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20 unusual facts about 1952 Summer Olympics


Adalbert Gurath

Adalbert Gurath, Sr. (born 1915), fencer who represented Romania at the 1952 Summer Olympics

Bill Conterio

Bill Conterio (born November 29, 1929 in Chicago, Illinois) was an American soccer midfielder who was a member of the United States soccer teams at the 1952 and 1956 Summer Olympics.

Dai Llewellyn

He was born in Aberdare, the son of 1952 Summer Olympics gold medallist showjumper Sir Harry Llewellyn, 3rd Baronet and the Hon Christine de Saumarez, who was the daughter of the 5th Baron de Saumarez, a family from Guernsey with British naval ties.

Estadio El Madrigal

The size of the pitch was taken from 95 x 65 m to 105 x 65 m, matching that of the Helsinki Olympic Stadium of the 1952 Summer Olympics, a reference to copy during those years.

Harmaja

During the 1952 Summer Olympics this was the center of the Olympic sailing event.

Helsinki University of Technology

Construction of the Otaniemi campus was started in 1950, in order for the first buildings to host the athletes of the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki.

Hilding Ekelund

Among Ekelund's more notable buildings are the Taidehalli Art Gallery (together with Jarl Eklund) in Helsinki, Töölö Church in Helsinki, the Finnish Embassy in Moscow, and a number of buildings for the 1952 Summer Olympics held in Helsinki, including the Olympic Rowing Stadium, the Olympic Velodrome, and the Olympic Games village.

Hughie Ferguson

Ferguson's son Jack later went on to represent Britain in water polo at the 1952 and 1956 Olympics.

Imtiaz Bhatti

He made Pakistan cycling records and represented Pakistan by competing in the individual and team road race events at the 1952 Summer Olympics where he was placed 1st among the Asian cyclists and 25th in the world in the 1000m time trial.

Juho Kusti Paasikivi

As a lover of sports, and a former athlete and gymnast, Paasikivi had the great pleasure, during his second term of office, of opening the 1952 Summer Olympics held in Helsinki.

Larry Surock

That year, he was called into the U.S. Olympic team for the 1952 Helsinki Olympics.

Leichhardt Rowing Club

Four club men were selected for Olympic representation at Helsinki 1952 and five for Melbourne 1956.

Oddvar Hansen

He also won 19 caps for Norway between 1948 and 1954, and was a member of Norway's squad at the 1952 Olympics.

Olympia 52

Olympia 52 is a 1952 French documentary film about the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki, Finland.

Olympic Committee of Israel

OCI achieved IOC recognition in early 1952, just in time for Israel's Olympic debut at the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki.

Paul Unruh

He was drafted into the army, however, and missed out on an opportunity to win a gold medal at the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki, Finland.

Pyrkivä Turku

The gymnasts of Pyrkivä Turku have had considerable success both on the national and the international level: Kaino Lempinen was a member of the team that won gold in the 1952 Helsinki Olympics.

Ragnar Hvidsten

Together with his teammate in Sandefjord BK, Thorbjørn Svenssen, Hvidsten was selected for the Norwegian squad who competed at the 1952 Summer Olympics in Finland.

Ralf Ginsborg

Ralf Ginsborg (11 April 1927 – 2 December 2006) was a Danish footballer who competed in the 1952 Summer Olympics.

Stan Charlton

He started his career as an amateur with Bromley, and won four caps for the England amateur team, and was a member of the 1952 Olympic football tournament squad for the Great Britain team, although he did not play.


1952 in Luxembourg

26 July – At the 1952 Summer Olympics, Josy Barthel wins the men's 1,500m in a new Olympic record time: to date, the only time an athlete has won a gold medal for Luxembourg at the Olympics.

Athletics at the 1952 Summer Olympics – Men's marathon

The marathon at the 1952 Summer Olympics was held on 27 July on a course running from the Helsinki Olympic Stadium to Korso, Vantaa and back.

Béla Juhász

Béla Juhász (20 April 1921 in Nagykáta – June 2002 in Budapest) was a Hungarian long-distance runner who competed in the 1952 Summer Olympics.

