Helsinki Olympic Games 1952

The Helsinki 1952 Olympic Games, officially known as the Games of the XV Olympiad, were held in Helsinki (Finland) between July 19 and August 3 1952. A total of 4,955 athletes (4,436 men and 519 women) from 69 countries participated, competing in 149 competitions in 17 sports.

The city of Helsinki had already been chosen as the venue for the 1940 Summer Olympics, replacing Tokyo. However, the Finnish capital could not organize them due to the development of the Second World War. Years later, Helsinki ran again, and was chosen by the International Olympic Committee on June 21, 1947.

The Helsinki Olympic Games went down in history for being the edition where the most Olympic records and world records were broken, a mark that was not surpassed until Beijing 2008. In this edition the debut of the Soviet Union and Israel took place, and Japan and Germany returned. The country that won the most medals was the United States, with 76 medals. They also stood out for the feat of the Czechoslovakian athlete Emil Zátopek, who won the gold medal in the 5,000 meters, 10,000 meters and the marathon.

Choice of venue

40.a Session of the International Olympic Committee 21 June 1947, Stockholm, Sweden
City	Voting
Helsinki(FIN)	14	15
Los Angeles(USA)	4	5
Minneapolis(USA)	4	5
Amsterdam(NED)	3	3
Detroit(USA)	2	-
Chicago(USA)	1	-
Philadelphia(USA)	0	-

Helsinki was already about to organize the 1940 Summer Olympics, replacing Tokyo, which had to give them up during the Second Sino-Japanese War. However, the 1940 edition was suspended due to fault of another conflict, the Second World War, which was in full swing. With the direct election of London for the 1948 Games, Helsinki presented its candidacy for the 1952 Games.

The Finnish capital had to compete with six other bids. Five US locations had filed separately: Chicago, Detroit, Philadelphia, Los Angeles and Minneapolis. The city of Los Angeles already organized the Olympic Games in its 1932 edition, while Chicago was about to do so in 1904, although in the end it could not benefit Saint Louis (Missouri) because it coincided with the Universal Exposition of 1904, held in the same location. The other bid was Amsterdam (Netherlands), which hosted the Games in 1928.

The vote took place at the 40th Session of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), held on June 21, 1947 in Stockholm (Sweden). With the vote of 28 members, only two rounds were needed to elect Helsinki as the venue by an absolute majority. His victory was seen in the press as compensation to the Finnish capital for the cancellation of the 1940 edition, when they already had many built infrastructures. In this case, Finland had a good economic situation, compared to other states still affected by the post-war period, and the United States did not send a unified candidacy, so Helsinki was the most logical choice.

Political context

The celebration of these Olympic Games coincided with one of the most critical moments of the Cold War. Relations between the United States and the Soviet Union were going through their worst moments due to the victory of the communists in China and the Korean War. In addition, in the Middle East the Arab-Israeli conflict had intensified after Israel proclaimed its independence, rejected by neighboring states. As for Europe, Germany was still divided into occupation zones and in principle it was decided to recognize it as a single state.

The International Olympic Committee had already recognized several national committees such as Germany and Japan, absent in London in 1948. In the case of Germany, the Federal Republic of Germany and the Saarland Protectorate competed separately, which was independent until its integration into Germany in 1955. The communist German Democratic Republic was not invited. Regarding China, the IOC recognized both the government of People's China and Nationalist China, who had fled to the island of Taiwan after the war. Neither party recognizes the other. In the end, the Taiwanese left the Olympic Village two days before the opening.

The Soviet Union was able to register its athletes at the last minute, after the IOC accepted its committee in May 1951. Its last participation until then was 40 years ago, as Russia, at the 1912 Stockholm Olympics.

Sports

At the Helsinki Olympic Games, 149 events were held in 17 sports, with no new additions compared to the previous edition. For the first time, horsemanship trials allowed riders other than military officers, including women, to compete. The female category of individual events (general event, floor, horse, balance, asymmetrical and apparatus) was also included in gymnastics. On the other hand, in modern pentathlon a team event was included. The exhibition sports were pesäpallo —a Finnish variant of baseball— as the national discipline, and eleven-player handball as the international one. There was also a calisthenics exhibition offered by the Danish and Finnish gymnastics organizations.

