London 1948

Wherein from this book: The Story of the Olympic Games, 776B.C. to 1960 A.D.

The Games of 1940 vanished without a trace and into the limbo of the forgotten and the ignored passed those of 1944. That the latter had been assigned to London was merely a technical detail since no ever expected them to be held anyway. However, this did serve to give the British capital prior claim on 1948. hardly had the last shot gone echoing down the halls of time before the International Olympic Committee met in bomb-scarred London in August of 1945 and made it official. [...]

"Limbo of the forgotten" sounds like a quote, though I can't locate the origin. Searching Google books shows that usage going back to at least the 1870s.

For the first time in the history of the Winter Olympics, the United States took gold medals in skiing and in figure skating. A pretty, pig-tailed lass, Mrs. Gretchen Fraser, won the slalom while 18-year-old Dick Button glided to victory in the figures.

I don't think I knew Dick Button was a gold medalist. He succesfully defended his title in 1952. Though the chapters are getting longer I'm finding less I'm interested in quoting. The U.S. 400-meter relay team wins after their disqualification protest is upheld. Weather was hot and the rain was heavy. I could catalog all the various hues the authors choose to describe the "negro" athletes, but these are probably best left alone. The final paragraph includes a sentence that promises an interesting story:

Some of the Czech and Hungarian athletes flatly refused to return home behind Russia's Iron Curtain.

Peaking at the next chapter, this topic doesn't appear to be pursued.