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The 1952 Summer Olympics ( fi, Kesäolympialaiset 1952; sv, Olympiska sommarspelen 1952), officially known as the Games of the XV Olympiad ( fi, XV olympiadin kisat; sv, Den XV olympiadens spel) and commonly known as Helsinki 1952 ( sv, Helsingfors 1952), were an international multi-sport event held from 19 July to 3 August 1952 in Helsinki, Finland. After Japan declared in 1938 that it would be unable to host 1940 Olympics in Tokyo due to the ongoing Second Sino-Japanese War, Helsinki had been selected to host the
1940 Summer Olympics The 1940 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XII Olympiad, were originally scheduled to be held from September 21 to October 6, 1940, in Tokyo City, Empire of Japan. They were rescheduled for Helsinki, Finland, to be held from ...
, which were then cancelled due to World War II. Tokyo eventually hosted the games in 1964. Helsinki is the northernmost city at which a summer Olympic Games have been held. With London hosting the 1948 Olympics, 1952 is the most recent time when two consecutive summer Olympics Games were held entirely in Europe. The 1952 Summer Olympics was the last of the two consecutive Olympics to be held in Northern Europe, following the
1952 Winter Olympics The 1952 Winter Olympics, officially known as the VI Olympic Winter Games ( no, De 6. olympiske vinterleker; nn, Dei 6. olympiske vinterleikane) and commonly known as Oslo 1952, was a winter multi-sport event held from 14 to 25 February 195 ...
in Oslo, Norway. They were also the Olympic Games at which the most world records were broken until they were surpassed by the
2008 Summer Games The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Nati ...
in
Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...
. The Soviet Union, the People's Republic of China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Israel, Thailand, and Saarland made their Olympic debuts at the 1952 Games. The United States won the most gold and overall medals.


Background and preparation of the Games


Host city selection

Inspired by the success of the Swedish
1912 Olympics The 1912 Summer Olympics ( sv, Olympiska sommarspelen 1912), officially known as the Games of the V Olympiad ( sv, Den V olympiadens spel) and commonly known as Stockholm 1912, were an international multi-sport event held in Stockholm, Sweden, bet ...
, Finnish sports fans began to arouse the idea of their own Olympic Games: for example, Erik von Frenckell publicly presented his dreams of the Finnish Olympic Games at the opening of the 1915 Töölön Pallokenttä. As the Olympic success continued in the 1920s, enthusiasm for one's own Olympics grew, and after the
1920 Antwerp Olympics The 1920 Summer Olympics (french: Jeux olympiques d'été de 1920; nl, Olympische Zomerspelen van 1920; german: Olympische Sommerspiele 1920), officially known as the Games of the VII Olympiad (french: Jeux de la VIIe olympiade; nl, Spelen van ...
, Finnish sports leaders began planning to build a stadium in Helsinki in 1920. Finland's main sports organizations and the City of Helsinki founded the Stadion Foundation in 1927 to get the stadium to Helsinki. In the same year,
Ernst Edvard Krogius Ernst Edvard Krogius (June 6, 1865 – September 21, 1955) was a Finnish lawyer, shipowner and sailor who competed in the 1912 Summer Olympics The 1912 Summer Olympics ( sv, Olympiska sommarspelen 1912), officially known as the Games of the ...
, who represented Finland on the International Olympic Committee (IOC), announced Finland's willingness to host the competition. In 1930, preparations for the 1936 Games, which was accelerated by the launch of a design project for the Olympic Stadium. However, Helsinki was not a candidate in the first round in 1931, and
Berlin Berlin is Capital of Germany, the capital and largest city of Germany, both by area and List of cities in Germany by population, by population. Its more than 3.85 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European U ...
won the competition, but Helsinki immediately registered as a candidate for the 1940 Games. Those games were awarded to Tokyo in 1936, and two years later with the outbreak of the Sino-Japanese War Japan announced they were giving up the 1940 games, and four days later the IOC offered the Games to Helsinki, which agreed to take over, although there was little time left to prepare for the Games. World War II broke out on 1 September 1939, with the German invasion of Poland, which also drew Britain and
France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...
to war. Despite the aggression, the Organizing Committee of the Olympic Games continued to be optimistic about the preparations for the Games. However, the Winter War, initiated by the Soviet Union on 30 November 1939, halted planning for the games. After the Winter War, the Organizing Committee decided to abandon the Games on 20 March 1940 due to the hostilities across Europe, the suspension of preparations caused by the Winter War, and the deplorable economic situation. At the meeting of the Finnish Olympic Committee on 20 April 1940, the Olympic Games in Finland were officially canceled. In the meantime, World War II had already expanded, with Germany occupying Denmark and fighting in Norway. Instead of the Olympic Games, Finland held a
Memorial Competitions for Fallen Athletes A memorial is an object or place which serves as a focus for the memory or the commemoration of something, usually an influential, deceased person or a historical, tragic event. Popular forms of memorials include landmark objects or works of ...
who died in the Winter War, at the opening of which actor
Eino Kaipainen Eino Kaipainen (1899–1995) was a Finnish actor.Goble p.489 Selected filmography * ''Katariina ja Munkkiniemen kreivi'' (1943) * ''North Express'' (1947) * ''The General's Fiancée'' (1951) * ''Song of Warsaw'' (1953) * ''After the Fall of Man'' ...
recited the poem ''Silent Winners'' written by . The memorial competitions were held on the initiative of the sports journalist Sulo Kolka. At the end of World War II, London was awarded the
1948 Summer Olympics The 1948 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XIV Olympiad and also known as London 1948) were an international multi-sport event held from 29 July to 14 August 1948 in London, England, United Kingdom. Following a twelve-year hiatus ca ...
after the city was originally granted the 1944 Games, which were canceled due to the war. Helsinki continued its attempt to have the Games organized and registered as candidates for the 1952 Games. At the IOC Congress in Stockholm on 21 June 1947, Helsinki was chosen as the host city, over the Netherlands (
Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...
) and the United States Los Angeles, Minneapolis,
Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at ...
,
Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...
and Philadelphia were left behind in Helsinki. Helsinki's strengths included the fairly completed venues built for the 1940 Games.