For the first time there were no art competitions on the Olympic programme. Although they were still an Olympic discipline, the Organizing Committee did not include them.

In the following table you can access the individual results of each test. Indicated in parentheses are the male and female categories.

Olympic Torch

Olympic torch of the Helsinki Olympic Games 1952.

The tour ran from June 25 to July 19, with a distance of 4,725 kilometers and 3,372 relievers. Helsinki 1952 was the first edition in which the firebearers carried a limited number of torches. relievers to keep it, something the IOC prohibited on this occasion.

The torch was designed by Aukusti Tuhka, with a height of 60 centimeters and a weight of 600 grams. Each of them had their own fuel canister to prevent the flame from going out. The Organizing Committee commissioned the company Kultakeskus to manufacture only 22 torches, compared to the 1,688 used in the previous edition.

The route began with the traditional lighting of the flame in the Olympia stadium (Greece) on June 25, 1952. After crossing the cities of Corinth and Athens, the carriers carried the fire for the first time in an airplane to Scandinavia, with technical stops in West Germany (Munich and Dusseldorf). On June 28, they arrived in Aalborg, the starting point for a tour of Denmark (Aalborg, Odense and Copenhagen), Sweden (Malmö, Gothenburg and Stockholm) and Finland (Tornio, Rovaniemi, Oulu, Tampere, Hämeenlinna and Helsinki).

The planned schedule was met without setbacks. The last reliever to arrive at the Helsinki Olympic Stadium was the athlete Paavo Nurmi, in charge of lighting the cauldron.

Organization

The organization of the Olympic Games was carried out by the Organizing Committee of the XV Helsinki Olympics. Its president was Erik von Frenckell, director of the Finnish Football Federation, member of the Finnish Olympic Committee and parliamentarian for the Swedish People's Party. For his part, the Finnish Prime Minister, Juho Kusti Paasikivi, assumed the patronage.

Headquarters and sports facilities

The Finnish government and the Organizing Committee established more than 20 sports venues and facilities. Most were concentrated in Helsinki and its metropolitan area except for the modern pentathlon, fencing and some soccer matches, which took place in nearby cities. Almost all the venues were already built for the organization of the 1940 Olympic Games, which were never held, and could be used in 1952 with minor alterations. The Olympic ring is located in the Töölö district.

The Olympic stadium was the Helsinki Olympic Stadium (in Finnish, Helsingin olympiastadion), officially opened in 1938, with a capacity on those dates for 50,000 spectators. For the Olympic Games, an additional wooden tier was built to the east of the stadium, demolished at the end of the Games, which increased the capacity to 70,000 people. The stadium has a 72-meter-high tower, one of the symbols of these Olympics, which offers a panoramic view of the capital. Inside the enclosure, a cauldron and an electronic scoreboard were installed, and the athletics track and facilities were remodeled.

The swimming and diving events were held in the Helsinki Swimming Stadium, outdoors. The works began in 1939 but were paralyzed by the outbreak of the Second World War. They would not be resumed until 1947, already with the choice of seat assured. The cycling competitions took place at the Helsinki Velodrome, opened in 1940 with a design by Hilding Ekelund. The rowing and canoeing events took place on land located one kilometer from the stadium, while the sailing events took place around the island of Harmaja.

Venues in the Helsinki Olympic Ring

Exterior of the Helsinki Olympic Stadium, with its tower of 72 meters high.

• Olympic Stadium — athletics, football (final), horseback riding, opening and closing ceremonies.
• Swimming Stadium — swimming, trampoline jumps, water polo
• Helsinki Speed — Track Cycling, Weed Hockey
• Convention Center — gymnastics, basketball (final), boxing, halterophilia, fighting
• Tölö football field — football
• Taivallahti — canoeing

Venues outside the Helsinki Olympic ring

• Tennis Palace — Basketball
• Malmi Shooting Field — Olympic Shooting (pistola and rifle)
• Huopalahti Shooting Field — Olympic (Olympic) Tyre
• Harmaja — Vela
• Liuskasaari — Vela
• Meilahti — Remo
• Ruskeasuo — Equitation (classic theme and full competition)
• Tali — Equitation
• Laakso - Equitation

Offices in other cities

• Espoo: Westend — fencing
• Hämeenlinna: Ahvenisto — modern pentathlon
• Kotka: Arto Tolsa Areena — Football
• Lahti: Kispuist Stadium — Football
• Tampere: Ratin Stadium — Football
• Turku: Kupittaa Stadium — Football

Olympic Village

Details of the Olympic Villa in Helsinki.

