Athletics at the 1952 Summer Olympics – Men's decathlon

The Men's decathlon at the 1952 Summer Olympics took place on 25 and 26 July, at the Helsinki Olympic Stadium. Now 21-year-old Bob Mathias from the United States repeated his performances from the previous games by winning the gold medal and setting new world and Olympic records. It was the second time the United States Olympic team earned all three medals in the event, the first one being in the 1936 Olympic Games.^[1]

Men's decathlon at the Games of the XV Olympiad
Venue	Helsinki Olympic Stadium
Dates	25–26 July 1952
Competitors	28 from 16 nations
Winning score	7,887 WR
Medalists
Bob Mathias  United States Milt Campbell  United States Floyd Simmons  United States
← 1948 1956 Video on YouTube Official film  →

Mathias ranked first in all three throwing events—discus, shot put and javelin. He won all of these by over a metre.

Records

Prior to this competition, the existing world and Olympic records were as follows:

World record	Bob Mathias (USA)	7287 points	Tulare, United States	30 June 1950
Olympic record	Glenn Morris (USA)	7254 points	Berlin, Germany	8 August 1936

At the end of the competition the following world and Olympic records were set:

Date	Event	Athlete	Points	OR	WR
26 July	Final	Bob Mathias (USA)	7887	OR	WR

Results

Note: All scores are based on the tables used in 1952.

100m

Heat 1

Rank	Athlete	Country	Time	Points
1	Milt Campbell	United States	10.78	1034
2	Carlos Vera	Chile	11.28	870
3	Vladimir Volkov	Soviet Union	11.49	768
4	Bob Adams	Canada	11.95	650

Heat 2

Rank	Athlete	Country	Time	Points
1	Friedel Schirmer	Germany	11.68	678
2	Pat Leane	Australia	11.82	623
3	Georges Breitman	France	13.70	254

Heat 3

Rank	Athlete	Country	Time	Points
1	Sergey Kuznetsov	Soviet Union	11.56	768
2	Kjell Tånnander	Sweden	11.59	768
3	Erkki Hautamäki	Finland	12.22	572

Heat 4

Rank	Athlete	Country	Time	Points
1	Geoff Elliott	Great Britain	11.45	869
2	Brígido Iriarte	Venezuela	11.66	707
3	Héctor Román	Puerto Rico	11.70	678
4	Max Wehrli	Switzerland	11.93	650

Heat 5

Rank	Athlete	Country	Time	Points
1	Floyd Simmons	United States	11.52	737
2	Hugues Frayer	France	11.61	707
3	Oto Rebula	Yugoslavia	11.72	678

Heat 6

Rank	Athlete	Country	Time	Points
1	Olli Reikko	Finland	11.43	800
2	Fotios Kosmas	Greece	11.53	737
3	Hernán Figueroa	Chile	11.73	678
4	Reinaldo Oliver	Puerto Rico	11.89	623

Heat 7

Rank	Athlete	Country	Time	Points
1	Göran Widenfelt	Sweden	11.53	768
2	Pyotr Kozhevnikov	Soviet Union	11.60	768

Heat 8

Rank	Athlete	Country	Time	Points
1	Bob Mathias	United States	11.08	948
2	Sepp Hipp	Germany	11.46	768
3	Fernando Fernandes	Portugal	11.54	737

Heat 9

Rank	Athlete	Country	Time	Points
1	Ignace Heinrich	France	11.61	737
2	Eeles Landström	Finland	12.10	597