Organizing Committee

After confirmation that Helsinki would host the Games, the "XV Olympia Helsinki 1952" was established as the organizing committee of the Games on 8 September 1947. Its members were the Finnish Olympic Committee, the Finnish State, the City of Helsinki and 26 various sports organizations. The mayor of Helsinki Erik von Frenckell was elected chairman of the committee, who at the time also chaired Finnish Football Association. Akseli Kaskela, Olavi Suvanto and
Armas-Eino Martola Armas-Eino Martola (12 May 1896 – 5 February 1986) was a Finnish general of the infantry (), a knight of the Mannerheim Cross and a member of the Jäger Movement. He participated in the Eastern Front of World War I, the Finnish Civil War, the W ...
were elected Vice-Chairs. Among them, Kaskela and Suvanto were elected on political grounds as representatives of the bourgeois SVUL and the leftist
TUL Tul is a Korean martial art form. Tul or TUL may also refer to: * Tul, Hormozgan, Iran * Tuł, Masovian Voivodeship, Poland * TUL corporation, a Taiwanese computer products manufacturer * Technical University of Liberec, Czech Republic * Lodz U ...
, Martola, on the other hand, got a former officer to lead the organization of the practical arrangements. Other members of the Organizing Committee were
Yrjö Enne Yrjö, a masculine Finnish people, Finnish given name that is the equivalent of George (given name), George, may refer to: * Yrjö von Grönhagen, (1911–2003), Finnish anthropologist * Yrjö Jylhä, (1903–1956), Finnish poet * Yrjö Kilp ...
,
Väinö AM Karikoski Väinö is a masculine given name found most commonly in Finland and may refer to: *Väinö Auer (1895–1981), Finnish geologist and geographer * Väinö Bremer (1899–1964), Finnish biathlete and modern pentathlete and Olympic competitor * V ...
, Urho Kekkonen,
Ernst Krogius Ernst Edvard Krogius (June 6, 1865 – September 21, 1955) was a Grand Duchy of Finland, Finnish lawyer, shipowner and sailor who competed in the 1912 Summer Olympics. He was a crew member of the Finnish boat ''Heatherbell'', which won the bro ...
, William Lehtinen, Aarne K. Leskinen, Eino Pekkala, Väinö Salovaara and Erik Åström. In 1948–1949, Karikoski, Kekkonen, Krogius and Lehtinen resigned from the committee, and
Lauri Miettinen Lauri may refer to: * Lauri (given name), including a list of people with the name * Lauri (surname), including a list of people with the name * Lauri, Põlva County, a village in Estonia * Lauri, Rapla County, a village in Estonia * Lauri, Võru ...
,
Arno Tuurna The Arno is a river in the Tuscany region of Italy. It is the most important river of central Italy after the Tiber. Source and route The river originates on Monte Falterona in the Casentino area of the Apennine Mountains, Apennines, and i ...
and
Yrjö Valkama Yrjö Armas Valkama (ne ''Flaming'', June 5, 1894 – March 3, 1975) was a Finnish diver who competed in the 1920 Summer Olympics and in the 1924 Summer Olympics. He was born and died in Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) ...
were elected to replace them. In the spring of 1952, Ente was replaced by
Arvi E. Heiskanen Arvi may refer to: * Arvi, Wardha, a city in the Wardha district of Maharashtra, India ** Arvi (Vidhan Sabha constituency) * An ancient Hebrew word for inhabitants of Arabia; see Etymology of the word Arab * Arvi (given name) Arvi is an Esto ...
and as completely new members by
Mauno Pekkala Mauno Pekkala (27 January 1890 – 30 June 1952) was a Finnish statesman and politician who served as Prime Minister from 1946 to 1948. Pekkala was a member of the Social Democratic Party of Finland and member of several wartime cabinets as Mi ...
and
Aaro Tynell Aaro may refer to: * Aaro (Shadow of the Eagle), a character portrayed by Mikko Leppilampi in the 2005 Finnish film ''Kaksipäisen kotkan varjossa'' * All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office of the US Department of Defense People with the given nam ...
. Erik von Frenckell was the chairman of the organizing committee and the other members were Armas-Eino Martola (competition director), Yrjö Valkama (sports director), Olavi Suvanto (maintenance director), Akseli Kaskela, Aarne K. Leskinen and Niilo Koskinen. In addition, the head of the central office
Kallio Kotkas Kallio (; sv, Berghäll; literally "Rock (geology), the rock") is a district and a Subdivisions of Helsinki#Neighbourhoods, neighbourhood in Helsinki, the capital of Finland, located on the eastern side of the Helsinki peninsula about one k ...
and the head of information Eero Petäjäniemi were involved in the competition organization.


Political situation

The international political atmosphere was tense when the Helsinki Olympics were held. When the IOC held its meeting in Vienna in 1951, many difficult topics were on the agenda. The
Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of Geopolitics, geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term ''Cold war (term), co ...
was under way, and the situation between Israel and Arab countries, divided Germany had to be addressed as a team, and the Chinese Civil War, with the Chinese Communist Party winning, forming the People's Republic of China and the
Republic of China Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northeast ...
government exiled to Taiwan. Four years earlier,
Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
was not invited to the London Olympics from the losing states of the Second World War. The Olympic Committee of Israel had not yet been recognized, and a successor to the
German Olympic Committee The German Olympic Sports Confederation (german: Deutscher Olympischer Sportbund or DOSB) was founded on 20 May 2006 by a merger of the ''Deutscher Sportbund'' (DSB), and the ''Nationales Olympisches Komitee für Deutschland'' (NOK) which dates ...
, which had been dissolved during World War II, had not yet been established, but all these countries already participated in the Helsinki Games, as did Saarland. The Cold War affected the participation of both the United States and the Soviet Union in the Games. The participation of the United States in the Games was decided only after the country had received an assessment of the political situation in Finland from its embassy in Helsinki. The Soviet Union was accepted as a member of the IOC in May 1951, and in December of the same year the country accepted the invitation to the competition, as the country's athletes were in medal condition. Although the Soviet leadership had previously considered the Games a bourgeois event, the Helsinki Games held
propaganda Propaganda is communication that is primarily used to influence or persuade an audience to further an agenda, which may not be objective and may be selectively presenting facts to encourage a particular synthesis or perception, or using loaded ...
value. In the Soviet Union, billions of rubles were spent on coaching athletes in just one year. The Soviet Union planned to fly its athletes every day between Leningrad and Helsinki. Another option was for Soviet athletes to stay in the Soviet
Porkkalanniemi Porkkalanniemi ( sv, Porkala udd) is a peninsula in the Gulf of Finland, located at Kirkkonummi (Kyrkslätt) in Southern Finland. The peninsula had great strategic value, as coastal artillery based there would be able to shoot more than hal ...
garrison. However, Finland required that all competitors stay in the race village. As a compromise solution for the
Eastern Bloc The Eastern Bloc, also known as the Communist Bloc and the Soviet Bloc, was the group of socialist states of Central and Eastern Europe, East Asia, Southeast Asia, Africa, and Latin America under the influence of the Soviet Union that existed du ...
athletes, a second race village was established in Espoo,
Otaniemi Otaniemi (Finnish), or Otnäs (Swedish), is a district of Espoo, Finland. It is located near the border of Helsinki, the capital of Finland. Otaniemi is located on the southern shore of the Laajalahti bay, next to the district of Tapiola near th ...
. The 1952 Games were also threatened with cancellation due to the deteriorating world situation. The Korean War had begun in 1950, which also caused concern in the organizing committee. At Von Frenckell's suggestion, the organizing committee decided to take out Lloyd's of London war insurance.


Construction work

Most of the venues for the competitions were completed prior to the 1940s in anticipation of successful bid attempts, but some expansion and refurbishment work was needed, including the construction of additional stands at the Olympic and Swimming Stadium. A residential area, Kisakylä (Olympic Village) was built south of Käpylä's Koskelantie to accommodate competitors. The area, which was built close to the 1940 Olympics, was already the residence of the people of Helsinki at that time. Just below the opening, the competition area was completed for the use of visitors Kumpula Outdoor Swimming Pool. Female athletes got their own race village from the Nursing College in Meilahti. The athletes of the Soviet-led Eastern Bloc stayed in the Teekkarikylä in Otaniemi. The Finnish team lived on the premises of the
Santahamina Santahamina ( sv, Sandhamn) is an island and neighbourhood of Eastern Helsinki, Finland. At present it is a military base housing the Guard Jaeger Regiment, making access restricted. The Finnish National Defence University (NDU) is also located ...
Army School (later the Cadet School, now the National Defence University). The City of Helsinki prepared for the Olympics by building a new airport in Seutula (now
Helsinki-Vantaan lentoasema Helsinki-Vantaa Airport (; fi, Helsinki-Vantaan lentoasema, sv, Helsingfors-Vanda flygplats), or simply Helsinki Airport, is the main international airport of the city of Helsinki, its surrounding metropolitan area, and the Uusimaa region. Th ...
), the Olympic Pier South Harbor and paving tens of kilometers of roads. The city's first traffic lights were installed at the intersection of
Aleksanterinkatu Aleksanterinkatu ( sv, Alexandersgatan; "Alexander Street") is a street in Kluuvi, the commercial centre of Helsinki, Finland. In the city plan by Carl Ludvig Engel, it was the ''Decumanus Maximus'', the main east–west street in the city, cross ...
and
Mikonkatu Mikonkatu (Swedish: ''Mikaelsgatan'') is a street in central Helsinki, Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden ...
in October 1951. The Palace Hotel and Vaakuna Hotels among others, were completed for the needs of the guests. However, due to the relatively low number of hotels in the city, tent villages were built for tourists in Lauttasaari and
Seurasaari Seurasaari ( sv, Fölisön) is an island and a district in Helsinki, Finland, known mostly as the location of the Seurasaari Open-Air Museum, which consists of old, mainly wooden buildings transplanted from elsewhere in Finland and placed in the de ...
, among others. However, the preparations for accommodation turned out to be considerably oversized; at its best, the occupancy rate of the 6,000-seat tent village in Lauttasaari had an occupancy of only 8 per cent. With the support of the Olympia 1952 committee, Finland's first mini golf courses were completed to entertain guests.


