Athletics at the 1952 Summer Olympics – Men's marathon

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Men's marathon
at the Games of the XV Olympiad
Zatopek-Gorno-1952.jpg
Zátopek and Gorno
Venue Helsinki Olympic Stadium, Helsinki
DatesJuly 27
Competitors66 from 32 nations
Winning time2:23:03.2 OR
Medalists
Gold medal icon.svg Emil Zátopek
Flag of Czechoslovakia.svg  Czechoslovakia
Silver medal icon.svg Reinaldo Gorno
Flag of Argentina (1861-2010).svg  Argentina
Bronze medal icon.svg Gustaf Jansson
Flag of Sweden.svg  Sweden
  1948
1956  

The marathon at the 1952 Summer Olympics was held on 27 July on a course running from the Helsinki Olympic Stadium to Korso, Helsinki Rural Municipality (now Vantaa) and back. [1] Sixty-six athletes from 32 nations competed. [2] The maximum number of athletes per nation had been set at three since the 1930 Olympic Congress. The winning margin was 2 minutes 31.8 seconds.

The event was won by Emil Zátopek of Czechoslovakia, the nation's first Olympic marathon medal. Zátopek completed a long distance triple that has never been matched: the 5,000 metres, 10,000 metres, and marathon golds in a single Games. Reinaldo Gorno's silver medal put Argentina on the marathon podium for the second straight Games, and the third of the four times Argentina had competed. Sweden took its first marathon medal since 1900, as Gustaf Jansson matched the nation's best result to date in the event. Great Britain's three-Games marathon medal streak ended.

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Official Video

Approximately halfway through the race, Zátopek famously pulled alongside pre-race favorite Jim Peters and asked him, "Jim, is this pace too fast?" Peters replied, "No, it isn't fast enough." Peters later said he was joking, but Zátopek accelerated into the lead and won by more than two and a half minutes. Peters failed to finish. [3]

Background

This was the 12th appearance of the event, which is one of 12 athletics events to have been held at every Summer Olympics. Returning runners from the 1948 marathon included defending champion Delfo Cabrera of Argentina and sixth- through eighth-place finishers Syd Luyt of South Africa, Gustav Östling of Sweden, and John Systad of Norway. The favorite was Jim Peters of Great Britain, the 1951 and 1952 Polytechnic Marathon winner who had broken the world record at the 1952 race. Emil Zátopek of Czechoslovakia had never run a marathon before, but had won the 5000 metres and 10000 metres earlier in the Games and decided to enter the marathon. [2]

Egypt, Guatemala, Pakistan, and the Soviet Union each made their first appearance in Olympic marathons. The United States made its 12th appearance, the only nation to have competed in each Olympic marathon to that point.

Competition format and course

As all Olympic marathons, the competition was a single race. The marathon distance of 26 miles, 385 yards was run over a "straight out-and-back course, starting and finishing at the Olympic Stadium" and going to Korso. [2] The full length of the road was hard-surfaced. [4]

Records

These were the standing world and Olympic records prior to the 1952 Summer Olympics. [5]

World recordFlag of the United Kingdom.svg  Jim Peters  (GBR)2:20:42 Shepherd's Bush, England14 June 1952
Olympic recordFlag of Japan.svg  Sohn Kee-chung  (JPN)2:29:19.2 Berlin, Germany 9 August 1936

Emil Zátopek set a new Olympic best at 2:23:03.2.

Schedule

The day was "fairly cool." [2]

All times are Eastern European Summer Time (UTC+3)

