London remembers 1948 Olympics as 2012 clock ticks

By Kate Kelland

LONDON, Aug 24 (Reuters) - Veteran Olympians reminiscing on Sunday, as London began its countdown as host of the 2012 Games, recalled a very different British Olympics 60 years ago.

The 1948 London Games, often referred to as the "austerity Olympics", were held in a post-war British capital badly damaged by bombs and rockets, where everyday life was severely restricted by rationing of food, clothes and fuel.

The main sports stadium was a converted dog racing track, an ice-rink was hurriedly transformed into a swimming pool, and visiting athletes slept on camp beds in schools, army barracks or private homes.

"It was very austere because it was just after the war and the rationing was still on," said 87-year-old Tommy Godwin, a British cyclist who won two bronze medals at the 1948 Games.

"There was no Olympic village. We -- the cycling team -- lived in a private house, and my mother came down and she was the cook, preparing all the food for us. We had Spam fritters and toad-in-the-hole (sausages in batter pudding)," he told BBC television.

According to Janie Hampton, author of a recently published book "The Austerity Olympics", things could not have been more different in 1948 -- particularly in relation to sportswear and the lifestyle enjoyed by the world's top athletes.

Far from the body-hugging, aerodynamic clothing worn at the 2008 Beijing Games, London 1948 saw many athletes sporting baggy, ill-fitting, home-made kit.

The Olympics were stricly for amateurs in those days. Apart from a free pair of underpants for every British competitor and free malt drinks to refuel in the evenings, athletes enjoyed little in the way of special treatment.

Rower Michael Lapage, a member of the British men's eight in the 1948 Olympics, described how the crew had to wear their own shorts and trousers, but added: "We did get a very nice scarf ... and they doubled the butter ration from 2 to 4 ounces (57 to 113 grams) a week for us."

Despite the hard times, veterans were nostalgic for the amateur and friendly spirit of the 1948 Games.

Lapage described a refreshingly "friendly spirit among the competitors" on the River Thames at Henley, the regatta venue west of London where rowing crews from round the world mingled. "There wasn't the same professionalism we see today," he said.

Cyclist Godwin, describing London's Herne Hill velodrome -- renovated and used recently for training by British 2008 gold medallist Bradley Wiggins -- said it was "nothing like" modern high-tech indoor facilities.

"It was a big open-air track, 503 yards (metres) around with a bumpy surface and the wind blowing," he said.

Godwin also pointed to one of the biggest differences between Olympic sportsmen then and now: "We were strictly amateur. I was working right up until a few days before the Olympic Games, then I went down (to London), rode the Olympics, and the next Monday I was back at work." (Editing by Tim Pearce)