In these Games the tradition of an Olympic village for the athletes was recovered, although it was not until Melbourne 1956 when this term was assumed. The original village (Olympiakylä) was located in the Käpylä district, just two kilometers from the Olympic ring, and was designed by the Finnish architect Hilding Ekelund. It occupied the same site where the one for the canceled 1940 Olympic Games was planned to be built. The buildings were built so that, once the Games were over, they could be used as housing in the apartment market.

Originally, the Organizing Committee expected to accommodate 3,500 people. However, the success of attendance at the 1948 London Olympics increased the organization's forecasts, which increased the number of buildings. When the International Olympic Committee gave its go-ahead, a plan was approved to accommodate more than 7,500 participants, most of them concentrated at Olympiakylä. The women resided in a special villa, one kilometer from the stadium, separated from the men.

Cold War political tensions meant that athletes from countries under Soviet orbit did not want to stay in the Käpylä Olympic village. For this reason, the Organizing Committee set up a second residence for athletes in Otaniemi, located in the nearby town of Espoo. Some athletes from Portugal rested on the ship that took them to Helsinki.

Participants

World map with participants in Helsinki 1952. In blue, the debutants are listed.

Sixty-nine national committees affiliated to the International Olympic Committee participated in the Helsinki Olympic Games, ten more than in the previous edition. In total there were 4,955 athletes (4,436 men and 519 women).

There were thirteen states that made their Olympic Games debut: Netherlands Antilles, Bahamas, People's Republic of China, British Gold Coast (now Ghana), Guatemala, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Israel, Nigeria, Thailand, Soviet Union and Vietnam. The IOC had invited 73 countries but found itself with four casualties. Paraguay, Colombia and Peru rejected the invitation, Haiti was only in the artistic exhibitions and Nationalist China withdrew two days before the inauguration due to the recognition of the People's Republic of China.

The most important debut was in the Soviet Union. The former Russian Empire last competed in Stockholm 1912 and had refused to participate ever since. In the end, however, he harnessed the power of sport to confirm his global influence. This resulted in stiff competition with the United States, both athletically and politically, which did not end until the dissolution of the USSR in 1991. Despite his return, Stalin refused to allow the Olympic torch to pass through his country and the athletes Soviets were housed in a different Olympic village.

Germany and Japan participated again after their exclusion in London 1948. The Germans had not participated since Berlin 1936 and although their country was still divided into occupation territories, a unified team was sent. The area under Soviet control was left out of that team, which refused to send athletes. The Saar Protectorate, independent of Germany until 1955, had its own delegation.

Development

Opening Ceremony

A general view of the opening ceremony.

The inauguration took place on July 19, 1952 at the Olympic Stadium in Helsinki. The gala began at 1:00 p.m. and was headed by the leader of the International Olympic Committee, the Swedish Sigfrid Edström, in what would be his last Games holding that position. Also in attendance were the Chairman of the Organizing Committee, Erik von Frenckell, and the Prime Minister of Finland, Juho Kusti Paasikivi.

After a formal opening, the athletes grouped into countries paraded on the athletics track. The person in charge of opening was Greece, as required by the Olympic tradition. Then the rest marched following the Finnish alphabet, from the Netherlands Antilles to the United States, and finally the Finnish delegation closed as host state. During the march there was a setback: the People's Republic of China was not represented because their athletes did not arrive on time, something that was also noted in the trials: only the swimming representative was able to compete. Neither did any member of British Guiana attend.

The legend of the athletics Paavo Nurmi lit the fisherman.

After an hour of parade, Von Frenckell gave a short keynote address in Finnish, Swedish, French and English, while Prime Minister Paasikivi officially declared the XV Olympiad open. After the speech, there were 21 salutes and 2,500 white doves were released as a symbol of peace.

