1948 Olympics: Day 14: An empire grudge match

You might have thought that after competing in the Olympic track and field events most athletes would have looked forward to a nice rest - but not so in 1948, when an 'empire grudge match' in athletics was played out, with the United States taking on the British empire. The US athletes were the overall winners - click here for the results - but, unlike during the opening ceremony, when many were offended at the team's refusal to dip Old Glory to the King , they showed what the Manchester Guardian called 'probably unprecedented courtesy' in this time dipping their flag during the British national anthem.