Germany at the 1952 Summer Olympics

Germany competed at the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki, Finland. 205 competitors, 173 men and 32 women, took part in 123 events in 18 sports.^[2]

Germany at the 1952 Summer Olympics
IOC code	GER
NOC	German Olympic Sports Confederation
Website	www.dosb.de (in German, English, and French)
in Helsinki, Finland 19 July–3 August 1952
Competitors	205 (173 men and 32 women) Only athletes from West Germany in 18 sports
Flag bearer	Friedel Schirmer[1]
Medals Ranked 28th	Gold 0 Silver 7 Bronze 17 Total 24
Summer Olympics appearances (overview)
1896 1900 1904 1908 1912 1920–1924 1928 1932 1936 1948 1952 1956–1988 1992 1996 2000 2004 2008 2012 2016 2020 2024
Other related appearances
1906 Intercalated Games ––––  Saar (1952)  United Team of Germany (1956–1964)  East Germany (1968–1988)  West Germany (1968–1988)

Germany had not been invited to the 1948 Summer Olympics in London, Great Britain because of their role in World War II, and because their NOC restored in 1947 did not represent a recognized state yet, which was founded in 1949. Germany took part in the 1952 Winter Olympics, with the GDR declining to cooperate and form a United German team as required by the IOC, joining only in 1956 and later. On the other hand, the French-occupied Saar protectorate had to send a separate team, but could join for 1956. As a result, the team for the 1952 Summer Games was de facto representing West Germany.

This event marked the first time, and as of the 2024 Summer Olympics only time, Germany failed to win a gold medal in a Summer Olympics they competed in. As of the 2024 Summer Olympics, Germany's 24 medals is the highest number of total medals won at an Olympic Games without winning a gold medal.

Medalists

Medal	Name	Sport	Event
Silver	Helga Klein Ursula Knab Marga Petersen Maria Sander	Athletics	Women's 4 × 100 m Relay
Silver	Karl Storch	Athletics	Men's Hammer Throw
Silver	Marianne Werner	Athletics	Women's Shot Put
Silver	Edgar Basel	Boxing	Men's Flyweight
Silver	Otto Rothe Klaus Wagner Willi Büsing	Equestrian	Team Eventing
Silver	Alfred Schwarzmann	Gymnastics	Men's Horizontal Bar
Silver	Heinz Manchen Helmut Heinhold Helmut Noll	Rowing	Men's Coxed Pairs
Bronze	Heinz Ulzheimer	Athletics	Men's 800 m
Bronze	Maria Sander	Athletics	Women's 80 m Hurdles
Bronze	Herbert Schade	Athletics	Men's 5000 m
Bronze	Günther Steines Hans Geister Heinz Ulzheimer Karl-Friedrich Haas	Athletics	Men's 4 × 400 m Relay
Bronze	Werner Lueg	Athletics	Men's 1500 m
Bronze	Günther Heidemann	Boxing	Men's Welterweight
Bronze	Michael Scheuer	Canoeing	Men's K-1 10000 m
Bronze	Egon Drews Wilfried Soltau	Canoeing	Men's C-2 1000 m
Bronze	Egon Drews Wilfried Soltau	Canoeing	Men's C-2 10000 m
Bronze	Edi Ziegler	Cycling	Men's Road Race
Bronze	Werner Potzernheim	Cycling	Men's Sprint
Bronze	Günther Haase	Diving	Men's 10 m Platform
Bronze	Heinz Pollay Ida von Nagel Fritz Thiedemann	Equestrian	Team Dressage
Bronze	Fritz Thiedemann	Equestrian	Individual Jumping
Bronze	Willi Büsing	Equestrian	Individual Eventing
Bronze	Theodor Thomsen Erich Natusch Georg Nowka	Sailing	Dragon Class
Bronze	Herbert Klein	Swimming	Men's 200 m Breaststroke

Athletics

Main article: Athletics at the 1952 Summer Olympics

Boxing

Main article: Boxing at the 1952 Summer Olympics

Canoeing

Main article: Canoeing at the 1952 Summer Olympics

Cycling

Main article: Cycling at the 1952 Summer Olympics

Road Competition

Men's Individual Road Race (190.4 km)

• Edi Ziegler — 5:07:47.5 (→ Bronze Medal)
• Oskar Zeissner — 5:11:18.5 (→ 8th place)
• Paul Maue — 5:24:44.5 (→ 48th place)
• Walter Becker — did not finish (→ no ranking)

Track Competition

Men's 1000 m Sprint Scratch Race

• Werner Potzernheim — Bronze Medal

Diving

Main article: Diving at the 1952 Summer Olympics

Men

Athlete	Event	Preliminary		Final
		Points	Rank	Points	Rank	Total	Rank
Hans Aderhold	3 m springboard	67.09	11	Did not advance
Werner Sobeck		66.75	12	Did not advance
Fritz Geyer	10 m platform	69.64	10	Did not advance
Günther Haase		75.41	3 Q	65.90	3	141.31
Werner Sobeck		64.27	20	Did not advance

Equestrian

Main article: Equestrian at the 1952 Summer Olympics

Fencing

Main article: Fencing at the 1952 Summer Olympics

Nine fencers, eight men and one woman, represented Germany in 1952.

