| Date | 7 August 1948 — 15:35 | |
|---|---|---|
| Status | Olympic | |
| Location | Empire Stadium, Wembley, London | |
| Participants | 19 from 10 countries | |
| Format | Final only. | |
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, with two women reaching 1.68 (5-6), the competition was a high level affair. Both Alice Coachman and Dorothy Tyler cleared that 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.
| Pos | Start Order | Competitor | NOC | Best Height Cleared | Attempts at 1.61 m | Attempts at 1.64 m | Attempts at 1.66 m | Attempts at 1.68 m | Attempts at 1.70 m | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | Alice Coachman |  USA | 1.68 | o | xo | xo | o | xxx | Gold | ||
| 2 | 22 | Dorothy Tyler |  GBR | 1.68 | o | xxo | o | xo | xxx | Silver | ||
| 3 | 14 | Micheline Ostermeyer |  FRA | 1.61 | xo | xxx | – | – | – | Bronze | ||
| =4 | 1 | Vinton Beckett |  JAM | 1.58 | – | – | – | – | – | |||
| =4 | 8 | Doreen Dredge |  CAN | 1.58 | – | – | – | – | – | |||
| 6 | 7 | Bertha Crowther | GBR | 1.58 | – | – | – | – | – | |||
| 7 | 21 | Ilse Steinegger |  AUT | 1.55 | – | – | – | – | – | |||
| 8 | 9 | Dora Gardner | GBR | 1.55 | – | – | – | – | – | |||
| =9 | 12 | Anne Iversen |  DEN | 1.50 | – | – | – | – | – | |||
| =9 | 18 | Simone Ruas | FRA | 1.50 | – | – | – | – | – | |||
| =11 | 15 | Carmen Phipps | JAM | 1.50 | – | – | – | – | – | |||
| =11 | 17 | Bernice Robinson | USA | 1.50 | – | – | – | – | – | |||
| =11 | 10 | Shirley Gordon | CAN | 1.50 | – | – | – | – | – | |||
| =14 | 6 | Anne-Marie Colchen | FRA | 1.40 | – | – | – | – | – | |||
| =14 | 16 | Emma Reed | USA | 1.40 | – | – | – | – | – | |||
| =14 | 3 | Triny Bourkel |  LUX | 1.40 | – | – | – | – | – | |||
| =17 | 4 | Elizabeth Müller |  BRA | 1.40 | – | – | – | – | – | |||
| =17 | 11 | Olga Gyarmati |  HUN | 1.40 | – | – | – | – | – | |||
| 19 | 19 | Elaine Silburn | CAN | 1.40 | – | – | – | – | – | |||
| 20 | Noemí Simonetto de Portela |  ARG | – | – | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 13 | Milly Ludwig | LUX | – | – | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 2 | Fanny Blankers-Koen |  NED | – | – | – | – | – | – |