Long Jump

Rank	Athlete	Country	Distance	Points
1	Ignace Heinrich	France	7.10	818
2	Vladimir Volkov	Soviet Union	7.09	815
2	Sergey Kuznetsov	Soviet Union	7.09	815
4	Floyd Simmons	United States	7.06	804
4	Brígido Iriarte	Venezuela	7.06	804
6	Bob Mathias	United States	6.98	779
7	Carlos Vera	Chile	6.96	773
8	Kjell Tånnander	Sweden	6.90	755
9	Sepp Hipp	Germany	6.85	740
10	Hugues Frayer	France	6.80	725
11	Göran Widenfelt	Sweden	6.76	713
12	Milt Campbell	United States	6.74	707
13	Eeles Landström	Finland	6.70	695
14	Olli Reikko	Finland	6.66	684
15	Oto Rebula	Yugoslavia	6.64	678
16	Fernando Fernandes	Portugal	6.52	645
17	Max Wehrli	Switzerland	6.48	635
18	Héctor Román	Puerto Rico	6.47	632
19	Geoff Elliott	Great Britain	6.44	624
20	Hernán Figueroa	Chile	6.38	608
21	Friedel Schirmer	Germany	6.37	605
21	Erkki Hautamäki	Finland	6.37	605
23	Bob Adams	Canada	6.22	567
24	Fotios Kosmas	Greece	6.20	562
25	Reinaldo Oliver	Puerto Rico	6.15	550
26	Pyotr Kozhevnikov	Soviet Union	5.80	466
27	Georges Breitman	France	5.43	385
28	Pat Leane	Australia	5.22	341

Shot Put

Rank	Athlete	Country	Distance	Points
1	Bob Mathias	United States	15.30	912
2	Milt Campbell	United States	13.89	759
3	Sepp Hipp	Germany	13.26	696
4	Floyd Simmons	United States	13.18	688
5	Kjell Tånnander	Sweden	12.97	669
6	Oto Rebula	Yugoslavia	12.90	663
7	Hernán Figueroa	Chile	12.87	660
8	Ignace Heinrich	France	12.83	656
9	Max Wehrli	Switzerland	12.73	647
10	Friedel Schirmer	Germany	12.69	644
11	Vladimir Volkov	Soviet Union	12.62	637
12	Geoff Elliott	Great Britain	12.40	618
13	Hugues Frayer	France	12.36	614
14	Erkki Hautamäki	Finland	12.19	599
15	Bob Adams	Canada	12.01	582
16	Olli Reikko	Finland	11.85	568
17	Eeles Landström	Finland	11.75	560
18	Sergey Kuznetsov	Soviet Union	11.71	556
19	Brígido Iriarte	Venezuela	11.66	552
20	Göran Widenfelt	Sweden	11.61	548
21	Héctor Román	Puerto Rico	11.56	544
22	Fernando Fernandes	Portugal	11.20	516
23	Reinaldo Oliver	Puerto Rico	10.22	437
24	Carlos Vera	Chile	9.52	387
25	Georges Breitman	France	9.28	369

High Jump

Rank	Athlete	Country	Distance	Points
1	Göran Widenfelt	Sweden	1.94	960
2	Floyd Simmons	United States	1.92	930
3	Bob Mathias	United States	1.90	900
4	Ignace Heinrich	France	1.88	872
5	Milt Campbell	United States	1.85	832
5	Kjell Tånnander	Sweden	1.85	832
7	Friedel Schirmer	Germany	1.80	770
8	Vladimir Volkov	Soviet Union	1.75	711
8	Sepp Hipp	Germany	1.75	711
8	Geoff Elliott	Great Britain	1.75	711
8	Eeles Landström	Finland	1.75	711
8	Bob Adams	Canada	1.75	711
8	Carlos Vera	Chile	1.75	711
14	Olli Reikko	Finland	1.70	656
14	Fernando Fernandes	Portugal	1.70	656
14	Reinaldo Oliver	Puerto Rico	1.70	656
14	Erkki Hautamäki	Finland	1.70	656
18	Sergey Kuznetsov	Soviet Union	1.65	605
18	Hugues Frayer	France	1.65	605
18	Oto Rebula	Yugoslavia	1.65	605
18	Héctor Román	Puerto Rico	1.65	605
22	Brígido Iriarte	Venezuela	1.60	555
22	Hernán Figueroa	Chile	1.60	555
22	Max Wehrli	Switzerland	1.60	555
25	Georges Breitman	France	1.50	464