Anthem

The International Olympic Committee had declared in 1950 that it did not have an official Olympic anthem, but that the organizers could decide their own anthems. An anthem competition was held in Finland. In the spring of 1951, a poetry competition was announced, which was surprisingly won by an unknown teacher candidate, Niilo Partanen. Second and third came the well-known poets
Toivo Lyy Toivo is a masculine given name most commonly found in Estonia and Finland and may refer to: *Andimba Toivo ya Toivo (1924–2017), Namibian politician and anti-Apartheid activist *Sigrid Elmblad (1860–1926), Swedish journalist, poet, translator ...
and
Heikki Asunta Heikki Asunta (25 June 1904 – 28 June 1959) was a Finnish writer. His work was part of the literature event in the art competition at the 1948 Summer Olympics The 1948 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XIV Olympiad and a ...
. These winning poems were allowed to be used in the composition competition. The selection of the 51 compositions by a jury chaired by Jouko Tolonen was also a surprise. When the winner was announced on 17 March 1952, an unknown teacher
Jaakko Linjama Jaakko is a Finnish male first name, etymologically rooted in the Biblical names Jacob or James. The name day of Jaakko in the Finnish calendar is July 25. Jaakko may refer to: *Kings who are in English named ''James'' are in Finnish named ''Jaakko ...
was revealed behind the nickname, who had used Lyy's lyrics in his Olympic Hymn. The nicknames of the other contestants were not opened. This caused a stir, and the Arijoutsi, among others, doubted that the victory of the unknown would go to the honor of well-known composers. There were well-known members in the competition. The voters had identified the composing style of Uuno Klami and Aarre Merikanto, among others. The only Finnish composer who congratulated Linjamaa was Jean Sibelius, who did not take part in the anthem.


Torch relay

The Olympic torch was transported by land from
Olympia The name Olympia may refer to: Arts and entertainment Film * ''Olympia'' (1938 film), by Leni Riefenstahl, documenting the Berlin-hosted Olympic Games * ''Olympia'' (1998 film), about a Mexican soap opera star who pursues a career as an athlet ...
to Athens from where fire's journey continued in a miner's lamp donated by the
Saar Saar or SAAR has several meanings: People Given name *Saar Boubacar (born 1951), Senegalese professional football player *Saar Ganor, Israeli archaeologist *Saar Klein (born 1967), American film editor Surname * Ain Saar (born 1968), Esto ...
Olympic Committee on a
SAS SAS or Sas may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''SAS'' (novel series), a French book series by Gérard de Villiers * ''Shimmer and Shine'', an American animated children's television series * Southern All Stars, a Japanese rock ba ...
plane to
Aalborg Aalborg (, , ) is Denmark's fourth largest town (behind Copenhagen, Aarhus, and Odense) with a population of 119,862 (1 July 2022) in the town proper and an urban population of 143,598 (1 July 2022). As of 1 July 2022, the Municipality of Aalb ...
,
Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establishe ...
. The glass cover surrounding the lamp was designed by the artist
Sakari Tohka Sakari is a given name, and may refer to: * Sakari Kukko (born 1953), Finnish saxophonist and flutist * Sakari Kuosmanen (born 1956), Finnish singer and actor * Sakari Oramo (born 1965), Finnish conductor * Sakari Pinomäki, Finnish mechanical and ...
. The Olympic torch itself was designed by the artist Aukusti Tuhka. From Denmark, the torchlight continued by running, cycling, riding, rowing and paddling to
Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...
, from where the fire was transported by ferry to
Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...
to Malmö. The journey of the torch across Sweden was carried to
Haparanda Haparanda (; fi, Haaparanta, , aspen shore or bank) is a locality and the seat of Haparanda Municipality in Norrbotten County, Sweden. It is adjacent to Tornio, Finland. Haparanda had a population of 4,856 in 2010, out of a municipal total of 10,2 ...
by 700 messengers, from where it continued to the Finnish side in Tornio. On the Finnish-Swedish border bridge, the torch was received by
Ville Pörhölä Frans Wilhelm "Ville" Pörhölä (originally Horneman, 24 December 1897 – 28 November 1964) was a Finnish athlete who competed in shot put, discus throw, hammer throw and weight throw. Pörhölä won the gold medal in shot put at the 1920 Sum ...
, who brought it to Tornio sports ground. The Olympic torch from Tornio, Greece, was connected to
Pallastunturi Pallastunturi is a group of seven fells in the municipalities of Muonio and Enontekiö in Lapland, Finland. The highest peak is Taivaskero, which is also highest peak of Pallas-Yllästunturi National Park and whole Lapland excluding Käsivarsi ...
on 6 July 1952 where it ignited the “midnight sun fire”. In reality, the Pallastunturi fire was lit with
liquefied petroleum gas Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG or LP gas) is a fuel gas which contains a flammable mixture of hydrocarbon gases, specifically propane, propylene, butylene, isobutane and n-butane. LPG is used as a fuel gas in heating appliances, cooking e ...
, because the night in July was cloudy at that time and it was not possible to use the sun as a lighter. From Tornio, the torch traveled through Finland to Helsinki. It was transported by more than 1,200 people. Initially, the aim was to transport fire to Helsinki via the Soviet Union, but the matter was not settled through diplomacy by the deadline. The journey covered a total of 7,870 kilometres on the journey that began on 25 June and ended on 19 July 1952. The actual Olympic flame was lit for the Olympic Stadium. Olympic torch relay: * :
Olympia The name Olympia may refer to: Arts and entertainment Film * ''Olympia'' (1938 film), by Leni Riefenstahl, documenting the Berlin-hosted Olympic Games * ''Olympia'' (1998 film), about a Mexican soap opera star who pursues a career as an athlet ...
Corinth Corinth ( ; el, Κόρινθος, Kórinthos, ) is the successor to an ancient city, and is a former municipality in Corinthia, Peloponnese, which is located in south-central Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform, it has been part ...
Athens * :
Aalborg Aalborg (, , ) is Denmark's fourth largest town (behind Copenhagen, Aarhus, and Odense) with a population of 119,862 (1 July 2022) in the town proper and an urban population of 143,598 (1 July 2022). As of 1 July 2022, the Municipality of Aalb ...
ÅrhusVejleOdenseSorø
Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...
* : MalmöHelsingborgLaholmGöteborgJönköping
Norrköping Norrköping (; ) is a city in the province of Östergötland in eastern Sweden and the seat of Norrköping Municipality, Östergötland County, about 160 km southwest of the national capital Stockholm, 40 km east of county seat Linköp ...
Örebro
Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...
UppsalaFalun
Gävle Gävle () is a city in Sweden, the seat of Gävle Municipality and the capital of Gävleborg County. It had 77,586 inhabitants in 2020, which makes it the 13th most populated city in Sweden. It is the oldest city in the historical Norrland (Swede ...
Hudiksvall
Sundsvall Sundsvall () is a city and the seat of Sundsvall Municipality in Västernorrland County, Sweden. It has a population of 58,807 as of 2020; more than 95,000 live in the municipal area. It is Sweden's 21st largest city by population. History Th ...
UmeåSkellefteåBoden
Haparanda Haparanda (; fi, Haaparanta, , aspen shore or bank) is a locality and the seat of Haparanda Municipality in Norrbotten County, Sweden. It is adjacent to Tornio, Finland. Haparanda had a population of 4,856 in 2010, out of a municipal total of 10,2 ...
* : (midnight sun fire):
Pallastunturi Pallastunturi is a group of seven fells in the municipalities of Muonio and Enontekiö in Lapland, Finland. The highest peak is Taivaskero, which is also highest peak of Pallas-Yllästunturi National Park and whole Lapland excluding Käsivarsi ...
RovaniemiTornio
Oulu Oulu ( , ; sv, Uleåborg ) is a city, municipality and a seaside resort of about 210,000 inhabitants in the region of North Ostrobothnia, Finland. It is the most populous city in northern Finland and the fifth most populous in the country after: ...
KokkolaJyväskyläTampereHelsinki


