 418 | Jorge Aguirre |  MEX | – ( | – |
Qualifying Round
| Date | 30 July 1948 — 11:00 |
|---|---|
| Format | Top 12 and ties and all those clearing 1.87 metres advanced to the final. |
| Pos | Number | Competitor | NOC | Best Height Cleared | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 406 | Jack Winter | AUS | 1.87 | |||
| 421 | Bjørn Paulson | NOR | 1.87 | |||
| 429 | George Stanich | USA | 1.87 | |||
| 427 | Dike Eddleman | USA | 1.87 | |||
| 412 | Georges Damitio | FRA | 1.87 | |||
| 408 | Art Jackes | CAN | 1.87 | |||
| 413 | Alan Paterson | GBR | 1.87 | |||
| 426 | Hans Wahli | SUI | 1.87 | |||
| 409 | Alfredo Jadresic | CHI | 1.87 | |||
| 424 | Göran Widenfelt | SWE | 1.87 | |||
| 410 | Pierre Lacaze | FRA | 1.87 | |||
| 414 | Adegboyega, Omoba Adedoyin | GBR | 1.87 | 3 | ||
| 420 | Birger Leirud | NOR | 1.87 | |||
| 430 | Hércules Azcune | URU | 1.87 | |||
| 423 | Lloyd Valberg | SGP | 1.87 | |||
| 428 | Vern McGrew | USA | 1.87 | |||
| 819 | Kuuno Honkonen | FIN | 1.87 | |||
| 417 | Gurnam Singh | IND | 1.87 | |||
| 419 | Bjørn Gundersen | NOR | 1.87 | |||
| 820 | Nils Nicklén | FIN | 1.87 | |||
| =21 | 407 | Arnulf Pilhatsch | AUT | 1.84 | ||
| =21 | 422 | Benjamín Casado | PUR | 1.84 | ||
| =21 | 411 | Claude Bénard | FRA | 1.84 | ||
| =21 | 416 | Ioannis Lamprou | GRE | 1.84 | ||
| =21 | 431 | Pedro Listur | URU | 1.84 | ||
| =21 | 425 | Arne Åhman | SWE | 1.84 | 4 | |
| 27 | 415 | Ron Pavitt | GBR | 1.80 | ||
| 404 | Bill Bruce | AUS | – | |||
| 405 | Peter Mullins | AUS | – | |||
| 418 | Jorge Aguirre | MEX | – |
Final Round
| Date | 30 July 1948 — 16:30 |
|---|
| Pos | Start Order | Competitor | NOC | Best Height Cleared | Attempts at 1.87 m | Attempts at 1.90 m | Attempts at 1.95 m | Attempts at 1.98 m | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 406 | Jack Winter | AUS | 1.98 | o | o | xo | o | ||
| 2 | 421 | Bjørn Paulson | NOR | 1.95 | o | o | o | xxx | ||
| 3 | 429 | George Stanich | USA | 1.95 | o | o | xxo | xxx | ||
| 4 | 427 | Dike Eddleman | USA | 1.95 | o | xo | xxo | xxx | ||
| 5 | 412 | Georges Damitio | FRA | 1.95 | o | xxo | xxo | xxx | ||
| 6 | 408 | Art Jackes | CAN | 1.90 | o | o | – | – | ||
| =7 | 413 | Alan Paterson | GBR | 1.90 | xo | xo | – | – | ||
| =7 | 426 | Hans Wahli | SUI | 1.90 | xo | xo | – | – | ||
| =9 | 409 | Alfredo Jadresic | CHI | 1.90 | – | xxo | – | – | ||
| =9 | 424 | Göran Widenfelt | SWE | 1.90 | – | xxo | – | – | ||
| =9 | 410 | Pierre Lacaze | FRA | 1.90 | – | xxo | – | – | ||
| 12 | 414 | Adegboyega, Omoba Adedoyin | GBR | 1.90 | – | xxo | – | – | 5 | |
| 13 | 420 | Birger Leirud | NOR | 1.90 | – | xxo | – | – | ||
| =14 | 430 | Hércules Azcune | URU | 1.80 | – | – | – | – | ||
| =14 | 423 | Lloyd Valberg | SGP | 1.80 | – | – | – | – | ||
| 16 | 428 | Vern McGrew | USA | 1.80 | – | – | – | – | ||
| 17 | 819 | Kuuno Honkonen | FIN | 1.80 | – | – | – | – | ||
| 18 | 417 | Gurnam Singh | IND | 1.80 | – | – | – | – | ||
| 419 | Bjørn Gundersen | NOR | – | – | – | – | – | |||
| 820 | Nils Nicklén | FIN | – | – | – | – | – |