Then the last reliever entered the stadium, whose identity was revealed on the scoreboard seconds before his arrival. The famous athlete Paavo Nurmi, champion of 12 Olympic medals (9 gold) between 1920 and 1928, lit the fire at the foot of the cauldron to the unanimous applause of 70,000 spectators and athletes. Sports Illustrated reported the following about the event:

«... his famous ditch was unmistakable to the spectators. When he appeared, the waves of screams increased from a roar to a thunder. When the national teams gathered in the field and saw the Nurmi figure, they broke ranks as excited students, running to the edge of the track. »

This arrival surprised not only the spectators, but also Sigfrid Edström and the rest of the IOC. In 1932 the International Athletics Association, chaired at the time by Edström, prevented Nurmi from competing in the Los Angeles Olympics, claiming that he was already a professional athlete. Twenty years later, Finnish President Urho Kekkonen convinced Nurmi to participate in the act.

The stadium tower also featured a cauldron, which was lit by another Finnish track and field legend, triple gold medalist Hannes Kolehmainen. The Olympic oath was given by Heikki Savolainen, a gymnast who won two gold medals in London 1948 and would retire at these Olympics with the team bronze medal.

Sports

Athletics

Czechoslovak Emil Zátopek won three gold medals.

During eight days, a total of 33 competitions were held (24 men's and 9 women's) in which 963 athletes (776 men and 187 women) from 57 countries participated. of which 7 were world records. The outstanding leader of the medal table was the United States with 31 metals (15 golds), followed by Czechoslovakia (4 golds) and Australia (3 golds). Although the Soviet Union won 17 medals, only two were gold.

The great figure of Helsinki 1952 was the Czechoslovakian Emil Zátopek, triple gold medal in the most important endurance events: 5,000 meters, 10,000 meters and the marathon, being the first time he had participated in that discipline. He also won in all three with an Olympic record. Nicknamed the "Human Engine", he was characterized by the physical strength of his legs and his stamina in the race, with which he set the pace for his rivals.In addition, his wife Dana Zátopková had won gold in throwing javelin.

The sprint events were again dominated by American runners, with wins for Lindy Remigino in the 100m and Andy Stanfield in the 200m. But the Caribbean island of Jamaica confirmed its power: George Rhoden took gold in the 400m, his teammate Herb McKenley took two silvers and the Jamaican team was crowned champion of the world record 4 x 400m relay. In the walking categories, the Swede John Mikaelsson won in 10 km. and the Italian Pino Dordoni did it in 50 km.

There was also room for surprises. Josy Barthel, representing Luxembourg, became the 1500m champion and is the only Luxembourger to date to have won a gold medal.

Almost all the throwing events were also led by the United States, with two exceptions: Brazilian Adhemar da Silva's victory in the triple jump and Hungarian József Csermák's victory in the hammer throw, the latter holding a world record. A curious case was that of the American Walt Davis, high jump champion, who two years later became a professional basketball player. In the decathlon, his compatriot Bob Mathias, gold medalist in London 1948, revalidated his victory with a record of 7,887 points.

In the women's category, Australia dominated the sprint events with two golds for Marjorie Jackson (100m and 200m) and Shirley Strickland (80m hurdles). The United States could only win in the 4 × 100 m relay. The Soviet Union won almost all of its medals thanks to women, notably two golds for Galina Zybina (weight) and Nina Ponomaryova (disc).

Among the Spanish-speaking athletes, the only one who won a medal was the Argentine Reinaldo Gorno, silver in the marathon.

Basketball

With 23 teams in contention, a preliminary round among the 13 weakest was necessary to draw the final 16 participants. After two group stages, the top four countries progressed to a direct playoff for the medals. Unsurprisingly, the United States took gold against the rookie Soviet Union. Since then both would maintain a tough rivalry for the hegemony of Olympic basketball, in which only amateur players were allowed at that time. The bronze went to Uruguay, winner of third place against Argentina.

Boxing

Some 249 boxers from 43 countries participated in the 10 scheduled categories. For the first and only time, only gold and silver medals were awarded to the finalists, while those eliminated in the semifinals left with a diploma. However, the IOC rectified months later and awarded those affected the bronze medal. In addition to the second consecutive gold for the Hungarian László Papp, boxers who would later develop their professional careers stood out, such as the American Floyd Patterson (middleweight champion) and the Swede Ingemar Johansson (silver at heavyweight).