400m

Heat 1

Rank	Athlete	Country	Time	Points
1	Bob Mathias	United States	50.2	828
2	Sergey Kuznetsov	Soviet Union	52.8	654
3	Max Wehrli	Switzerland	54.7	545

Heat 2

Rank	Athlete	Country	Time	Points
1	Vladimir Volkov	Soviet Union	51.2	758
2	Göran Widenfelt	Sweden	51.3	751
3	Hugues Frayer	France	51.3	751
4	Reinaldo Oliver	Puerto Rico	53.4	618

Heat 3

Rank	Athlete	Country	Time	Points
1	Hernán Figueroa	Chile	52.8	654
2	Oto Rebula	Yugoslavia	54.3	565

Heat 4

Rank	Athlete	Country	Time	Points
1	Milt Campbell	United States	50.9	779
2	Sepp Hipp	Germany	51.3	751
3	Bob Adams	Canada	55.2	520

Heat 5

Rank	Athlete	Country	Time	Points
1	Olli Reikko	Finland	50.3	821
2	Ignace Heinrich	France	51.0	772
3	Floyd Simmons	United States	51.1	765

Heat 6

Rank	Athlete	Country	Time	Points
1	Friedel Schirmer	Germany	50.5	807
2	Geoff Elliott	Great Britain	53.0	642
3	Brígido Iriarte	Venezuela	53.1	636

Heat 7

Rank	Athlete	Country	Time	Points
1	Kjell Tånnander	Sweden	52.6	666
2	Héctor Román	Puerto Rico	52.7	660
3	Erkki Hautamäki	Finland	53.9	588

Heat 8

Rank	Athlete	Country	Time	Points
1	Fernando Fernandes	Portugal	51.2	758
2	Eeles Landström	Finland	56.7	445
3	Georges Breitman	France	1:03.9	189

110m Hurdles

Heat 1

Rank	Athlete	Country	Time	Points
1	Friedel Schirmer	Germany	16.0	593
2	Bob Adams	Canada	16.6	489

Heat 2

Rank	Athlete	Country	Time	Points
1	Ignace Heinrich	France	16.0	593
2	Brígido Iriarte	Venezuela	16.6	489
3	Reinaldo Oliver	Puerto Rico	16.7	473
4	Eeles Landström	Finland	17.1	413

Heat 3

Rank	Athlete	Country	Time	Points
1	Hugues Frayer	France	15.4	716
2	Kjell Tånnander	Sweden	15.8	632
3	Fernando Fernandes	Portugal	15.8	632
4	Olli Reikko	Finland	18.8	208

Heat 4

Rank	Athlete	Country	Time	Points
1	Milt Campbell	United States	14.5	953
2	Floyd Simmons	United States	15.0	813
3	Vladimir Volkov	Soviet Union	15.8	632
4	Erkki Hautamäki	Finland	16.3	540

Heat 5

Rank	Athlete	Country	Time	Points
1	Sepp Hipp	Germany	16.1	575
2	Hernán Figueroa	Chile	16.4	523

Heat 6

Rank	Athlete	Country	Time	Points
1	Göran Widenfelt	Sweden	16.1	575
2	Héctor Román	Puerto Rico	16.4	523

Heat 7

Rank	Athlete	Country	Time	Points
1	Bob Mathias	United States	14.7	894
2	Geoff Elliott	Great Britain	15.7	652

Heat 8

Rank	Athlete	Country	Time	Points
1	Oto Rebula	Yugoslavia	16.0	593
2	Sergey Kuznetsov	Soviet Union	16.4	523
3	Max Wehrli	Switzerland	16.4	523

