Scenes from the opening ceremony

The undoubted star of the Games was Dutch athlete Fanny Blankers-Koen.

Nicknamed the 'flying-housewife', the mother-of-two won four gold medals, but the timetable of events prevented her from competing in the high and long jumps, despite being disciplines that she held the world record in.

Finnish gymnast Veikko Huhtanen was similarly successful with three golds, one silver and a bronze.

The United States once again topped the medal table with Sweden and France their nearest rivals.