1952 Summer Olympics - Definition and Overview

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.

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:

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)