Peru Comes to London
13 December 2011
Ahead of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games the Museum of London reflects upon the heritage of the event in a new display, London and the Olympics.
London and the Olympics takes visitors back to 1948 and 1908, when London has hosted the Olympics in the past. The display is a local and global perspective on the Games, highlighting not only the experience Londoners but that of the 1948 Peruvian team.
In 1948 Peru sent a team of 41 men to London. They competed in 7 sports, including the ‘free pistol’ shooting where Edwin Vásquez won a gold medal. Vasquez, a 26 year old graduate in civll engineering from Lima’s Catholic University, remains Peru’s only Olympic gold medallist.
Flying the flag for PeruThe 1948 Peruvian team included William Ahrens, a basketball player, Luis Poggi a cyclist and athlete Enrique Mendizabal Raig. Pictures in the display are from an album Enrique made in 1948 to record the team’s visit to London. The Museum of London is grateful to Enrique for allowing the use of his photos, which can also be viewed on Flickr http://www.flickr.com/photos/quiquemendizabal/sets/72157616046078646/show/.
London and the Olympics is free and will be on display until September 2012.
Members of the 1948 Peruvian Olympic Team