Opening ceremony

The opening ceremony of the Helsinki Olympics was held on 19 July. Although the weather was rainy and chilly and the Olympic Stadium had no roof but on top of the main auditorium, the stadium was full with 70,435 spectators. The inaugural march had a record 5,469 people from 67 countries. After the march, the countries organized themselves into the central lawn, and the chairman of the organizing committee, Erik von Frenckell, spoke in Finnish, Swedish, French and English. President of the Republic
J. K. Paasikivi Juho Kusti Paasikivi (; 27 November 1870 – 14 December 1956) was the seventh president of Finland (1946–1956). Representing the Finnish Party until its dissolution in 1918 and then the National Coalition Party, he also served as Prime Minister ...
gave the opening speech, which was the shortest in Olympic history and contained a mistake: it was not the "Fifteenth Olympic Games", but the XV Olympic Games and the 12th World Olympics, due to the 1916, 1940 and 1944 races had been canceled. The speech was followed by the raising of the Olympic flag and the ''
Olympic fanfare The International Olympic Committee (IOC) uses icons, flags and symbols to elevate the Olympic Games. These symbols include those commonly used during Olympic competition—such as the flame, fanfare and theme—as well as those used througho ...
'' composed by Aarre Merikanto. The President's speech was as follows: The Olympic flame was lit by running heroes Paavo Nurmi (to the stadium) and Hannes Kolehmainen (to the stadium tower). When Paavo Nurmi was announced to arrive at the stadium, athletes from the participating countries deviated from the formation to see the legend better. Only the lines of the Soviet Union and Finland remained in the line. After the Olympic flame was lit, the Archbishop Ilmari Salomies was due to say a prayer, but German Barbara Rotbraut-Pleyer, nicknamed “White Angel of the Games”, had jumped from the auditorium onto the track and ran straight to the speaker's seat. Organizers quickly removed Pleyer, who had time to say just a few words into the microphone. Pleyer's purpose was to proclaim a message of peace. Heikki Savolainen, a gymnast who was competing in his fifth consecutive Olympic games, swore the Olympic oath on behalf of the athletes.


Highlights

* These were the final Olympic Games organised under the IOC presidency of Sigfrid Edström. * Israel made its Olympic debut. The Jewish state had been unable to participate in the 1948 Games because of its
1947–1949 Palestine war The 1948 Palestine war was fought in the territory of what had been, at the start of the war, British-ruled Mandatory Palestine. It is known in Israel as the War of Independence ( he, מלחמת העצמאות, ''Milkhemet Ha'Atzma'ut'') and ...
. A previous Palestine Mandate team had boycotted the 1936 Games in protest of the Nazi regime. * Indonesia made its Olympic debut with three athletes. * The newly established People's Republic of China (PRC) participated in the Olympics for the first time, although only one swimmer ( Wu Chuanyu) of its 40-member delegation arrived in time to take part in the official competition. The PRC would not return to the Summer Olympics until
Los Angeles 1984 The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and also known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the secon ...
. * The
Republic of China Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northeast ...
(Taiwan) withdrew from the Games on July 20, in protest of the IOC decision to allow athletes from the People's Republic of China to compete. * The Soviet Union participated for the first time. Soviet Olympic team was notorious for skirting the edge of amateur rules. All Soviet athletes held some nominal jobs, but were in fact state-sponsored and trained full-time. According to many experts, that gave the Soviet Union a huge advantage over the United States and other Western countries, whose athletes were students or real amateurs. Indeed, the Soviet Union monopolized the top place in the medal standings after 1968, and, until its collapse, placed second only once, in the 1984 Winter games, after another Eastern bloc nation, the
GDR East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...
. Amateur rules were relaxed only in the late 1980s and were almost completely abolished in the 1990s, after the
fall of the USSR The dissolution of the Soviet Union, also negatively connoted as rus, Разва́л Сове́тского Сою́за, r=Razvál Sovétskogo Soyúza, ''Ruining of the Soviet Union''. was the process of internal disintegration within the Sov ...
. * The Soviets turned the athletic competition into a metaphor for political propaganda: “Every record won by our sportsmen, every victory in international contests, graphically demonstrates to the whole world the advantages and strength of the Soviet system.”('' Sovetsky Sport'') Additionally, Soviet state media falsely claimed victory at these Games, despite the Soviet Union finishing second the United States both in terms of gold and total medals. * The Olympic Flame was lit by two Finnish heroes,
runners Running is a method of terrestrial locomotion allowing humans and other animals to move rapidly on foot. Running is a type of gait characterized by an aerial phase in which all feet are above the ground (though there are exceptions). This is ...
Paavo Nurmi and Hannes Kolehmainen. Nurmi first lit the cauldron inside the stadium, and later the flame was relayed to the stadium tower where Kolehmainen lit it. Only the flame in the tower was burning throughout the Olympics. (See:
1952 Summer Olympics torch relay The 1952 Summer Olympics torch relay was the symbolic transport of the Olympic flame from Olympia, Greece, to the venue of the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki, Finland, where it featured as part of the Olympic Games ceremony, opening ceremony ...
.) * Germany and Japan were invited after being barred in 1948. Following the post-war occupation and partition, three German states had been established. Teams from the Federal Republic of Germany and the Saarland (which joined the FRG after 1955) participated; the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) was absent. Though they won 24 medals, the fifth-highest total at the Games, German competitors failed to win a gold medal for the only time. * Eva Perón, the celebrated First Lady of Argentina, died of cancer in July 1952 while the Olympics were taking place, so a memorial was held at the Games for the Argentine team.


Sports events

There were 4,925 athletes from 69 countries, of which the Soviet Union first participated in the Olympics and Germany for the first time since World War II. A total of 149 competitions were held in 17 different sports. The biggest heroes of the Games were Viktor Chukarin of the Soviet Union, who won four gymnastics Olympic gold medals, and
Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...
’s Emil Zátopek, who won three running golds. The United States achieved the most medals; 40 gold, 19 silver, 17 bronze. The host country, Finland, had 6 gold, 3 silver and 13 bronze medals.


