Award
The 1952 Summer Olympics , officially known as the Games of the XV Olympiad and commonly known as Helsinki 1952, were an international multi-sport event held from 19 July to 3 August 1952 in Helsinki , Finland.[ 1] [ 2]
A total of 4,955 athletes representing 69 National Olympic Committees (NOCs) participated,[ 1] which included 12 teams making their Olympic debut at the Summer Games: The Bahamas ,[ 3] Guatemala ,[ 4] Hong Kong ,[ 5] Indonesia ,[ 6] Israel ,[ 7] Netherlands Antilles ,[ 8] Nigeria ,[ 9] People's Republic of China ,[ 10] Saar ,[ 11] the Soviet Union ,[ 12] Thailand ,[ 13] and Vietnam .[ 14] The games featured 149 events across 17 sports in 23 disciplines, including the Olympic debut of women's gymnastics events and the transition of equestrian sports becoming mixed.[ 15] [ 16] [ 17]
China competed under the name of the People's Republic of China (PRC) for the first time, although they only arrived in time to participate in one event. From 1924 to 1948, athletes from mainland China competed as the delegation of the Republic of China (ROC). The International Olympic Committee (IOC) allowed both the PRC and ROC (which fled to Taiwan after the Chinese Civil War ) to compete with the name "China", although the latter withdrew in protest.[ 18] [ 19]
Athletes representing 43 NOCs received at least one medal, with 27 NOCs winning at least one gold medal.[ 20] The United States won the most gold medals, with 40, and the most overall medals, with 78.[ 20] Bulgaria ,[ 21] Lebanon ,[ 22] the Soviet Union ,[ 23] and Venezuela won their first medals of any kind.[ 24] Luxembourg ,[ 25] Romania ,[ 26] and the Soviet Union won their first gold medals.[ 27]
Among individual participants, Soviet gymnast Viktor Chukarin won the most gold medals, with four, while fellow Soviet gymnast Maria Gorokhovskaya won the most overall medals, with seven (two gold and five silver).[ 28]
^ a b "Helsinki 1952 Summer Olympics – Athletes, Medal & Results" . International Olympic Committee . Retrieved 23 January 2025 .
^ "Helsinki 1952 Olympic Games" . Encyclopædia Britannica . 18 January 2025. Retrieved 24 January 2025 .
^ "Bahamas – Profile" . International Olympic Committee . Archived from the original on 6 October 2024. Retrieved 22 January 2025 .
^ "Guatemala – Profile" . International Olympic Committee . Archived from the original on 30 November 2024. Retrieved 22 January 2025 .
^ "Hong Kong, China – Profile" . International Olympic Committee . Archived from the original on 11 December 2024. Retrieved 22 January 2025 .
^ "Indonesia – Profile" . International Olympic Committee . Archived from the original on 6 October 2024. Retrieved 22 January 2025 .
^ "Israel – Profile" . International Olympic Committee . Archived from the original on 6 October 2024. Retrieved 22 January 2025 .
^ "Netherlands Antilles | History, Flag, Capital, Currency, & Facts" . Encyclopædia Britannica . 12 December 2024. Archived from the original on 15 January 2025. Retrieved 23 January 2025 .
^ "Nigeria – Profile" . International Olympic Committee . Archived from the original on 6 October 2024. Retrieved 22 January 2025 .
^ "Wu flies the flag for Olympic debutants China in the pool" . International Olympic Committee . Retrieved 27 January 2025 .
^ "Saar (SAA)" . Olympedia . Retrieved 27 January 2025 .
^ "The Games of the Olympiad" (PDF) . International Olympic Committee . 20 June 2024. Retrieved 24 January 2025 .
^ "Thailand – Profile" . International Olympic Committee . Archived from the original on 6 October 2024. Retrieved 22 January 2025 .
^ Sims, Alexandra (9 August 2016). "Rio 2016: Vietnam wins first ever Olympic gold medal" . The Independent . Archived from the original on 28 August 2017. Retrieved 23 January 2025 .
^ "The programme of the Games of the Olympiad" (PDF) . International Olympic Committee . 20 June 2024. Retrieved 24 January 2025 .
^ "1952 Summer Olympics Overview" . Olympedia . Retrieved 24 January 2025 .
^ "Factsheet The Sports On The Olympic Programme" (PDF) . International Olympic Committee . February 2008. Retrieved 24 January 2025 .
^ "10th-15th Olympic Games: 1936-1952" . Chinese Olympic Committee . 8 July 2004. Retrieved 27 January 2025 .
^ Chan, Gerald (1985). "The "Two-Chinas" Problem and the Olympic Formula" . Pacific Affairs . 58 (3): 473– 490. doi :10.2307/2759241 . JSTOR 2759241 . Retrieved 27 January 2025 .
^ a b Cite error: The named reference IOC medal table
was invoked but never defined (see the help page ).
^ "Bulgaria – Profile" . International Olympic Committee . Archived from the original on 12 December 2024. Retrieved 22 January 2025 .
^ "Lebanon – Profile" . International Olympic Committee . Archived from the original on 6 October 2024. Retrieved 22 January 2025 .
^ "Soviet Union (URS)" . Olympedia . Retrieved 27 January 2025 .
^ "Venezuela – Profile" . International Olympic Committee . Archived from the original on 6 October 2024. Retrieved 22 January 2025 .
^ "Luxembourg – Profile" . International Olympic Committee . Archived from the original on 6 October 2024. Retrieved 22 January 2025 .
^ "Romania – Profile" . International Olympic Committee . Archived from the original on 6 October 2024. Retrieved 22 January 2025 .
^ Grimes, William (24 August 2016). "Nina Ponomareva, Soviet Olympian Who Set Off a Diplomatic Crisis, Dies at 87" . The New York Times . Retrieved 27 January 2025 .
^ "1952 Helsinki Summer Games" . Olympedia . Archived from the original on 14 January 2020. Retrieved 23 January 2025 .