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, nowadays mainly used for hosting sports events and big concerts. 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.
Venezuela competed at the 1952 Summer Olympics held in Helsinki, Finland. The Venezuelan Olympic Committee selected 38 competitors, 36 men and two women, to take part in 37 events across eight sports. This was a much greater turnout than 1948, Venezuela's only previous entry, which had only one athlete. For the first time, women represented Venezuela at the Summer Olympics. Women have been absent in the Venezuelan team on four occasions, including the next Summer Games held in Melbourne.
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.
The United States competed at the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki, Finland. 286 competitors - 245 men and 41 women - took part in 133 events in 18 sports. It won 76 medals, including 6 podium sweeps; the highest number of medal sweeps in a single Olympiad by one country since World War II and still a record.
Margitta Gummel was a German Olympic gold medal-winning shot putter. She competed for the Unified German team in the 1964 Summer Olympics, East Germany in the 1968 Summer Olympics, and East Germany again at the 1972 Summer Olympics. She had a long rivalry with Nadezhda Chizhova of the Soviet Union.
James Emanuel Fuchs was an American athlete who competed in the discus throw and shot put. He developed a new shot-putting technique to compensate for a leg injury, and then used what he called "the sideways glide" to set world records and dominate the sport over a two-year span in the early 1950s. He won bronze medals in shot put at both the 1948 Summer Olympics in London and the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki.
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.
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. Adhemar Ferreira da Silva won the men's triple jump. Together with the bronze medal won by José Telles da Conceição in men's high jump; those were the first medals won by Brazilians at Athletics in the Olympic Games. Tetsuo Okamoto became the first Brazilian swimmer to win an Olympic medal, the bronze at the men's 1500 metre freestyle.
Per Stavem was a Norwegian shot putter and discus thrower. He represented Stabæk IF.
These are the official results of the women's shot put event at the 1992 Summer Olympics, held on 5 August 1992, at the Olympic Stadium in Barcelona, Spain. There were a total number of 18 participating athletes. The top 12 and ties and all those reaching 18.50 metres advanced to the final.
These are the official results of the Women's Shot Put event at the 1982 European Championships in Athens, Greece. The final was held at Olympic Stadium "Spiros Louis" on 6 September 1982.
These are the official results of the Women's shot put event at the 1994 European Championships in Helsinki, Finland. There were a total number of 20 participating athletes, with two qualifying groups and the final held at Helsinki Olympic Stadium on 7 August 1994.
The women's shot put event at the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow, Soviet Union had an entry list of 14 competitors. The final was held on Thursday 24 July 1980.
The women's shot put event at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, California had an entry list of 13 competitors. The final was held on 3 August 1984.
These are the official results of the Women's Shot Put event at the 1983 World Championships in Helsinki, Finland. The final was held on Friday August 12, 1983. The qualification mark was set at 17.00 metres.
The men's shot put event was part of the track and field athletics programme at the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki, Finland. Twenty athletes from 14 nations competed. The maximum number of athletes per nation had been set at 3 since the 1930 Olympic Congress. The competition was held on 21 July at Helsinki Olympic Stadium. The finals were swept by the United States, with Americans Parry O'Brien taking the gold medal, Darrow Hooper earning silver and Jim Fuchs receiving his second consecutive bronze medal in the event. It was the 10th victory for an American in the event, and the fifth medal sweep for the United States. Fuchs was the third man to win multiple medals in the shot put.
Mark Pharaoh was a track and field athlete, who competed in the discus throw at both the 1952 Helsinki Olympics and the 1956 Melbourne Olympics where he came fourth. This has been described as by far the finest single achievement in British discus history. He was also an international shot put and hammer thrower. He was fifth in the shot put at the 1954 British Empire and Commonwealth Games and second in the hammer at the 1953 Summer International University Sports Week.
The Women's shot put event at the 1952 Summer Olympics took place on 20 July at the Helsinki Olympic Stadium. Soviet athlete Nina Ponomaryova won the gold medal and set a new Olympic record.
The men's ISSF 50 meter pistol was a shooting sports event held as part of the Shooting at the 1952 Summer Olympics programme. It was the eighth appearance of the event. The competition was held on 25 July 1952 at the shooting ranges in Helsinki. 48 shooters from 28 nations competed. The maximum number of shooters per nation was reduced to 2, from 3 in previous Games. The event was won by Huelet Benner of the United States, the nation's first victory in the event since 1920. Silver went to Ángel León of Spain and bronze to Ambrus Balogh of Hungary; they were the first medals in the free pistol for both nations.
Paulette Veste is a former French athlete, who specialised in the shot put and the discus throw.