Shooting

Shooting was competed in seven events, six of which (rifle sports) were conducted at the Malmi Shooting Range in moderately difficult wind conditions. Tough results were still fired in Helsinki, as the top four deer shooting broke world records. World records for knee position were also broken in free and small rifles. Shotgun shooting took place at the Huopalahti shooting range. Ten countries took medals from the shooting. Norway was the only country to win two gold medals, with the Soviet Union winning the most medals. Boris Andreyev was the only shooter in the Soviet Union to win two medals. A Finnish winner was already celebrated in a miniature rifle when Vilho Ylönen had time to play on the radio ''
Björneborgarnas marsch Björneborgarnas marsch ( fi, Porilaisten marssi; et, Porilaste marss; 'March of the Björneborgers' or 'March of the Pori Regiment') is a Swedish military march from the 18th century. Today, it is mainly performed in Finland and has serve ...
''. However, in an hour-long countdown, the Norwegian Erling Asbjørn Kongshaug was declared the winner of the competition.


Football

The football tournament started even before the official opening, as the one-piece qualifiers took place on 15–16 July in Kotka, Lahti, Tampere, Turku and Helsinki. There were 27 countries registered for the tournament, but Saarland and Mexico dropped out before the Games. Hungary '' Golden Team'' won the gold when it knocked down the Yugoslavia in the final with a score of 2–0.
Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...
won a bronze medal. In the final, the Olympic Stadium had 58 553 paid spectators, the largest number of spectators in Finland watching a football match. The first meeting between the Soviet Union and Yugoslavia in football is still amongst the most famous matches. On the political level, the Soviet leader Joseph Stalin and the Yugoslav leader Josip Tito split in 1948, which resulted in Yugoslavia being excluded from the Communist Information Bureau. The origin of the conflict was Tito's refusal to submit to Stalin's interpretations and visions of politics and in process becoming a Soviet satellite state. Before the match, both Tito and Stalin sent telegrams to their national teams, which showed just how important it was for the two head of states. Yugoslavia led 5–1, but a Soviet comeback in the last 15 minutes resulted in a 5–5 draw. The match was replayed, Yugoslavia winning 3–1. The defeat to the archrivals hit Soviet football hard, and after just three games played in the season, CSKA Moscow, who had made up most of the USSR squad, was forced to withdraw from the league and later disbanded. Furthermore, Boris Arkadiev, who coached both USSR and CDKA, was stripped of his Merited Master of Sports of the USSR title.


Basketball

23 teams entered basketball, ten of which made it directly to the actual tournament. The remaining 13 countries took the final six places in the Olympic tournament before the official opening of the Olympic Games. In basketball, gold was won by the United States, who defeated Soviet Union 36–25. The final match was relatively slow-paced, as the Soviet Union tried to keep up with the United States by freezing the game. The United States had already clearly defeated the Soviet Union 86–58 in the tournament. The bronze was won by Uruguay, who also organized a mass battle in the tournament after being dissatisfied with the referee's work.


Field Hockey

Field hockey was included in the Helsinki Olympic Games in the range of sports on the condition that a maximum of 12 teams register for the Games. In the end, 16 teams applied for the competition, from which the International Field Hockey Federation selected 12 countries to participate in the competition venue. Eventually, four countries dropped out of the Games, so anyone was able to take part in the Olympic tournament. The tournament started with two rounds before the Games opened, and the final match was held on July 24. India and Netherlands met in the Velodrome final with India winning its fifth consecutive gold under captaincy of
Kunwar Digvijay Singh Kunwar Digvijay Singh (2 February 1922 – 27 March 1978), popularly known as "Babu", was an Indian field hockey player. He was born in Barabanki, Uttar Pradesh. He is widely known for his mesmerising passing ability and is considered b ...
with a score of 6–1.


Canoeing

Canoeing Canoeing is an activity which involves paddling a canoe with a single-bladed paddle. Common meanings of the term are limited to when the canoeing is the central purpose of the activity. Broader meanings include when it is combined with other acti ...
competitions were held Taivallahti 27–28 July. There were a total of 159 participants in eight men's and women's only races, coming from 21 countries. Canoeing was a celebration in Finland, as four of the nine sports went to the host country. In addition, the Finns took one silver and a bronze. The double gold medalists were Kurt Wires and Yrjö Hietanen who won the
kayak A kayak is a small, narrow watercraft which is typically propelled by means of a double-bladed paddle. The word kayak originates from the Greenlandic word ''qajaq'' (). The traditional kayak has a covered deck and one or more cockpits, each se ...
duo's 1,000 and 10,000 meters. In the only women's sport, the 500-meter kayak unit, gold was taken by Sylvi Saimo, who was the first Finnish female gold medalist in the summer competitions. The second most successful country in kayaking was Sweden, which won one gold and three silver.


Fencing

Helsinki Olympics fencing competitions were held on the Espoo side of the Westend Tennis Hall. The men competed with Épée, sabre and foil in both personal competition and team competition. The women had only a personal competition for foil in the program. There were 250 men and 37 women from 32 countries. Italy, Hungary and France were, as usual, the best fencing countries and took all the gold medals. A total of six countries reached medals. The Mangiarot brothers
Edoardo Edoardo is the Italian form of the English male given name Edward. Notable people named Edoardo include: * Edoardo Agnelli (industrialist) (1892–1935), Italian industrialist * Edoardo Alfieri (1913–1998), Italian sculptor * Edoardo Amaldi (1908 ...
and Dario took a double victory over the film. Hungarian swordsmen won a triple victory over the preserve.


Modern Pentathlon

The Modern pentathlon Olympic competitions was held at Ahvenisto Hämeenlinna. A total of 51 competitors from 19 countries entered the sport. For the first time in Olympic history, the sport also included a team competition. Sweden, Hungary and Finland shared the medals. Sweden's
Lars Hall Lars Göran Ivar Hall (30 April 1927 – 26 April 1991) was a Swedish modern pentathlete who competed at the 1952 and 1956 Summer Olympics. He won the individual event at both Games and finished second with the Swedish team in 1952. In 1952 he ...
won the individual competition, and Hungary was the best in the team competition. Before Hall, all Olympic winners of the sport have been officers. However, Hall was a carpenter by profession.


Boxing

Töölö Sports Hall held Olympic boxing between 28 July to 2 August in ten weight classes. There were a total of 240 participants. A total of 17 countries won medals. The most successful boxing country was the United States, which won five gold. The Soviet Union won the most medals, but its boxers did not win a single championship. Finnish boxers reached five medals. In the middle series, the American Floyd Patterson knocked out Romanian Vasile Tiță in a record-breaking 42 seconds. The American Norvel Lee, who won the heavyweight series, was awarded as the most technical boxer in the Games. In the heavyweight series Ed Sanders got gold when the Swedish
Ingemar Johansson Jens Ingemar "Ingo" Johansson (; 22 September 1932 – 30 January 2009) was a Swedish professional boxer who competed from 1952 to 1963. He held the world heavyweight title from 1959 to 1960, and was the fifth heavyweight champion born outside ...
was rejected for his passivity. Johansson did not receive his silver medal until 1982.


Wrestling

Wrestling was held in Helsinki in eight weight classes in both
Greco-Roman wrestling Greco-Roman (American English), Graeco-Roman (British English), classic wrestling (Euro English) or French wrestling (in Russia until 1948) is a style of wrestling that is practiced worldwide. Greco-Roman wrestling was included in the first mod ...
and freestyle wrestling. All finals were held in the larger Exhibition Hall I, but freestyle wrestling events were held in the smaller Exhibition Hall II. Free button competitions were held on 20–23. July, and Greco-Roman wrestling matches took place on 24–27 July. The most successful wrestling country was the Soviet Union, whose athletes won six gold and a total of ten medals in the sport. Sweden dominated free wrestling and received the second highest number of medals in wrestling overall. The overwhelming athlete in wrestling was the Soviet
Johannes Kotkas Johannes Kotkas (3 February 1915 – 8 May 1998) was a heavyweight Greco-Roman wrestler from Estonia who won a gold medal at the 1952 Summer Olympics. He held the European title in 1938, 1939 and 1947 and placed second at the 1953 world champio ...
, who competed in the heavy series of Greco-Roman wrestling. He managed to beat all his opponents in less than five minutes.


