Games of the XV Olympiad
Host city	w:Helsinki, Finland
Events	149 in 17 sports
Opening ceremony	July 19
Closing ceremony	August 3
Stadium	Olympic Stadium

The XV Summer Olympics were held in Helsinki, Finland. Helsinki was originally awarded the 1940 summer games, after the IOC stripped the

privilege from Tokyo, because of the Sino-Japanese War. The 1940 games were later canceled, due to World War II, so not until 1952 was Helsinki able to host the Olympic games. 69 nations competed in the 149 events (17 sports) during the XV Games. The games were opened by the Finnish President Juho Kuski Paasikivi.

Contents 1 Historic Events 2 Medals 3 Image Gallery 4 See Also

Historic EventsEdit

• Russian athletes participate for the first time in 40 years (appearing as the Soviet Union for the first time).
• Nina Romashkova becomes the first Soviet Athlete to win gold, thanks to her performance in the woman's discus throwing event.
• The Soviet Union's Maria Gorokhovskaya sets a new world record with the most medals by a woman in one games, with two golds and five silvers.
• Czechoslovakia's Emil Zátopek sets Olympic records in the 5,000 meter race, 10,000 meter race, and the marathon, an event he'd never run before.
• Germany and Japan are invited after being barred from the 1948 Summer Olympics.
• Israel makes it's first ever appearance in the Olympics (they didn't compete in 1948 because of their war of independence).
• The Republic of China (Taiwan) withdrew from the Games on July 20, in protest of allowing the People's Republic of China to compete.
• Saarland competed for the first and only time in the Olympics. They joined United Team of Germany in the 1956 Melbourne games.
• East Germany did not compete in these games
• Non-military officers are allowed to be equestrian riders for the first time. Also a female equestrian event was held for the first time, in which Denmark's Lis Hartel won the first gold medal.
• Bob Mathias of the United States became the first Olympian to successfully defend his decathlon title, with a total score of 7,887 points.

MedalsEdit

Main article: 1952 Summer Olympics medal table

1. United States 40 Gold, 19 Silver and 17 Bronze. 76 Total.
2. Soviet Union 22 Gold, 30 Silver and 19 Bronze. 71 Total.
3. Hungary 16 Gold, 10 Silver and 16 Bronze. 42 Total.
4. Sweden 12 Gold, 13 Silver and 10 Bronze. 35 Total.
5. Germany 7 Silver and 17 Bronze. 24 Total.
6. Finland 6 Gold, 3 Silver and 13 Bronze. 22 Total.
7. Italy 8 Gold, 9 Silver and 4 Bronze. 21 Total.
8. France 6 Gold, 6 Silver and 6 Bronze. 18 Total.
9. Switzerland 2 Gold, 6 Silver and 6 Bronze. 14 Total.
10. Czechoslovakia 7 Gold, 3 Silver and 3 Bronze. 13 Total.

Image GalleryEdit

See AlsoEdit

• Logos - A collection of logos featuring this event.
• Mascots - The official mascots of this Olympics'.
• Torch - Information about this Olympics' torch.

Preceded by Oslo 1952	Olympics 1952	Succeeded by Cortina 1956
Preceded by London 1948	Summer Olympics 1952	Succeeded by Melbourne 1956

This article is a stub. Please help Olympics Wiki by expanding it, adding pictures, and improving existing text.