Cycling

Without variations compared to the program of the last edition, there were 215 cyclists (all men) from 36 countries. The Helsinki velodrome hosted the four track cycling events, dominated by Italy (two golds), Australia (two golds) and South Africa. As for road cycling, Belgium claimed victory in both the team time trial and the online event, with gold for André Noyelle and silver for Robert Grondelaers.

Horse riding

Equestrianism was the discipline that experienced the most changes compared to London 1948. The requirement that participants be military officers was removed and women were allowed to enter, although only in the dressage category. In total there were 134 athletes (130 men and 4 women). Although the number was very small, the Danish rider Lis Hartel, stricken with polio, took the silver in individual dressage. Sweden swept dressage and the three-day event, with outstanding contributions from Henri Saint Cyr and Hans von Blixen-Finecke, Jr., while show jumping was more distributed, with Frenchman Pierre Jonquères d'Oriola triumphing in individual and from the United Kingdom in teams.

Chile had a good performance in this sport thanks to the jumping events. Óscar Cristi, a police officer, took silver in the individual category and obtained the same metal in teams, along with César Mendoza and Ricardo Echeverría.

Fencing

Without changes in the Olympic programme, some 286 swordsmen (249 men and 37 women) participated in a total of 6 men's events and one women's event. The chosen setting was the neighboring town of Espoo. Countries specializing in each of the three modalities won the gold: France triumphed in men's foil, Italy excelled in épée thanks to Edoardo Mangiarotti (individual and team gold) and Hungary swept saber with Pál Kovács' third consecutive gold.

The surprise came in the women's foil, where the Italian Irene Camber beat the queen of this speciality, the Hungarian Ilona Elek, against all odds.

Football

Again, a participation record was broken with 25 national teams, requiring a preliminary round. All the matches were in a direct elimination match. Although only amateur athletes were allowed, the major leagues in Eastern Bloc countries were not recognized as professional. The Hungary of the so-called "golden team", unbeaten since 1950, was the great favorite and fulfilled the forecasts by winning the gold medal in the final against Yugoslavia (2:0). The Magyar team had the best generation in its history: Ferenc Puskás, Zoltán Czibor, Sándor Kocsis, József Bozsik and Nándor Hidegkuti among others. In the fight for bronze, Sweden defeated Germany.

Gymnastics

Gymnastics now has 15 competitions (8 men's and 7 women's) thanks to the expansion of the women's program, which included six individual events: all-around, floor, horse, balance, asymmetrical, and apparatus. A total of 319 gymnasts (185 men and 134 women) from 30 countries participated.

The arrival of the Soviet Union, absent in the last edition, meant a revolution for this sport: they won 22 medals out of the 45 at stake, and took gold in 9 of the 15 categories. Among the men, Viktor Chukarin (6 medals, 4 of them gold) and Hrant Shahinyan (4 medals) stood out, while in women María Gorojóvskaya won 7 medals in all the events she took part in (2 gold and 5 silver).

Weightlifting

Some 142 athletes from 41 countries participated in a total of 7 events, including the medium-heavyweight category (between 82.5 and 90 kilos). The arrival of the Soviet Union increased the level of competition, although at that time there was greater equality with the traditional dominator, the United States. The North Americans prevailed in the medal table with 6 medals (4 gold), although the Soviets obtained a greater number of 7 medals (3 gold). Both states took 13 of the 21 medals at stake. The only Spanish-speaking weightlifter with an outstanding performance was the Argentine Humberto Selvetti, bronze in the heavyweight.

Hockey

For the fifth year in a row, the Indian hockey team won the event. Behind were the Netherlands (silver) and the United Kingdom (bronze), who defeated Pakistan in the final for third place. The remaining 8 teams contested a consolation tournament in the city of Porvoo, the results of which are not listed in the official Olympic summary.

Fight

A total of 244 wrestlers from 37 countries participated in the program of 16 events: 8 freestyle and 8 Greco-Roman, divided by weight. In its debut at an Olympic Games, the Soviet Union led the medal table with 10 metals (5 gold), followed by Sweden and Iran, who had been the traditional dominators until that year.

Swimming and jumping

The swimming program included 6 men's and 5 women's events, the same as in the last edition, and had the participation of 319 swimmers (201 men and 118 women) from 48 countries. At the sporting level, 9 Olympic records were broken, including a world record.

