1952 Helsinki Summer Games
4,925 Athletes, 69 Countries, 149 Events
The 1952 Helsinki Games were incredibly well organized, so much so
that some suggested holding the Games permanently in Scandinavia.
Spectators at the Games were able to see the premiere of the Soviet
Union team. Other notable firsts included the first Olympic
commemorative coin and the first mixed equestrian events. American
Bob Mathias won his second gold medal in the
decathlon in Helsinki, setting a world record and winning by the
largest margin in Olympic history. Thirty-two Leaguers were able to
see Mathias' performance and put on a performance of their own.
Once again, the majority of Ivy medallists in Helsinki were not
in track and field events. Three athletes, however, did return with
a medal around their necks. Meredith Gourdine
(Cornell '52) finished with a silver in the long jump only 11/2
inches off the first-place mark. Gourdine became an engineer and
physicist, eventually owning seventy patents. Teammate
Charles Moore (Cornell '51) won gold in the
400-meter hurdles, setting an Olympic record along the way. Moore
also won silver in the 4x400-meter relay. James
Fuchs (Yale '50), also a footballer for the Bulldogs,
repeated his bronze medal performance in the shot put from the
London Games.
Sailors Britton Chance (Penn '35),
Edgar P.E. White (Harvard '52), and Sumner
W. White, III (Harvard '52) teamed to win gold in the
5.5-meter class. White and White were twin brothers, making them
the first twins to win gold for the United States.
Eric Ridder (Harvard '40) and Julian K.
Roosevelt (Harvard '50) won gold for the United States
boat in the 6-meter class.
Helsinki was the first Games for William
Steinkraus (Yale '48), who competed in equestrian events.
In 1952, he won a bronze medal as a member of the United States
jumping team. He competed in the next five games, becoming a force
in the equestrian world while simultaneously leading the United
States Equestrian Team as its president.
| Name |
School |
Sport |
| Norman Armitage |
Columbia University |
Men's Fencing |
| George Shaw |
Columbia University |
Men's Athletics |
| Alfred Skrobisch |
Columbia University |
Men's Fencing |
| Walter Ashbaugh |
Cornell University |
Men's Athletics |
| Meredith Gourdine |
Cornell University |
Men's Athletics |
| Charles Moore |
Cornell University |
Men's Athletics |
| Tor B. Arneberg |
Dartmouth College |
Men's Sailing |
| Samuel B. Felton, Jr. |
Harvard University |
Men's Athletics |
| Eric Ridder |
Harvard University |
Men's Sailing |
| Julian K. Roosevelt |
Harvard University |
Men's Sailing |
| Paul H. Smart |
Harvard University |
Men's Sailing |
| Edgar P.E. White |
Harvard University |
Men's Sailing |
| Sumner W. White, III |
Harvard University |
Men's Sailing |
| Britton Chance |
University of Pennsylvania |
Men's Sailing |
| Jaime Annexy Fajardo |
University of Pennsylvania |
Men's Athletics |
| John B. Kelly, Jr. |
University of Pennsylvania |
Men's Rowing |
| Mary G. Freeman Kelly |
University of Pennsylvania |
Women's Swimming |
| Dr. Paul T. Makler |
University of Pennsylvania |
Men's Fencing |
| Charles J. McIlvaine |
University of Pennsylvania |
Men's Rowing |
| G.L. Schoonmaker |
Princeton University |
Men's Sailing |
| Rex Aubrey |
Yale University |
Men's Swimming |
| James Beggs |
Yale University |
Men's Rowing |
| Frank Chamberlain |
Yale University |
Men's Swimming |
| James Fuchs |
Yale University |
Men's Athletics |
| John Marshall |
Yale University |
Men's Swimming |
| James McLane |
Yale University |
Men's Swimming |
| Wayne Moore |
Yale University |
Men's Swimming |
| Michael Schoettle |
Yale University |
Men's Sailing |
| Donald Sheff |
Yale University |
Men's Swimming |
| Allen Stack |
Yale University |
Men's Swimming |
| William Steinkraus |
Yale University |
Men's Equestrian |
| Herman Whiton |
Princeton University |
Men's Sailing |