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| Event type

Individual, Men

Date30 July – 4 August 1948
StatusOlympic
LocationTweseldown Racecourse, Fleet, Hampshire / Army School of Physical Training, Aldershot Military Town / Bisley Rifle Range, Bisley / Aldershot Lido, Aldershot / Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, Sandhurst
Participants45 from 16 countries
FormatPoint-for-place scoring.

At the Winter Olympics in St. Moritz a “Winter Pentathlon” demonstration sport had been contested, consisting of downhill skiing, cross-country skiing, shooting, fencing, and a horse steeplechase. Finishing second in that competition was Sweden’s Wille Grut. Grut had been Swedish champion in the modern pentathlon in 1938-40, 1944, and 1948, and won several other Swedish national titles in swimming, and water polo. He would make his only Olympic appearances in 1948, but his efforts in London would result in the most dominant victory ever in Olympic modern pentathlon. He began by winning the cross-country steeplechase ride at Tweseldown Racecourse and then tied for first in épée fencing. After two phases he had only two points, but America’s George Moore was still close with only five points. Grut then finished fifth in shooting, and when Moore placed 21st with the pistol, the race for the gold medal was over. Grut also won the swimming, thus winning three of the five phases of the modern pentathlon, and he led Moore 8-43 going into the run. He placed eighth in the cross-country run to finish with only 16 points, well ahead of Moore, who placed fourth in cross-country and won the silver medal with 47 points. Grut’s teammate, Gösta Gårdin, placed third with 49 points. Grut’s father, Torben, had been the architect of the Stockholm Olympic Stadium used for the 1912 Olympics.

PosCompetitor(s)NOCOrdinals
1Wille GrutSWE16Gold
2George MooreUSA47Silver
3Gösta GärdinSWE49Bronze
4Lauri VilkkoFIN64
5Olavi LarkasFIN71
6Bruno RiemSUI74
7Franz HegnerSUI79
8Dick GruentherUSA81
9Nilo FloodyCHI85
10Viktor PlatanFIN86
11Enrique WirthARG93
12Frigyes HegedűsHUN95
13Hale BaughUSA96
14André LacroixFRA97
15Giulio PalmonellaITA98
16Louis PichonFRA100
17Sune WehlinSWE102
18István SzondyHUN105
19Roberto CurcioITA105
20Andy MartinGBR108
21Augusto PremoliARG109
22Alberto MoreirasESP112
23José Luis RieraESP114
24Hernán FuentesCHI117
25Duilio BrignettiITA118
26Alberto OrtizURU119
27Werner SchmidSUI119
28Christian PalantFRA119
29Karel BártůTCH124
30Aëcio CoelhoBRA125
31Carlos MercaderURU125
32Horacio SiburuARG127
33Alejandro QuirozMEX130
34Jack LumsdenGBR132
35Ricardo GarcíaMEX134
36Manuel BernabéuESP141
37Geoffrey BrookeGBR145
38Aloysio BorgesBRA146
39Otto JemelkaTCH150
40Louis FauconnierBEL155
41Charles VytBEL156
42Rubén OrozcoURU164
43Humberto BedfordBRA205
DNFLászló KarácsonHUN
DNFRaoul MolletBEL