In the men's category, the United States took four of the six golds up for grabs, namely the 100m freestyle (Clarke Scholes), 1500m (Ford Konno), 100m backstroke (Yoshi Oyakawa) and the 4 x 200m relay Frenchman Jean Boiteux won the 400 m and Australian John Griffith Davies won the breaststroke. On the other hand, Japan returned after their absence from London 1948 and maintained their dominance in swimming, taking three silver medals.

Hungary completely dominated the women's category, taking four of the five available golds. The team made up of Ilona Novák, Judit Temes, Éva Novák and Katalin Szöke broke the world record in the 4 x 100m relay. Szöke was also the winner of the 100m freestyle, while Valéria Gyenge won the 400m and Éva Székely did the same. own in 200 m breaststroke. The only discordant note was Joan Harrison, representative of South Africa, who won the 100 m backstroke.

As for the springboard diving, there were 76 participants (51 men and 25 women) from 22 countries, with the United States taking gold in all 4 events up for grabs. Patricia McCormick got her first two gold medals in an Olympic Games, which she was able to revalidate four years later. As for Spanish-speaking athletes, Joaquín Capilla won silver in the 10-meter platform for Mexico.

Water polo

The fact that there were 21 teams in contention led the organization to set up a knockout phase. The last round consisted of a group between the four best teams, who competed directly for the medals. Hungary and Yugoslavia went into the last game tied, but the Magyars took gold thanks to a higher goal difference. Italy took the bronze.

Modern pentathlon

The International Union of Modern Pentathlon regulated this test for the first time since its creation in 1948. The fact that the first world championships had been held three years earlier improved the competitive level. On this occasion, the 51 athletes from 19 countries were competing for individual and collective medals. Although the Swede Lars Hall was champion alone, the good places of the Magyars Gábor Benedek (silver) and István Szondy (bronze) gave Hungary gold in the team classification.

Canoeing

In canoeing, with 159 rowers (13 of them women) from 21 countries, the same program as last year was maintained, with 8 men's events and one women's event. The kayakers experienced the greatest rivalry between Finland and Sweden: although the Swede Gert Fredriksson revalidated the gold in K1 1000 meters, the Finns won the rest thanks to Thorvald Strömberg and the K2 team formed by Kurt Wires and Yrjö Hietanen.

In the only women's competition, the 500-meter K1, the Finnish and world champion Sylvi Saimo fulfilled the forecasts and was proclaimed the winner.

Rowing

The rowing events were held in the Meilahti neighborhood, a different location than planned. The 404 men from 33 countries took part in a competition with 7 modalities. The United States maintained its dominance in the medal table with two gold medals, although it had to face stiff competition from the Soviet Union. In the double pair of coxless oars specialty, the Argentine team (Eduardo Guerrero and Tranquilo Cappozzo) got gold while Uruguay (Miguel Seijas and Juan Antonio Rodríguez) got bronze.

Shooting

For the first time, the International Shooting Union had designed a stable program with 7 tests, in which disciplines such as the rapid pistol returned. A total of 218 shooters from 48 countries participated. Women were still excluded from the JJ. oo. despite the fact that in 1950 they had begun to compete in international tournaments. The rookie Soviet Union won a total of 4 medals, but did not lead the medal table because Norway took two golds thanks to Erling Kongshaug (three-position rifle) and John Larsen (deer shooting). The Hungarian Károly Takács revalidated the victory of the previous edition in free pistol ahead of the Spanish Ángel León Gozalo, the only medalist from his country in this edition.

Candle

Some 227 sailors (224 men and 3 women) from 29 countries participated in the 5 scheduled events. To the usual categories (Finn, Star and Dragon) a new one was added, the 5.5-meter sailboat. Again there were women and the events were mixed, something that was maintained until 1980. Points were awarded according to the final classification and the number of boats that finished each race.

Danish Paul Bert Elvstrøm won the second of his four Olympic golds in the Finn category. Italy and Norway won in Star and Dragon respectively, while the United States won the last two tests: a 5.5 and 6 m sailboat.

Exhibition sports

There were two exhibition sports at the Helsinki Olympic Games: pesäpallo (national) and handball (international).

