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. Helsinki had been earlier given the 1940 Summer Olympics but they were canceled due to World War II.

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	Heikki Savolainen ?
Judge's Oath:	-
Olympic Torch	Paavo Nurmi and Hannes Kolehmainen

Contents

1 Highlights 2 Medals awarded 3 Medal count 4 See also 5 External links

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 woman. 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.
• Francisco Lázaro, a Portuguese runner died while running the marathon.

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 Yachting

Medal count

Top medal-collecting nations:
(for the full table, see 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

See also

• International Olympic Committee
• WikiProject Sports Olympics
• IOC country codes

External links

• IOC Site on 1952 Summer Olympics (http://www.olympic.org/uk/games/past/index_uk.asp?OLGT=1&OLGY=1952)

Olympic Games

Summer Olympic Games

1896 | 1900 | 1904 | 1906* | 1908 | 1912 | 1916 | 1920 | 1924 | 1928 | 1932 | 1936 | 1940 | 1944 | 1948 | 1952 | 1956 | 1960 | 1964 | 1968 | 1972 | 1976 | 1980 | 1984 | 1988 | 1992 | 1996 | 2000 | 2004 | 2008 | 2012 | 2016

Winter Olympic Games

1924 | 1928 | 1932 | 1936 | 1948 | 1952 | 1956 | 1960 | 1964 | 1968 | 1972 | 1976 | 1980 | 1984 | 1988 | 1992 | 1994 | 1998 | 2002 | 2006 | 2010 | 2014 | 2018

*The 1906 Olympic were organised by the IOC, but are currently not officially recognised by the IOC.

de:Olympische Sommerspiele 1952 et:1952. aasta suveolümpiamängud es:Juegos Olímpicos de Helsinki 1952 fr:Jeux Olympiques d'été de 1952 it:XV Olimpiade ja:ヘルシンキオリンピック (1952年) no:Sommer-OL 1952 fi:Helsingin olympialaiset sv:Olympiska sommarspelen 1952