Weightlifting

The Olympic weightlifting competition was held in seven weight classes with 141 competitors. Initially, there were to be only six weight classes, but a light heavyweight series was also added to the program, as a result of which the weight limit for the heavyweight series increased from 82.5 kilograms to 90 kilograms. The addition of the new weight class took place so late that there was no time to change the race program. Weightlifting was carried out according to plan at the Exhibition Hall on 25–27 July. All seven gold medals were awarded to athletes from the United States and the Soviet Union. The Soviets won a total of seven medals, but the Americans took four championships, while the Soviets only took three. A total of five world records were set in weightlifting. In the heavyweight series John Davis continued his superiority, Davis had not lost a single event since 1938 and continued with his victory in Helsinki as well.


Sailing

The competition took place in the waters of Helsinki from 20 to 28 May in five different categories. Larger boats sailed in front of Harmaja lighthouse lighthouse island, and the
Finn The word Finn (''pl.'' Finns) usually refers to a member of the majority Balto-Finnic ethnic group of Finland, or to a person from Finland. Finn may also refer to: Places * Finn Lake, Minnesota, United States * Finn Township, Logan County, Nor ...
race was held near
Liuskasaari Liuskasaari ( sv, Skifferholmen) is an island located south of Helsinki, Finland. This island is home of the Helsingfors Segelsällskap, one of the oldest sailing clubs in Finland. The island hosts two restaurants: The HSS Clubhouse Restaurant an ...
. A total of 93 crews from 29 countries took part in the competition. The United States, Norway and Sweden took three medals. The United States was the only country to reach two gold medals in sailing. In the
Finn The word Finn (''pl.'' Finns) usually refers to a member of the majority Balto-Finnic ethnic group of Finland, or to a person from Finland. Finn may also refer to: Places * Finn Lake, Minnesota, United States * Finn Township, Logan County, Nor ...
that developed from the Firefly class, the Danish
Paul Elvstrøm Paul Bert Elvstrøm (25 February 1928 – 7 December 2016) was a Danish yachtsman. He won four Olympic gold medals and twenty world titles in a range of classes including Snipe, Soling, Star, Flying Dutchman, Finn, 505, and 5.5 Metre ...
won the overwhelming championship. The gold medal was the second in Elvstrøm's career. He later became the first athlete to win the same sport four times in a row (individual disciplines).


Cycling

In cycling, medals were awarded in six sports, four for track cycling and two for
road racing Road racing is a form of motorsport racing held on a paved road surface. The races can be held either on a closed circuit or on a street circuit utilizing temporarily closed public roads. Originally, road races were held almost entirely on publ ...
. In total, 214 competitors from 36 countries took part in the cycling. Track cycling competitions were held from 29 to 31 July and road driving on 2 August. A total of seven countries collected medals and gold medals went to Italy, Australia and Belgium. Italy was the most successful country with five medals. Two gold medals went to Australian Russell Mockridge, who won the championship in the kilometer time trial and with his partner in tandem racing, and the Belgian
André Noyelle André Noyelle (29 November 1931 – 4 February 2003) was a road racing cyclist from Belgium. He won the gold medal in the men's individual road race at the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki, Finland. At the same tournament he also claimed the ...
, who won the 190 kilometer road race personal competition and team competition.


Equestrian

Equestrian events were competed in
dressage Dressage ( or ; a French term, most commonly translated to mean "training") is a form of horse riding performed in exhibition and competition, as well as an art sometimes pursued solely for the sake of mastery. As an equestrian sport defined b ...
, Eventing and
show jumping Show jumping is a part of a group of English riding equestrianism, equestrian events that also includes dressage, eventing, Show hunter, hunters, and equitation. Jumping classes are commonly seen at horse shows throughout the world, including th ...
in person and in team competition in a total of six sports. Eight countries won medals in horseback riding, and Sweden was by far the most successful country. The Swedes won both races in both dressage and field riding. For the events in first time non-military officers including women were allowed to take part in dressage events in Helsinki. In a show jumping, Danish Lis Hartel, paralyzed from her knees down, was the first woman to win a riding medal after finishing second in the Olympics.


Rowing

Rowers Rowing is the act of propelling a human-powered watercraft using the sweeping motions of oars to displace water and generate reactional propulsion. Rowing is functionally similar to paddling, but rowing requires oars to be mechanically ...
competed in seven sports from the 20th to the 23rd of July. The competition was held in Meilahti, as Taivallahti, where the canoeing competitions took place, was too open to the sea breeze. There were a total of 409 entrants from 33 countries. Representatives from fourteen countries won medals, and only American rowers won two gold medals. The youngest Olympic winner of the Games was seen in Rowing. In the coxswain duo, the French winning team included 14 years old Bernard Malivoire.


Diving

Diving competed in a total of four men's and women's events. The United States led the events, as nine of the 12 medals in the distribution went to the country. In addition to the United States, only France, Mexico and Germany won medals in the sport. Patricia McCormick won Olympic gold in the women from both the three-meter springboard and the ten-meter floor jump.


Swimming

At the Helsinki Swimming Stadium men competed in six sports and women in five sports. High-level competitions were held from July 25 to 2 August.
Summer Olympics in London Summer is the hottest of the four temperate seasons, occurring after spring and before autumn. At or centred on the summer solstice, the earliest sunrise and latest sunset occurs, daylight hours are longest and dark hours are shortest, with ...
had resulted in significant progress in the sport, and every Olympic record was broken in each event. The Americans dominated men's events and the Hungarians dominated women. Both countries won four gold medals. Ford Konno was the most successful swimmer with two gold medals and one silver. In the women's events
Katalin Szőke Katalin Szőke (17 August 1935 – 27 October 2017) was a Hungarian swimmer. She competed at the 1952 Olympics and won two gold medals, in the 100 m and 4 × 100 m freestyle events. Two years later she repeated that success at the 1954 Europea ...
won two gold medals and Éva Novák two silver in addition to the gold medal. The only world record in the Games was set by the Hungarian women's 4 × 100 meter freestyle message team. The Helsinki Olympics, was the last instance where competitors could participate in
Breaststroke Breaststroke is a swimming style in which the swimmer is on their chest and the torso does not rotate. It is the most popular recreational style due to the swimmer's head being out of the water a large portion of the time, and that it can be s ...
in the
butterfly stroke The butterfly (colloquially shortened to fly) is a List of swimming styles, swimming stroke swum on the chest, with both arms moving symmetrically, accompanied by the butterfly kick (also known as the "dolphin kick"). While other styles like ...
. In the men's events, no athlete swimming in the breaststroke style made it to the finals. In women, Novák won silver.


Water polo

A total of 21 countries took part in the water polo tournament. The initial series of the Games was to be played in the offshore pools, but due to the coolness of the water, the International Swimming Federation ordered all the matches to be played at the Swimming Stadium. Because of this, some of the matches in the first series had to be played as early as six in the morning. The water polo championship was decided in the final block, where the four teams faced each other once. Hungary and Yugoslavia ended in a draw after winning two other matches and playing 2–2 each other. Hungary won gold with a better goal difference.


Gymnastics

The 1952 Olympic gymnastics was dominated by the Soviet Union, which participated in the Games for the first time with athletes winning nine gold medals and took a total of 22 medals. Finland, Germany and Switzerland, who previously dominated the gymnastics at the Olympics, were content with more modest success. A total of fifteen medals were awarded, eight men's and seven women's sports. The most personal medals in gymnastics were taken by Viktor Chukarin in the men's events and Maria Gorokhovskaya in the women's events. Chukarin won four gold and two silver. Gorokhovskaya won medals in every women's sport. Her seven-medal catch (two gold and five silver) is a record for one women's Olympics.


