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Bermuda at the 1948 Summer Olympics

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Bermuda at the
1948 Summer Olympics
IOC codeBER
NOCBermuda Olympic Association
Websitewww.olympics.bm
in London
Competitors12 in 3 sports
Flag bearerWhitfield Fredrick Hayward
Medals
Gold
0
Silver
0
Bronze
0
Total
0
Summer Olympics appearances (overview)

Bermuda competed at the 1948 Summer Olympics in London, England.

Background

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On 22 June 1948, the Bermuda Olympic team was announced, which included: Hazzard Dill, Perry Johnson, Stanley Lines, Frank Mahoney, Phyllis Edness and Phyllis Lightbourn in athletics; Walter Bardgett, Robert Cook, Derek Oatway, Donald Shanks and Philip Tribley in swimming; and Frank Gosling in diving. Edness and Lightbourn were the only two female athletes, and they were the first two female athletes to compete for Bermuda at the Olympics.[1][2] Since Lightbourn was racing first, she became the first female to represent Bermuda at the Olympics,[2] while Edness became the first black woman to do so.[3] The delegation also included D. J. Williams (track and field coach), James F. Murray (secretary), Mrs. W. F. Hayward (chaperone), W. F. Hayward (chef de mission), Bill Brooks (swimming coach) and Loraine Bruenig (Pan American Airways hostess).[4] They boarded their flight for New York City on 13 July, before taking another flight to London.[5]

W. F. Hayward was the flag bearer for the Bermudian team at the opening ceremony, where the Bermudian team was the seventh to enter the stadium. Each member of the team wore white doeskins and white helmets. Bardgett suffered from stomach pains during the ceremony which were attributed to the hot climate in the stadium at the time.[6]

Upon returning to Bermuda on 29 August, the team was welcomed by 100 Bermudians.[7]

The Bermudan delegation as they departed for their journey to London

Athletics

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Bermuda's track and field team. Left to right back row: Perry Johnson, Frank Mahoney, D. J. Williams (coach), W. F. Hayward (manager), Stanley Lines and Hazzard Dill. Left to right front row: Phyllis Lightbourn, W. F. Hayward (chaperone) and Phyllis Edness
Further information: Athletics at the 1948 Summer Olympics

Men

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Track & road

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Hazzard Dill, Perry Johnson, Stanley Lines and Frank Mahoney competed across four track events.[8]

Bermudian men's results in track and road
Athlete Event Heat Quarterfinal Semi-final Final Ref
Result Rank Result Rank Result Rank Result Rank
Hazzard Dill 200 m — 5 did not advance [9]
400 m 53.0 3 did not advance [10]
Perry Johnson 100 m DQ 6 did not advance [11]
200 m — 4 did not advance [9]
Stanley Lines 100 m 11.69[a] 6 did not advance [11]
200 m — 4 did not advance [9]
Frank Mahoney 100 m 11.8 3 did not advance [11]
Hazzard Dill
Perry Johnson
Stanley Lines
Frank Mahoney 		4 × 100 m relay 45.4 5 did not advance [12]

Women

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Track & road

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At the Bermuda Olympic Track and Field Trials, Phyllis Lightbourn and Phyllis Edness ran a time of 12.7 seconds in the 100 metres,[13] which was faster than the Bermuda Olympic qualifying time of 13.3. The Royal Gazette wrote that there were "tremendous possibilities in the Olympics" with these performances.[14] Phyllis Edness and Phyllis Lightbourn both competed in the women's 100 and 200 metres.[8] After arriving in London, it was reported that Lightbourn and Edness were struggling to adapt to the warmer temperatures in London at the time.[15]

Edness did not advance past the heats in either event. In the 200 metres she finished last and did not qualify.[16] In the 100 metres, she was leading her heat 85 metres into the race, but she suffered from stomach cramps which slowed her down and caused her to drop from first to third, thereby not qualifying for the finals.[17][18]

Lightbourn advanced to the semi-finals in both the 100 and 200 metres. In her 200 metres heat, she was in third position near the finish, but the second-place runner (Czechoslovakia's Olga Šicnerová) fell, which allowed Lightbourn to take second position and qualify for the semi-finals. Lightbourn also fainted at the finish line. She was treated by paramedics.[19] She finished last in the semi-finals of both her events and thus did not qualify for any finals.[18][16]

Bermudian women's results in swimming
Athlete Event Heat Semi-final Final Ref
Result Rank Result Rank Result Rank
Phyllis Edness 100 m 13.6 3 did not advance [18]
200 m — 5 did not advance [16]
Phyllis Lightbourn 100 m 13.0 2 13.65[a] 6 did not advance [18]
200 m 27.0 2 — 7 did not advance [16]

Field

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Phyllis Lightbourn was the only woman to compete in a field event.[8] She competed in the long jump, where she jumped a distance of 5.23 metres to finish in fifteenth position overall.[20]

Diving

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Further information: Diving at the 1948 Summer Olympics

Bermuda's only competitor in diving was Frank Gosling, who scored 113.98 points to place tenth in the men's 3 metre springboard event.[8][21]

