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

Table of contents

1 Highlights 2 Medals awarded 3 Medal count 4 References 4.1 Internal links 4.2 External links 4.3 Bibliography

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.

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

Pos

Country

Gold

Silver

Bronze

Total

References

Internal links

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

External links

• IOC Site on 1952 Summer Olympics

Bibliography

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