1952 Summer Olympics

The Games of the XV Olympiad were held in 1952 in Helsinki, Finland. Helsinki had been elected as the host city over rival bids from Amsterdam and five American cities.

Games of the XV Olympiad
Nations participating	69
Athletes participating	4,925 (4,407 men, 518 women)
Events	149 in 17 sports
Opening ceremonies	July 19, 1952
Closing ceremonies	August 3, 1952
Officially opened by	Juho Kusti Paasikivi
Athlete's Oath	Olympic Torch	Paavo Nurmi and Hannes Kolehmainen

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Highlights

To the enjoyment of the Finnish crowd, the Olympic Flame was lit by two heroes, runners Paavo Nurmi and Hannes Kolehmainen.
For the first time in history, a team from the Soviet Union participated in the Olympics.
After being barred from participation in 1948, Germany was allowed to compete again, but only West German athletes took part.
Rules in equestrianism now allowed non-military officers to compete, including women. Lis Hartel of Denmark became the first woman in the sport to win a medal.
Emil Zátopek of Czechoslovakia won three gold medals in long-distance running.
Bob Mathias of the United States became the first Olympian to successfully defend his decathlon title.
Josy Barthel of the tiny country of Luxembourg pulled a major surprise by winning the 1500 m.

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Medals awarded

See the medal winners, ordered by sport:

Athletics
Basketball
Boxing
Canoeing
Cycling
Diving
Equestrianism
Fencing
Football
Gymnastics

Hockey
Modern Pentathlon
Rowing
Shooting
Swimming
Water Polo
Weightlifting
Wrestling
1952 Summer Olympics medal count)

1952 Summer Olympics medal count
Pos	Country	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1	United States	40	19	17	76
2	USSR	22	30	19	71
3	Hungary	16	10	16	42
4	Sweden	12	13	10	35
5	Italy	8	9	4	21
6	Czechoslovakia	7	3	3	13
7	France	6	6	6	18
8	Finland	6	3	13	22
9	Australia	6	2	3	11
10	Norway	3	2	0	5

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1952 Summer Olympics

Highlights

Medals awarded

See also