DateTimeRound
Sunday, 27 July 195215:25Final

Results

RankAthleteNationTimeNotes
Gold medal icon.svg Emil Zátopek Flag of Czechoslovakia.svg  Czechoslovakia 2:23:03.2 OR
Silver medal icon.svg Reinaldo Gorno Flag of Argentina (1861-2010).svg  Argentina 2:25:35.0
Bronze medal icon.svg Gustaf Jansson Flag of Sweden.svg  Sweden 2:26:07.0
4 Choi Yun-Chil Flag of South Korea (1949-1984).svg  South Korea 2:26:36.0
5 Veikko Karvonen Flag of Finland.svg  Finland 2:26:41.8
6 Delfo Cabrera Flag of Argentina (1861-2010).svg  Argentina 2:26:42.4
7 József Dobronyi Flag of Hungary (1949-1956).svg  Hungary 2:28:04.8
8 Erkki Puolakka Flag of Finland.svg  Finland 2:29:35.0
9 Geoffrey Iden Flag of the United Kingdom (3-2).svg  Great Britain 2:30:42.0
10 Wally Hayward Flag of South Africa (1928-1982).svg  South Africa 2:31:50.2
11 Syd Luyt Flag of South Africa (1928-1982).svg  South Africa 2:32:41.0
12 Gustaf Östling Flag of Sweden.svg  Sweden 2:32:48.4
13 Victor Dyrgall US flag 48 stars.svg  United States 2:32:52.4
14 Luis Celedón Flag of Chile.svg  Chile 2:33:45.8
15 Adrien van de Zande Flag of the Netherlands.svg  Netherlands 2:33:50.0
16 Viktor Olsen Flag of Norway.svg  Norway 2:33:58.4
17 Mikko Hietanen Flag of Finland.svg  Finland 2:34:01.0
18 Charles Dewachtere Flag of Belgium (civil).svg  Belgium 2:34:32.0
19 William Keith Flag of South Africa (1928-1982).svg  South Africa 2:34:38.0
20 Yakov Moskachenkov Flag of the Soviet Union (1936-1955).svg  Soviet Union 2:34:43.8
21 Mihály Esztergomi Flag of Hungary (1949-1956).svg  Hungary 2:35:10.0
22 Doroteo Flores Flag of Guatemala.svg  Guatemala 2:35:40.0
23 Jean Simonet Flag of Belgium (civil).svg  Belgium 2:35:43.0
24 Jakob Kjersem Flag of Norway.svg  Norway 2:36:14.0
25 Katsuo Nishida Flag of Japan (1870-1999).svg  Japan 2:36:19.0
26 Keizo Yamada Flag of Japan (1870-1999).svg  Japan 2:38:11.2
27 Feodosy Vanin Flag of the Soviet Union (1936-1955).svg  Soviet Union 2:38:22.0
28 Grigory Suchkov Flag of the Soviet Union (1936-1955).svg  Soviet Union 2:38:28.8
29 Henry Norrström Flag of Sweden.svg  Sweden 2:38:57.4
30 Dieter Engelhardt Flag of Germany.svg  Germany 2:39:37.2
31 Cristea Dinu Flag of Romania (1948-1952).svg  Romania 2:39:42.2
32 Jean Leblond Flag of Belgium (civil).svg  Belgium 2:40:37.0
33 Choi Chung-Sik Flag of South Korea (1949-1984).svg  South Korea 2:41:23.0
34 John Systad Flag of Norway.svg  Norway 2:41:29.8
35 Jaroslav Šourek Flag of Czechoslovakia.svg  Czechoslovakia 2:41:40.4
36 Tom Jones US flag 48 stars.svg  United States 2:42:50.0
37 Robert Prentice Flag of Australia.svg  Australia 2:43:13.4
38 Muhammad Havlidar Aslam Flag of Pakistan.svg  Pakistan 2:43:38.2
39 Adolf Gruber Flag of Austria.svg  Austria 2:45:02.0
40 Paul Collins Flag of Canada (1921-1957).svg  Canada 2:45:58.0
41 Vasile Teodosiu Flag of Romania (1948-1952).svg  Romania 2:46:00.8
42 Erik Simonsen Flag of Denmark.svg  Denmark 2:46:41.4
43 Ludwig Warnemünde Flag of Germany.svg  Germany 2:50:00.0
44 Ted Corbitt US flag 48 stars.svg  United States 2:51:09.0
45 Claude Smeal Flag of Australia.svg  Australia 2:52:23.0
46 Asfò Bussotti Flag of Italy.svg  Italy 2:52:55.0
47 Winand Osiński Flag of Poland (1928-1980).svg  Poland 2:54:38.2
48 Olaf Sørensen Flag of Denmark.svg  Denmark 2:55:21.0
49 Joseph West Flag of Ireland (3-2).svg  Ireland 2:56:22.8
50 Rudolf Morgenthaler Civil Ensign of Switzerland (Pantone).svg  Switzerland 2:56:33.0
51 Abdelgani Abdel Fattah Flag of Egypt (1922-1953).svg  Egypt 2:56:56.0
52 Surat Mathur Flag of India.svg  India 2:58:09.2
53 Artidoro Berti Flag of Italy.svg  Italy 2:58:36.2
Ahmet Aytar Flag of Turkey.svg  Turkey DNF
Franjo Krajčar Flag of SFR Yugoslavia.svg  Yugoslavia DNF
Hong Jong-O Flag of South Korea (1949-1984).svg  South Korea DNF
Muhammad Ben Aras Flag of Pakistan.svg  Pakistan DNF
Lionel Billas Flag of France.svg  France DNF
Constantin Radu Flag of Romania (1948-1952).svg  Romania DNF
Corsino Fernández Flag of Argentina (1861-2010).svg  Argentina DNF
Raúl Inostroza Flag of Chile.svg  Chile DNF
Luis Velásquez Flag of Guatemala.svg  Guatemala DNF
Stan Cox Flag of the United Kingdom (3-2).svg  Great Britain DNF
Jim Peters Flag of the United Kingdom (3-2).svg  Great Britain DNF
Egilberto Martufi Flag of Italy.svg  Italy DNF
Yoshitaka Uchikawa Flag of Japan (1870-1999).svg  Japan DNF
Hans Frischknecht Civil Ensign of Switzerland (Pantone).svg  Switzerland DNS
Les Perry Flag of Australia.svg  Australia DNS

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References

  1. "Athletics at the 1952 Helsinki Summer Games: Men's Marathon". sports-reference.com. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 1 May 2017.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Marathon, Men". Olympedia. Retrieved 27 August 2020.
  3. Burnton, Simon (June 22, 2012). "50 stunning Olympic moments No 41: Emil Zatopek the triple-gold winner". The Guardian. Retrieved March 7, 2023.
  4. Kolkka, Sulo, ed. (1952). The Official Report of The Organising Committee For The Games Of The XV Olympiad Helsinki 1952. Helsinki: The Organising Committee For The XV Olympiad. Archived from the original on 2015-08-26.
  5. "Men's World Record Times - 1949 to 1955". www.marathonguide.com. Retrieved 2021-09-01.