Buruuba

Like Johnny Weissmuller who starred in classic Tarzan films, the starring actor Shigeyoshi Suzuki was also an Olympic swimming medalist in the 1952 Summer Olympics.

Cycling at the 1952 Summer Olympics – Men's 1000 m time trial

These are the official results of the Men's 1.000 m Time Trial at the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki, Finland held on July 31, 1952.

Cycling at the 1952 Summer Olympics – Men's sprint

These are the official results of the Men's 1.000m Sprint Scratch Race at the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki, Finland held from July 28 to July 31, 1952.

Cycling at the 1952 Summer Olympics – Men's tandem

These are the official results of the Men's 2.000m Tandem Race at the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki, Finland, held from July 28 to July 31, 1952.

Cycling at the 1952 Summer Olympics – Men's team pursuit

These are the official results of the Men's 4.000m Team Pursuit at the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki, Finland, held on July 28 and July 29, 1952.

Ernő Söptei

He finished seventh in the C-2 10000 m event at the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki.

Eugen Horniak

Eugen Horniak (August 28, 1926 in Ružindol – October 6, 2004 in Bratislava) was a Czechoslovak/Slovak basketball player who competed in the 1952 Summer Olympics.

Foxhunter

Foxhunter (1940–1959) was a champion show jumping horse ridden by Harry Llewellyn, best known for their part in securing Great Britain's only gold medal at the 1952 Summer Olympics (in the Team Jumping equestrian event).

Friedrich Hidding

Friedrich Wilhelm Hidding (born 6 November 1926 in Hamm) is a German former field hockey player who competed in the 1952 Summer Olympics.

Hannu Posti

Hannu Kalevi Posti (15 January 1926 in Vehkalahti – 13 June 2012 in Helsinki) was a Finnish former long-distance runner and biathlete who competed in the 1952 Summer Olympics and in the 1964 Winter Olympics.

Herb McKenley

Herbert Henry "Herb" McKenley OM (July 10, 1922 – November 26, 2007) was a Jamaican athlete, winner of a gold medal in the 4x400 m relay at the 1952 Summer Olympics.

James Enright

After retiring in 1964 from a refereeing career that saw him officiate the 1954 NCAA tournament Final Four and the 1948 and 1952 Olympic basketball qualifying tournaments, Enright resumed a career he had abandoned for refereeing in 1930 and covered basketball and baseball for such publications as The Sporting News and the Chicago Evening American.

Leslie Laing

Leslie Alphonso Laing (born February 19, 1925) is a former Jamaican athlete, winner of gold medal in 4x400 m relay at the 1952 Summer Olympics.

Lošinj

Agostino Straulino (b. October 10, 1914 in Mali Lošinj; d. December 14, 2004 in Rome) was an Italian sailor and sailboat racer, who won one Olympic gold medal at the 1952 Summer Olympics (Helsinki) and one silver medal at the 1956 Summer Olympics (Melbourne) in the Star class, and eight consecutive European championships (1949–56) and two world championships (1952–53) in this class and was world champion in the 5.5m-class.

Nicolas Stacey

During this time he represented his service, university and country in athletics, being president of the Oxford University Athletics Club, and participated in the British Empire Games (1950), and the 1952 Olympic Games.

Ottavio Bugatti

At international level, he represented Italy seven times including participation at the 1952 Summer Olympics.

Phog Allen

Allen later coached in the 1952 Summer Olympics, leading the United States to the gold medal in Helsinki, Finland.

Sumner White

He competed at the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki, where, contrary to expectation, he won a gold medal in the 5.5 metre class with the boat Complex II, together with Britton Chance and Edgar White.

Tadeusz Krzyżanowski

Tadeusz Krzyżanowski (29 August 1920 in Osterfeld – 31 January 1987 in Gdańsk) was a Polish shot putter who competed in the 1952 Summer Olympics.

Thomas Hodgson

Competing in two Summer Olympics, he earned his best finish of eighth in the C-2 1000 m event at Helsinki in 1952.

Weightlifting at the 1952 Summer Olympics

The weightlifting competition at the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki consisted of seven weight classes, all for men only.