The pesäpallo is a Finnish variant of baseball where the main difference is that the ball is thrown into the air in a horizontal direction. On July 31, a friendly match was held between a team from the national league and another from the union sports federation, which ended with a score of 8:4. The creator of this discipline, Lauri Pihkala, had the honor of kicking off.

As for handball, it was only an official test at the 1936 Berlin Olympic Games and was later withdrawn from the program. The variant of that time was eleven players (compared to the current seven) and outdoors on a grass field. On July 30, a friendly was held between the teams of Denmark and Sweden. The Swedes finally won 19-11, and despite the persistent rain there were more than 13,000 spectators in the stands.

Closing Ceremony

The closing ceremony began at 5:00 p.m. on August 3, 1952, and on this occasion all national committees (including China) were represented. However, there were athletes who had already gone to their countries and some delegations did not have any. In those cases, the national ensign was carried by a Finnish cadet.

At 7:12 p.m., the Greek flag was raised to the strains of the Greek national anthem. Next, the flag of Finland was raised on the central mast and on the left mast that of Australia, the future organizer of the 1956 Summer Olympics in the city of Melbourne. The President of the International Olympic Committee, Sigfrid Edström, closed the XV Olympiad with a speech in French and English. Subsequently, the mayor of Helsinki received the Olympic flag to guard it until the following Games, the Olympic flame was extinguished and five salutes were fired. A musical band played the theme "Song of the Athenians", with arrangements by the Finnish composer Jean Sibelius, and finally the Finnish anthem to close the ceremony.

Medal table

Emil Zátopek and Reinaldo Gorno won gold and silver in marathon, respectively.

A total of 43 countries won at least one medal at these Olympic Games. The medal leader was the United States with 76 medals, while the Soviet Union obtained 71. The first Soviet gold was won by Nina Ponomaryova, in the discus throw. Behind stood out Hungary, which with a much smaller population than those countries achieved a record of 42 medals (one gold in soccer, with the so-called "Golden Team" of Puskas or Czibor) and placed third. The hosts of Finland achieved 22 medals, while in Spanish-speaking countries, the one that obtained the most medals was Argentina, with five. In the section of countries that returned to the Games, Germany got 24 medals but none of them gold, while Japan signed about 25.

Among the athletes who obtained a medal, the figure of Emil Zátopek stands out especially. The Czechoslovakian athlete won gold medals in the 5,000-meter, 10,000-meter and marathon events, an event he had not competed in before. In addition, his wife Dana Zatopkova won in the javelin throw, and in equestrian, for the first time a woman won a medal; the Danish Lis Hartel, stricken with polio, won silver in individual dressage. In swimming there was a general improvement in the marks, with several records broken. On the other hand, in gymnastics, the figure of the Soviet Maria Gorojóvskaya stood out, who won medals in the seven events she took part in: two golds and five silvers. They were the last Games in which she participated.

Organizing country (Finland)

No.	Country				Total
1	United States (USA)	40	19	17	76
2	Soviet Union (URS)	22	30	19	71
3	Hungary (HUN)	16	10	16	42
4	Sweden (SWE)	12	13	10	35
5	Italy (ITA)	8	9	4	21
6	Czechoslovakia (TCH)	7	3	3	13
7	France (FRA)	6	6	6	18
8	Finland (FIN)	6	3	13	22
9	Australia (AUS)	6	2	3	11
10	Norway (NOR)	3	2	0	5

Legacy

The economic impact on Finland was remarkable, because it helped its recovery after World War II, in which the country participated. In total, more than 1.58 billion Finnish marks were invested. The built sports areas and infrastructures were reused, and helped the urban development of Helsinki. For example, the Olympic Village became a residential area, while the Olympic Stadium continued to host major international competitions such as the World Athletics Championships. In addition, the Helsinki-Vantaa International Airport was built.

Within international relations, Finland opened up to the world. In addition to the contact of its citizens with people of other races, the government's contacts with both Western Europe and some Eastern European governments expanded. In this sense, Finland's relations with the United Kingdom and the visits of Prince Felipe of Edinburgh helped the country to be considered by other nations as part of the Western world.

Regarding the Olympic Games, Helsinki 1952 overcame the political problems of its time and the edition was able to be held normally, with good organization by the Committee in charge of this task. Although Finland is the country with the least population that has hosted this event, the participation of 1952 was slightly higher in number of states than the later edition, Melbourne 1956.