Athletics

Athletics was competed in 33 sports, 24 for men and 9 for women. By far the most successful state was the United States, which won 31 medals, nine of which were gold. The Soviet Union reached 17 medals, but won only two championships, and the eight-medal country Germany was left without first places. The second medalist was Czechoslovakia, with four of the five medals being the brightest. Emil Zátopek won the 5,000 and 10,000 meters, as well as the marathon, which he had never run before. On the women's side, the Australian Marjorie Jackson won the 100 and 200 meter runs. World records were set in seven events. In the triple jump
Adhemar Ferreira da Silva Adhemar Ferreira da Silva (September 29, 1927 – January 12, 2001) was a Brazilian triple jumper. He won two Olympic gold medals and set four world records, the last being 16.56 metres in 1955 Pan American Games. In his early career he als ...
broke the old world record four times. In the decathlon, Bob Mathias made a new ME and took the victory with a total score of 7,887 points, more than 900 points to the next. Josy Barthel of Luxembourg pulled a major surprise by winning the 1500 m.


Demonstration sports

According to the Olympic rules, the organizer of the Games was allowed to choose between two types of demonstration sports, one from abroad and one from Finland. In connection with the Helsinki Games, a
handball Handball (also known as team handball, European handball or Olympic handball) is a team sport in which two teams of seven players each (six outcourt players and a goalkeeper) pass a ball using their hands with the aim of throwing it into the g ...
and
baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding ...
match was held. In the handball match of the Games, Sweden and Denmark faced at the Olympic Stadium. The level of playing outside was modest due to heavy rain. Sweden won by a goal from 19 to 11. The baseball match was also played at the Olympic Stadium. The
Finnish Baseball Federation Finnish may refer to: * Something or someone from, or related to Finland * Culture of Finland * Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland * Finnish language, the national language of the Finnish people * Finnish cuisine See also ...
and Finnish Workers' Sports Federation teams competed in the event. The Baseball Federation won the match 8–4. During the breaks in both shows, the audience was entertained by the performances of Finnish male and female gymnasts.


Venues

With an annual average temperature of , Helsinki is one of the coldest cities to have hosted the Summer Olympics. Most of the competition venues were located in
Helsinki Metropolitan Area Greater Helsinki ( fi, Helsingin seutu, Suur-Helsinki, Swedish: ''Helsingforsregionen'', ''Storhelsingfors'') is the metropolitan area surrounding Helsinki, the capital city of Finland. It includes the smaller Capital Region (''Pääkaupunkiseutu' ...
. Modern pentathlon and some field hockey games were held in Hämeenlinna and some football games by Tampere, Lahti, Kotka and Turku. The main arena was the Olympic Stadium, which hosted the opening and closing ceremonies, athletics competitions, football semi-finals and finals, as well as the
show jumping Show jumping is a part of a group of English riding equestrianism, equestrian events that also includes dressage, eventing, Show hunter, hunters, and equitation. Jumping classes are commonly seen at horse shows throughout the world, including th ...
competition “Prix des Nations” were held. The stadium was built for the 1940 Olympics and opened as early as 1938, but had suffered under the bombing of World War II. It had to undergo expansion and refurbishment work. The concrete auditorium section was expanded and a new temporary wooden auditorium was built on the south and north curves and on the east side, which increased the Stadium's audience capacity to about 70,000. The swimming competitions were held at Helsinki Swimming Stadium, located just a few hundred meters east of the Olympic Stadium and with three pools: a racing, diving and children's pool. The swimming stadium could accommodate about 9,500 spectators, while the wooden eastern and standing stands for the Games could accommodate a total of about 6,000 people. The Fair Hall near the stadiums (now Töölö Sports Hall) many of the indoor events were held in two separate halls. In the bigger hall, men competed in gymnastics, wrestling and boxing. The smaller hall hosts the women's gymnastics, freestyle wrestling, weightlifting and basketball finals. Basketball first round matches were played at Tennis Palace and fencing competitions were held at the
Westend Westend may refer to: * Westend (Trevilians, Virginia), an historic house in Virginia listed on the NRHP * Westend (Berlin), a locality of Berlin in Germany * Westend (Frankfurt am Main), a borough of Frankfurt am Main in Germany * Westend, Espoo, ...
tennis center in Espoo. The shooting events took place at the Malmi shooting range 11 kilometers from the center of Helsinki, with the exception of clay pigeon shooting. Clay pigeon shooting was performed on the Finnish Hunters' Association track Huopalahti.
Ruskeasuo Ruskeasuo (Brunakärr in Swedish, verbatim "Brown swamp") is a neighbourhood of Helsinki (Helsingfors in Swedish), about 3 kilometres north of the city center. With a population of 2670 (year 2005) Ruskeasuo is a rather quiet residential area. ...
competed in dressage as well as in Tali and Laakso in field riding. The Töölö Rowing Stadium was built for rowing and canoeing events one kilometer from Taivallahti. However, the place was not accepted as a place for rowing competitions, as it was open to the sea breeze. The rowing took place in Meilahti about three kilometers from the Stadium. The place was considerably more sheltered than Taivallahti. Harmajan on the lighthouse island a couple of kilometers off the coast of Helsinki was the starting and finishing area for larger sailing classes.
Finn The word Finn (''pl.'' Finns) usually refers to a member of the majority Balto-Finnic ethnic group of Finland, or to a person from Finland. Finn may also refer to: Places * Finn Lake, Minnesota, United States * Finn Township, Logan County, Nor ...
was the starting and finish point of the race
Liuskasaari Liuskasaari ( sv, Skifferholmen) is an island located south of Helsinki, Finland. This island is home of the Helsingfors Segelsällskap, one of the oldest sailing clubs in Finland. The island hosts two restaurants: The HSS Clubhouse Restaurant an ...
close to the coast. The
Marathon The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of , usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There are also wheelchair div ...
running route was north of the Stadium to Käpylä, Pakinkylä, Tuomarinkylä, Vantaa, Tikkurila and Korso. In Tuusula, Mätäkivenmäki there was a turning point from which the runners set off on their way back to the Stadium. The 50-kilometer walk was organized along the same route. A memorial stone was later erected at the turning point along Old Tuusulantie. A swimming stadium was built in Hämeenlinna for Åland for the pentathlon. The other four pentathlon events were also held in the vicinity of Åland.


Participating National Olympic Committees

A total of 69 nations participated in these Games, up from 59 in the 1948 Games. Thirteen nations made their first Olympic appearance in 1952: The Bahamas, the People's Republic of China, Gold Coast (now
Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in Ghana–Ivory Coast border, the west, Burkina ...
),
Guatemala Guatemala ( ; ), officially the Republic of Guatemala ( es, República de Guatemala, links=no), is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico; to the northeast by Belize and the Caribbean; to the east by H ...
, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Israel,
Netherlands Antilles nl, In vrijheid verenigd"Unified by freedom" , national_anthem = , common_languages = Dutch English Papiamento , demonym = Netherlands Antillean , capital = Willemstad , year_start = 1954 , year_end = 2010 , date_start = 15 December , ...
, Nigeria, Soviet Union (USSR), Thailand, and Vietnam.
Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
and
Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...
were both reinstated and permitted to send athletes after being banned for 1948 for their instigation of World War II. Due to the division of Germany, German athletes from
Saar Saar or SAAR has several meanings: People Given name *Saar Boubacar (born 1951), Senegalese professional football player *Saar Ganor, Israeli archaeologist *Saar Klein (born 1967), American film editor Surname * Ain Saar (born 1968), Esto ...
entered a separate team for the only time. Only West Germany would provide athletes for the actual German team, since East Germany refused to participate in a joint German team.


