Athletics at the 1948 Summer Olympics – Men's triple jump
This was the 11th appearance of the event, which is one of 12 athletics events to have been held at every Summer Olympics. There were no returning jumpers from the pre-war 1936 Games. Japan had been dominant in the event before World War II, but was no longer. Valle Rautio of Finland was closest to being a favorite, having won the 1946 European championships. Brazil, Ceylon, South Korea, Peru, Portugal, and Turkey each made their first appearance in the event. The United States competed for the 11th time, having competed at each of the Games so far. The competition used the two-round format introduced in 1936. In the qualifying round, each jumper received three attempts to reach the qualifying distance of 14.50 metres. Those who did advanced to the final round. Prior to the competition, the existing World and Olympic records were as follows. No new world or Olympic records were set during the competition. Qual. rule: qualification standard 14.50 m (Q) or at least best 12 qualified (q).
Background
Twenty-eight athletes from 17 nations competed.