London, despite the deep wounds inflicted by the war, wanted to fully honour the commitment made in 1939 (at the time the Games were awarded by the IOC to the British capital, with Rome losing out by 20 votes to 11). The defeated countries, headed by Germany and Japan, were absent, along with the Soviets for reasons never specified. The efforts by the British, strongly supported by countries of the Commonwealth, had the consolation of excellent sporting results. The heroine of the Games was Dutch athlete "Fanny" Blankers-Koen, the "flying housewife" winner of four gold medals on the track. For the Italians, a one-two in the discus with Adolfo Consolini and Beppe Tosi. With third in the medal table, the Italian athletes, who with great courage Giulio Onesti had wanted at the Games, managed to come ahead of the home nation.