Swimming

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Further information: Swimming at the 1948 Summer Olympics

Walter Bardgett, Robert Cook, Derek Oatway, Donald Shanks and Philip Tribley competed across five swimming events.[8]

Bermudian men's results in swimming
Athlete Event Heat Semi-final Final Ref
Time Rank Time Rank Time Rank
Walter Bardgett 400 m freestyle 5:37.2 7 did not advance [22]
Robert Cook 5:37.9 6 did not advance [22]
Derek Oatway 100 m freestyle 1:08.6 6 did not advance [23]
400 m freestyle 5:20.9 6 did not advance [22]
1500 m freestyle 21:55.1 7 did not advance [24]
Donald Shanks 100 m backstroke 1:17.1 3 did not advance [25]
Philip Tribley 1500 m freestyle 22:56.6 7 did not advance [24]
Walter Bardgett
Derek Oatway
Robert Cook
Philip Tribley 		4 × 200 m freestyle DQ 7 did not advance [26]

Notes

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  1. ^ a b Automatically timed result. Although hand-timed results were used for the official results, some athletes only received automatically timed results.

References

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  1. ^ "Twelve Athletes Chosen to Represent Bermuda". The Royal Gazette. 22 June 1948. p. 6. Retrieved 27 June 2025.
  2. ^ a b "First female competitors at the Olympics by country". Olympedia. Retrieved 14 June 2020.
  3. ^ "Olympedia – Phyllis Edness". Olympedia. Archived from the original on 2 December 2024. Retrieved 21 June 2025.
  4. ^ "Olympic Team Leave for London". The Royal Gazette. 14 July 1948. p. 1. Retrieved 29 June 2025.
  5. ^ "Track and Field Team Shaping Up". The Royal Gazette. 8 July 1948. p. 6 – via Bermuda National Library.
  6. ^ "Bermudians Get Ovation at Olympics Opening". The Royal Gazette. 31 July 1948. p. 8. Retrieved 29 June 2025.
  7. ^ "Bermuda Olympic Team Welcomed Home; Cheered by Supporters at Aeroport". The Royal Gazette. 30 August 1948. p. 1. Retrieved 29 June 2025.
  8. ^ a b c d e "Olympedia – Bermuda at the 1948 Summer Olympics". www.olympedia.org. Retrieved 28 June 2025.
  9. ^ a b c "Olympedia – 200 metres, Men". www.olympedia.org. Retrieved 28 June 2025.
  10. ^ "Olympedia – 400 metres, Men". www.olympedia.org. Retrieved 28 June 2025.
  11. ^ a b c "Olympedia – 100 metres, Men". www.olympedia.org. Retrieved 28 June 2025.
  12. ^ "Olympedia – 4 x 100 metres Relay, Men". www.olympedia.org. Retrieved 28 June 2025.
  13. ^ "Olympic Coaches Report on Selection of Team – Gosling's Diving Outstanding Good Performances in Track". The Royal Gazette. 25 June 1948. p. 7. Retrieved 27 June 2025.
  14. ^ "Three Records Broken in Five Events to be Run – Coloured Athletes Show Well in Track and Field Meeting". The Royal Gazette. 31 May 1948. p. 6. Retrieved 26 June 2025.
  15. ^ Brown, Bernard (28 July 1948). "Dill and Gosling Seen as Best Hopes of Bermuda Olympic Team in London". The Royal Gazette. Retrieved 27 June 2025.
  16. ^ a b c d "Olympedia – 200 metres, Women". www.olympedia.org. Retrieved 28 June 2025.
  17. ^ "Gosling Makes Tenth in Diving; Lightbourn in 100-Metre Semi-finals". The Royal Gazette. 2 August 1948. p. 3. Retrieved 22 June 2025 – via Bermuda National Library.
  18. ^ a b c d "Olympedia – 100 metres, Women". www.olympedia.org. Retrieved 28 June 2025.
  19. ^ Brown, Bernard (6 August 1948). "Phyllis Lightbourn Faints on Finish Line; Eliminated in Semi-Finals of Sprint". The Royal Gazette. p. 1. Retrieved 27 June 2025.
  20. ^ "Olympedia – Long Jump, Women". www.olympedia.org. Retrieved 28 June 2025.
  21. ^ "Olympedia – Springboard, Men". www.olympedia.org. Retrieved 28 June 2025.
  22. ^ a b c "Olympedia – 400 metres Freestyle, Men". www.olympedia.org. Retrieved 28 June 2025.
  23. ^ "Olympedia – 100 metres Freestyle, Men". www.olympedia.org. Retrieved 28 June 2025.
  24. ^ a b "Olympedia – 1,500 metres Freestyle, Men". www.olympedia.org. Retrieved 28 June 2025.
  25. ^ "Olympedia – 100 metres Backstroke, Men". www.olympedia.org. Retrieved 28 June 2025.
  26. ^ "Olympedia – 4 x 200 metres Freestyle Relay, Men". www.olympedia.org. Retrieved 28 June 2025.
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