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.
The Helsinki Olympic Stadium, located in the Töölö district about 2.3 kilometres (1.4 mi) from the centre of the Finnish capital Helsinki, is the largest stadium in the country. The stadium is best known for being the centre of activities in the 1952 Summer Olympics. During those games, it hosted athletics, equestrian show jumping, and the football finals.
At the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki, a total number of eleven swimming events were contested, six for men and five for women. The events were held at the Swimming Stadium. There was a total of 319 participants from 48 countries competing.
The National Olympic Committee (NOC) of the Saarland was founded in the spring of 1950 in the Saar Protectorate, which existed from 1947 to 1956, a region of Western Germany that was occupied in 1945 by France. As a separate team, Saar took part in its sole Olympic Games at the 1952 Summer Olympics before being allowed to rejoin the German team in 1956. Thirty-six competitors, 31 men and five women, took part in 32 events in nine sports.
Denmark competed at the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki, Finland. 129 competitors, 115 men and 14 women, took part in 73 events in 15 sports.
New Zealand at the 1952 Summer Olympics was represented by a team of 14 competitors and three officials. Selection of the team for the Games in Helsinki, Finland, was the responsibility of the New Zealand Olympic and British Empire Games Association. New Zealand's flagbearer at the opening ceremony was Harold Cleghorn. The New Zealand team finished equal 24th on the medal table, winning a total of three medals, one of which was gold.
Argentina at the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki, Finland was the nation's ninth appearance out of twelve editions of the Summer Olympic Games. Argentina sent to the 1952 Summer Olympics its sixth national team, under the auspices of the Argentine Olympic Committee, 123 athletes, who competed in 77 events in 15 sports They brought home five medals: 1 gold, 2 silver and 2 bronze. The flag bearer was Delfo Cabrera, the gold medalist in the immediately previous Summer Olympic Games marathon.
Gymnastics at the 1952 Summer Olympics was represented by 15 events: 7 for women and 8 for men. All events were held between 19 and 24 July in the Messuhalli building in Helsinki. Men's events were held in Exhibition Hall I while women's events were contested in the smaller Exhibition Hall II.
With the competitions in shooting at the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki, the Olympic shooting program began its expansion. Three new events were added: 100 metre running deer, 50 metre rifle three positions and trap. In total there were seven events held between 25 and 29 July 1952. No women participated in the 1952 shooting events. This was the first year that a new format was introduced as well: the sights on the guns were now located on the left side of the barrel.
Austria competed at the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki, Finland. 112 competitors, 91 men and 21 women, took part in 70 events in 16 sports.
Czechoslovakia competed at the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki, Finland. 99 competitors, 86 men and 13 women, took part in 70 events in 11 sports.
Athletes from the Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia competed at the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki, Finland. 87 competitors, 77 men and 10 women, took part in 48 events in 11 sports.
Poland competed at the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki, Finland. 125 competitors, 103 men and 22 women, took part in 74 events in 11 sports. Zygmunt Chychła became first post-War Olympic gold champion.
The Union of South Africa competed at the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki, Finland. 64 competitors, 60 men and 4 women, took part in 59 events in 13 sports.
Japan competed at the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki, Finland. Japan returned to the Olympic Games after not being invited to the 1948 Summer Olympics because of the nations's role in World War II. 69 competitors, 58 men and 11 women, took part in 60 events in 13 sports.
Brazil competed at the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki, Finland. 97 competitors, 92 men and 5 women, took part in 51 events in 14 sports. Brazil won three medals at the 1952 Summer Olympics. Brazil won its first gold medal since its debut at the 1920 Summer Olympics.
Israel competed in the Summer Olympic Games for the first time at the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki, Finland. 25 competitors, 22 men and 3 women, took part in 17 events in 5 sports.
The women's 200 metre breaststroke event, included in the swimming competition at the 1952 Summer Olympics, took place on 26–29 July, at the Helsinki Swimming Stadium. In this event, swimmers covered four lengths of the 50-metre (160 ft) Olympic-sized pool employing the breaststroke. It was the sixth appearance of the event, which first appeared at the 1924 Summer Olympics in Paris. A total of 33 competitors from 19 nations participated in the event.
The women's shot put event at the 1952 Summer Olympics took place on 26 July at the Helsinki Olympic Stadium. Soviet athlete Galina Zybina won the gold medal and set new world and Olympic records.
Liliana Tagliaferri is an Italian sprinter who is twice National Champion at 100 metres and competed in the 1948 Summer Olympics and the 1952 Summer Olympics.
