In 1952, the Summer Olympics were held in Helsinki. This city was supposed to host sports competitions back in 1940, but World War II prevented them from being held, during which all games were canceled.
A total of 69 countries took part in the 1952 Olympic Games. For the first time, a team from the Soviet Union was invited, as well as from a number of other states - China, Bahamas, Ghana, Guatemala, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Israel, Nigeria, Thailand and Vietnam. Germany and Japan were again allowed to compete after the ban imposed due to the aggression of these states during the Second World War. However, in the case of Germany, the situation was complicated by its division into zones of occupation. Due to the conflict between parts of the country, athletes from East Germany refused to go to games on the same team with athletes from the western part of the country.
Not without the boycott of the games by individual countries. The Republic of China, also called Taiwan, refused to participate in the games, since the PRC team was also invited to them. These countries have not mutually recognized each other since the establishment of the communist regime on the mainland of China and the separation of the island of Taiwan from the unified Chinese state.
The first place at the end of the Olympics in the unofficial medal standings was taken by the United States team. Traditionally, American track and field athletes, especially runners, have been strong. Also, several gold medals were brought to the country by boxers, divers, swimmers and wrestlers.
The second in the number of awards was the Soviet Union. It was a huge success for the first time in the Summer Olympics. The greatest number of medals was brought to the team by Soviet gymnasts, weightlifters and wrestlers.
The third, to the surprise of many sports experts, was Hungary. The 1952 Games became for this country one of the most successful in the history of participation in the Olympic movement. The Hungarian football team received gold medals. Also, the team of swimmers of this country showed a high level of preparation. Finland, the host of the competition, came in only eighth overall in terms of the number of gold, silver and bronze medals.