Men's foil

• Norman Casmir
• Kurt Wahl
• Julius Eisenecker

Men's team foil

• Willy Fascher, Kurt Wahl, Norman Casmir, Julius Eisenecker, Siegfried Rossner

Men's épée

• Erwin Kroggel

Men's sabre

• Willy Fascher
• Hans Esser
• Richard Liebscher

Men's team sabre

• Siegfried Rossner, Willy Fascher, Hans Esser, Richard Liebscher

Women's foil

• Lilo Allgayer

Football

Main article: Football at the 1952 Summer Olympics

Gymnastics

Main article: Gymnastics at the 1952 Summer Olympics

Hockey

Main article: Field hockey at the 1952 Summer Olympics

Modern pentathlon

Main article: Modern pentathlon at the 1952 Summer Olympics

Three male pentathletes represented Germany in 1952.

Individual

• Berthold Slupik
• Dietloff Kapp
• Adolf Harder

Team

• Berthold Slupik
• Dietloff Kapp
• Adolf Harder

Rowing

Main article: Rowing at the 1952 Summer Olympics

Germany had 21 male rowers participate in five out of seven rowing events in 1952.^[3]

Men's double sculls

• Waldemar Beck
• Gerhard Füßmann

Men's coxless pair

• Heinz Renneberg
• Heinz Eichholz

Men's coxed pair

• Heinz Manchen
• Helmut Heinhold
• Helmut Noll (cox)

Men's coxed four

• Günter Twiesselmann
• Klaus Schulze
• Heinz Beyer
• Gerd Vogeley
• Hans Joachim Wiemken (cox)

Men's eight

• Anton Reinartz
• Michael Reinartz
• Roland Freihoff
• Heinz Zünkler
• Peter Betz
• Stefan Reinartz
• Hans Betz
• Toni Siebenhaar
• Hermann Zander (cox)

Sailing

Main article: Sailing at the 1952 Summer Olympics

Shooting

Main article: Shooting at the 1952 Summer Olympics

Six shooters represented Germany in 1952.

25 m pistol

• Ludwig Leupold
• Paul Wehner

50 m pistol

• Fritz Krempel

50 m rifle, three positions

• Erich Spörer
• Albert Sigl

50 m rifle, prone

• Erich Spörer
• Albert Sigl

Trap

• Kurt Schöbel

Swimming

Main article: Swimming at the 1952 Summer Olympics

Men

Ranks given are within the heat.

Athlete	Event	Heat		Semifinal		Final
		Time	Rank	Time	Rank	Time	Rank
Heinz-Günther Lehmann	1500 m freestyle	19:17.9	2	—		Did not advance
Herbert Klein	200 m breaststroke	2:37.0	1 Q	2:37.0	1 Q	2:35.9

Women

Ranks given are within the heat.

Athlete	Event	Heat		Semifinal		Final
		Time	Rank	Time	Rank	Time	Rank
Elisabeth Rechlin	100 m freestyle	1:08.5	3 Q	1:08.5	8	Did not advance
Vera Schäferkordt		1:10.9	5	Did not advance
Elisabeth Rechlin	400 m freestyle	5:38.0	4	Did not advance
Erna Herbers	100 m backstroke	1:23.1	7	—		Did not advance
Gertrud Herrbruck		1:17.8	2 Q	—		1:18.0	6
Ursula Happe	200 m breaststroke	3:02.7	2 Q	3:03.8	7	Did not advance
Elisabeth Rechlin Vera Schäferkordt Kati Jansen Gisela Jacob-Arendt Vera Schäferkordt	4 × 100 m freestyle relay	4:42.7	4 Q	—		4:40.3	7

Water polo

Main article: Water polo at the 1952 Summer Olympics

Weightlifting

Main article: Weightlifting at the 1952 Summer Olympics

Wrestling

Main article: Wrestling at the 1952 Summer Olympics

Men's flyweight

• Heini Weber

Men's bantamweight

• Ferdinand Schmitz

Men's featherweight

• Rolf Ellerbrock

Men's lightweight

• Heini Nettesheim

Men's welterweight

• Anton Mackowiak

Men's middleweight

• Gustav Gocke

Men's light-heavyweight

• Max Leichter

Men's heavyweight

• Willi Waltner