BOB MATHIAS AT THE 1948 OLYMPICS ...

The 1948 Summer Games in London were the first to be held after World War II. It was a stripped-down, no-frills affair that the press dubbed the “Austerity Games.”

Missing from competition that year was the best in the world at the decathlon: Heino Lipp from Estonia. His country had been annexed by the Soviet Union, which chose not to participate in the 1948 Olympics.

Both days of decathlon competition in London turned out to be cold and wet. Between events, Mathias sat on the wet ground and shivered beneath a blanket.

At times, Mathias’ inexperience showed. In the third event — the shot put — Mathias walked out of the front side of the throwing ring. This disqualified his first throw. Mathias said later he had never heard of that rule.

In the next event, the high jump, he failed to clear the bar with his first two attempts. He saved his chances by resorting to what was called “a crude technique” to hurl himself over the bar. That third try was the best jump of the competition.

Enrique Kistenmacher of Argentina led at the end of the first day of competition.

The second event of the second day was the discus — Mathias’ best event. Officials lost the marker for his longest throw, however. His second-best throw counted and was far enough to thrust him into first place in overall competition.

Under thick cloud cover, darkness came early. The foul line for the javelin throw was lit by a flashlight. The final event — the 1,500-meter race — was illuminated by the headlights of parked cars.

An exhausted Mathias staggered across the finish line in 24th place in the 1,500 meters, but it was enough for him to maintain his lead in overall points.

A reporter asked the new Olympic decathlon champion how he would celebrate his win, Mathias shrugged. “I’ll start shaving, I guess,” he said.