Discus Throw

Rank	Athlete	Country	Distance	Points
1	Bob Mathias	United States	46.89	838
2	Sepp Hipp	Germany	45.84	802
3	Bob Adams	Canada	42.45	696
4	Sergey Kuznetsov	Soviet Union	41.04	656
5	Milt Campbell	United States	40.50	640
6	Hugues Frayer	France	40.02	627
7	Göran Widenfelt	Sweden	39.53	613
8	Kjell Tånnander	Sweden	39.30	607
9	Oto Rebula	Yugoslavia	38.55	587
10	Brígido Iriarte	Venezuela	38.23	578
11	Hernán Figueroa	Chile	38.08	574
12	Vladimir Volkov	Soviet Union	38.04	573
13	Floyd Simmons	United States	37.77	566
14	Erkki Hautamäki	Finland	37.20	552
15	Friedel Schirmer	Germany	37.01	547
16	Max Wehrli	Switzerland	36.81	541
17	Eeles Landström	Finland	34.51	483
18	Fernando Fernandes	Portugal	34.27	477
19	Geoff Elliott	Great Britain	34.21	476
20	Héctor Román	Puerto Rico	32.98	446
21	Olli Reikko	Finland	30.72	392
22	Reinaldo Oliver	Puerto Rico	29.95	374

Pole Vault

Rank	Athlete	Country	Distance	Points
1	Eeles Landström	Finland	4.20	855
2	Geoff Elliott	Great Britain	4.10	795
3	Bob Mathias	United States	4.00	745
4	Vladimir Volkov	Soviet Union	3.80	645
4	Max Wehrli	Switzerland	3.80	645
6	Bob Adams	Canada	3.70	596
7	Floyd Simmons	United States	3.60	556
7	Sergey Kuznetsov	Soviet Union	3.60	556
9	Sepp Hipp	Germany	3.50	516
9	Göran Widenfelt	Sweden	3.50	516
9	Kjell Tånnander	Sweden	3.50	516
9	Friedel Schirmer	Germany	3.50	516
9	Olli Reikko	Finland	3.50	516
9	Hernán Figueroa	Chile	3.50	516
9	Reinaldo Oliver	Puerto Rico	3.50	516
16	Hugues Frayer	France	3.40	476
16	Brígido Iriarte	Venezuela	3.40	476
16	Oto Rebula	Yugoslavia	3.40	476
16	Héctor Román	Puerto Rico	3.40	476
16	Erkki Hautamäki	Finland	3.40	476
21	Milt Campbell	United States	3.30	438
22	Fernando Fernandes	Portugal	3.00	328

Javelin Throw

Rank	Athlete	Country	Distance	Points
1	Bob Mathias	United States	59.21	715
2	Eeles Landström	Finland	57.61	680
3	Vladimir Volkov	Soviet Union	56.68	660
4	Reinaldo Oliver	Puerto Rico	56.68	660
5	Brígido Iriarte	Venezuela	55.55	637
6	Floyd Simmons	United States	54.69	620
7	Milt Campbell	United States	54.54	617
8	Sepp Hipp	Germany	54.14	609
9	Friedel Schirmer	Germany	54.00	606
10	Erkki Hautamäki	Finland	53.57	597
11	Kjell Tånnander	Sweden	52.79	582
12	Olli Reikko	Finland	51.41	554
13	Oto Rebula	Yugoslavia	51.39	554
14	Hernán Figueroa	Chile	51.22	550
15	Max Wehrli	Switzerland	51.08	548
16	Héctor Román	Puerto Rico	49.80	525
17	Geoff Elliott	Great Britain	49.56	520
18	Göran Widenfelt	Sweden	49.36	517
19	Bob Adams	Canada	44.83	436
20	Fernando Fernandes	Portugal	43.55	414
21	Sergey Kuznetsov	Soviet Union	43.19	408
22	Hugues Frayer	France	41.31	376

1500m

Heat 1

Rank	Athlete	Country	Time	Points
1	Olli Reikko	Finland	4:28.0	526
2	Fernando Fernandes	Portugal	4:37.0	441
3	Göran Widenfelt	Sweden	4:38.6	427
4	Reinaldo Oliver	Puerto Rico	4:51.8	321
5	Bob Adams	Canada	4:57.0	283
6	Max Wehrli	Switzerland	4:58.6	272

