1952 Helsinki Olympics
Also called: Games of the XV Olympiad, Helsinki 1952
The Soviet Union competed for the first time, starting the Cold War medal race. Czechoslovakia’s Emil Zátopek swept the 5,000 m, 10,000 m and marathon. South Korea, in the middle of the Korean War, also sent a team.
Anonymous Unknown author / Lehtikuva · Public domain · Source
Some 4,900 athletes from 69 nations took part from 19 July to 3 August 1952. Helsinki, which had been unable to hold the 1940 Games, got its turn, and the Finnish running heroes Paavo Nurmi and Hannes Kolehmainen lit the cauldron. The Soviet Union competed for the first time and vied with the United States for medals, and Israel also made its debut. Emil Zátopek of Czechoslovakia won the 5,000 m and 10,000 m and then the marathon, the first he had ever run. South Korea, in the midst of the Korean War, sent a team too, and the weightlifter Kim Sung-jip and the boxer Kang Joon-ho won bronze medals.