Medal count

These are the top ten nations that won medals at the 1952 Games.


50th anniversary coin

The 50th anniversary of the Helsinki Olympic Games was the main motif for one of the first Finnish euro silver commemorative coins, the €10 silver coin minted in 2002. The reverse depicts part of the Helsinki Olympic Stadium, as well as a section of the 1952 500 markka coin. The obverse has lettering SUOMI FINLAND 10 EURO, a flame, and Finland is the only country highlighted on Earth.


Admission tickets

In total 2,394,099 admission tickets were printed for the Helsinki games. About two million of them were made Bank of Finland banknote printing works. To prevent counterfeiting, tickets were printed on watermark banknote paper. Printing began in July 1951 and lasted four months. In early 1952, the race organizers opened their own ticket offices for sales at home and abroad. They were sold abroad in 52 countries. Half of the more than two million admission tickets were put up for sale abroad. However, only about 250,000 tickets were sold. However, foreign tourists also bought a lot of tickets from Finland. A total of 1,376,512 tickets were sold for various competition events. There were four different price categories. Prices varied between 300 and 2,100 FIM, which in current currency corresponds to about 9–65 euros. Ticket revenue totaled approximately FIM 965 million, or EUR 29.7 million. Entrance tickets were printed in ten different colors, depending on the venue and the auditorium. Except for the color, the flags were all similar in appearance. The texts in Finnish, Swedish, English and French were printed on them, and the sport was also indicated by a symbol in the upper left corner. A spectator map was printed on the back of the entrance tickets. Tickets sold to Finland only marked their Price Category, foreign tickets also marked the price US Dollars. In addition to tickets made by the organizers, the City of Hämeenlinna printed its own entry tickets for modern pentathlon competitions held locally. They were simpler in design than other flags.


Impact and legacy

The Olympics influenced the Finns, the City of Helsinki and the image of foreigners. The Olympics can even be considered a symbolic decision for the post-war years in Finland. Reconstruction of the land was practically completed in 1952, although at the beginning of the decade many had lived in temporary housing. The last war reparations was paid in September 1952, and
regulatory policy Policy is a deliberate system of guidelines to guide decisions and achieve rational outcomes. A policy is a statement of intent and is implemented as a procedure or protocol. Policies are generally adopted by a governance body within an organ ...
was abolished at the same time. On the closing day of the Games, 3 August 1952, President J.K. Paasikivi wrote in his diary: "The Olympics were a great success. Foreigners, including the magazines, have praised the good organization. This is a good thing and advertising for us." Helsinki cityscape was clearly a new impetus for the Olympics. The development of Helsinki had already begun in the late 1930s, when
Parliament House Parliament House may refer to: Australia * Parliament House, Canberra, Parliament of Australia * Parliament House, Adelaide, Parliament of South Australia * Parliament House, Brisbane, Parliament of Queensland * Parliament House, Darwin, Parliame ...
,
Lasipalatsi Lasipalatsi ( sv, Glaspalatset; meaning literally "glass palace") is a functionalist office building designed in the 1930s, located on Mannerheimintie in the Kamppi district of Helsinki, Finland. Lasipalatsi is one of Helsinki's most notable func ...
and Pääposti were built. Olympic dreams motivate many construction projects. Helsinki's entertainment and nightlife was modest compared to previous race hosts. Many temporary restaurants and entertainment venues were set up in the city for the Games. The city had been planning a fair for decades, but even for this project, the Olympic host gave the final impetus. After the competition was confirmed, the city of Helsinki started looking for a place for an amusement park in Alppila. The Linnanmäki Amusement Park was opened on 27 May 1950 on a plot leased in December 1949. The Olympics also developed Helsinki's infrastructure with the construction of a new airport, Olympic Pier, new asphalt and the city's first traffic lights. The impact of the Olympics on Finns is difficult to define. It was certainly good for Finns' self-confidence to create a successful major event together and at the same time get a new kind of contact with the interaction between peoples. For the first time, many Finns were in contact with non-Caucasian foreigners at the Games. At the same time, the Olympics united Finns in their disputes. For example, Finnish Workers' Sports Federation and Finnish National Sport Federation strong disputes between were on a break during the Olympics, even though they continued even after the Games. With internationalization, new products also arrived in Finland. The best known of these is Coca-Cola (Coca-Cola arrived in Finland as early as the 1930s through Stockmann). In addition, chewing gum was imported for the first time, and Alko launched new drinks, including Gin Long Drink. Finland's relations with United Kingdom clearly warmed up thanks to the Olympics. This was particularly influenced by the fact that Prince Philip, who came to visit the Games, received a warm welcome in Finland. After the Second World War, Britain had been rude to Finland, but the Olympics showed that Finland belonged to the Western world.


"The Last Real Olympics"

In Finland, the Helsinki Olympics are sometimes called the last real Olympics, when trying to emphasize the nature of the Games as the last Games of the true Olympic spirit, a sporting and non-commercial event. For example, a book about competitions written by
Antero Raevuori Antero is a Finnish given name and the Spanish version of the Latin name Anterus. It may refer to: * Antero Abreu (1927–2017), Angolan author and poet * Antero Alli (1952–), Finnish astrologer * Ántero Asto, Peruvian politician * Antero de Q ...
is named after this saying. However, the phrase was invented in Finland and is not used elsewhere in the world. It was developed at the turn of the 1970s and 1980s, when
doping Doping may refer to: * Doping, adding a dopant to something * Doping (semiconductor), intentionally introducing impurities into an extremely pure semiconductor to change its electrical properties * Aircraft dope, a lacquer that is applied to fabr ...
began to become more widespread in sports,
1972 Summer Olympics The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad () and commonly known as Munich 1972 (german: München 1972), was an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from 26 August to 11 September 1972. ...
the Munich massacre, and the
1976 Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 Phila ...
,
1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning System time epoch begins at 00:00 UTC. * January 9 – ...
and
1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeast A ...
the Summer Olympics were widely boycotted. In a way, the Helsinki Olympics were a return to smaller competitions due to resources, as Finland is the smallest country to host the Summer Olympics. However the
1956 Summer Olympics The 1956 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XVI Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event held in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, from 22 November to 8 December 1956, with the exception of the equestrian events, whi ...
involved fewer participating athletes than in Helsinki, and in practice it was not until the 1970s that the Games clearly began to expand. The Helsinki Olympics were still relatively non-commercial, although the Polish press, for example, barked at the Helsinki Olympics as “competitions for disgusting traders”. The Helsinki Games were also not much smaller in terms of marketing than the following Games, and marketing was well known in the Olympic world with Kodak supporting the Games as far back as the
1896 Summer Olympics The 1896 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 1896, Therinoí Olympiakoí Agónes 1896), officially known as the Games of the I Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 1ης Ολυμπιάδας, Agónes tis 1is Ol ...
.


Gallery


See also

*
1952 Summer Olympics torch relay The 1952 Summer Olympics torch relay was the symbolic transport of the Olympic flame from Olympia, Greece, to the venue of the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki, Finland, where it featured as part of the Olympic Games ceremony, opening ceremony ...


References

Notes Citations


Bibliography

* * * * *


External links

* * Helsinki 1952 Official Olympic Repor
la84foundation.org
* Helsinki 1952 Official Olympic Repor

{{Authority control International sports competitions in Helsinki
Olympics Games The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a vari ...
Olympic Games in Finland Summer Olympics by year Olympic Games July 1952 sports events in Europe August 1952 sports events in Europe 1950s in Helsinki 1952 in Finland