Heat 2

Rank	Athlete	Country	Time	Points
1	Vladimir Volkov	Soviet Union	4:33.2	475
2	Kjell Tånnander	Sweden	4:57.2	281
3	Eeles Landström	Finland	5:01.0	255
4	Hugues Frayer	France	5:14.4	175
5	Héctor Román	Puerto Rico	5:14.4	175

Heat 3

Rank	Athlete	Country	Time	Points
1	Sergey Kuznetsov	Soviet Union	4:42.0	396
2	Friedel Schirmer	Germany	4:47.6	352
3	Brígido Iriarte	Venezuela	4:49.8	336
4	Bob Mathias	United States	4:50.8	328
5	Floyd Simmons	United States	4:53.4	309

Heat 4

Rank	Athlete	Country	Time	Points
1	Sepp Hipp	Germany	4:57.2	281
2	Hernán Figueroa	Chile	4:58.2	274
3	Oto Rebula	Yugoslavia	5:01.8	249
4	Geoff Elliott	Great Britain	5:03.6	238
5	Milt Campbell	United States	5:07.2	216

Final standings

  The highest mark recorded in each event is highlighted in yellow. These marks were split between six competitors with the gold medallist claiming four of them.

Pos	Athlete	Total Points	100m	LJ	SP	HJ	400m	110m H	DT	PV	JT	1500m
	Bob Mathias (USA)	7,887 WR	948	779	912	900	828	894	838	745	715	328
	Milt Campbell (USA)	6,975	1,034	707	759	832	779	953	640	438	617	216
	Floyd Simmons (USA)	6,788	737	804	688	930	765	813	566	556	620	309
4	Vladimir Volkov (URS)	6,674	768	815	637	711	758	632	573	645	660	475
5	Sepp Hipp (GER)	6,449	768	740	696	711	751	575	802	516	609	281
6	Göran Widenfelt (SWE)	6,388	768	713	548	960	751	575	613	516	517	427
7	Kjell Tånnander (SWE)	6,308	768	755	669	832	666	632	607	516	582	281
8	Friedel Schirmer (GER)	6,118	678	605	644	770	807	593	547	516	606	352
9	Geoff Elliott (GBR)	6,044	768	624	618	711	642	652	476	795	520	238
10	Sergey Kuznetsov (URS)	5,937	768	815	556	605	654	523	656	556	408	396
11	Hugues Frayer (FRA)	5,772	707	725	614	605	751	716	627	476	376	175
12	Brígido Iriarte (VEN)	5,770	707	804	552	555	636	489	578	476	637	336
13	Olli Reikko (FIN)	5,725	800	684	568	656	821	208	392	516	554	526
14	Eeles Landström (FIN)	5,694	597	695	560	711	445	413	483	855	680	255
15	Oto Rebula (YUG)	5,648	678	678	663	605	565	593	587	476	554	249
16	Fernando Fernandes (POR)	5,604	737	645	516	656	758	632	477	328	414	441
17	Hernán Figueroa (CHI)	5,592	678	608	660	555	654	523	574	516	550	274
18	Max Wehrli (SUI)	5,561	650	635	647	555	545	523	541	645	548	272
19	Bob Adams (CAN)	5,530	650	567	582	711	520	489	696	596	436	283
20	Héctor Román (PUR)	5,264	678	632	544	605	660	523	446	476	525	175
21	Reinaldo Oliver (PUR)	5,228	623	550	437	656	618	473	374	516	660	321
	Erkki Hautamäki (FIN)	DNF	572	605	599	656	588	540	552	476	597
	Ignace Heinrich (FRA)	DNF	737	818	656	872	772	593
	Georges Breitman (FRA)	DNF	254	385	369	464	189
	Carlos Vera (CHI)	DNF	870	773	387	711
	Fotios Kosmas (GRE)	DNF	737	562
	Pyotr Kozhevnikov (URS)	DNF	768	446
	Pat Leane (AUS)	DNF	623	341