| | Event type

800 metres, Men

Date	20 – 22 July 1952
Status	Olympic
Location	Helsingin Olympiastadion, Helsinki
Participants	50 from 32 countries

The defending champion was Mal Whitfield (USA). He had been world ranked #1 by Track & Field News in 1948-50, and would also be in 1952-53. The 800 final in Helsinki was almost a Xerox of the 1948 London final. The leaders were Whitfield and Arthur Wint (JAM), with Whitfield holding off Wint by 0.2 seconds at the finish.

Pos	Number	Competitor	NOC	R1	SF	Final
1	986	Mal Whitfield	USA	1:52.5 (1 h2)	1:50.1 (2 h1)	1:49.2 (1)	Gold
2	297	Arthur Wint	JAM	1:54.2 (2 h5)	1:52.7 (1 h2)	1:49.4 (2)	Silver
3	734	Heinz Ulzheimer	GER	1:51.4 (1 h6)	1:51.9 (1 h3)	1:49.7 (3)	Bronze
4	871	Gunnar Nielsen	DEN	1:53.0 (2 h8)	1:50.0 (1 h1)	1:49.7 (4)
5	175	Albert Webster	GBR	1:55.5 (2 h1)	1:50.1 (3 h1)	1:50.2 (5)
6	736	Günther Steines	GER	1:52.7 (3 h4)	1:52.9 (2 h2)	1:50.6 (6)
7	989	Reggie Pearman	USA	1:51.6 (1 h4)	1:52.5 (3 h3)	1:52.1 (7)
8	671	Lars-Erik Wolfbrandt	SWE	1:55.3 (1 h1)	1:52.4 (2 h3)	1:52.1 (8)
9	674	Hans Ring	SWE	1:53.6 (1 h5)	1:53.0 (3 h2)	1:54.0 (9)
4 h1 r2/3	504	Audun Boysen	NOR	1:53.2 (1 h7)	1:50.4 (4 h1)	–
4 h2 r2/3	990	John Barnes	USA	1:54.5 (2 h3)	1:53.4 (4 h2)	–
4 h3 r2/3	351	Jack Hutchins	CAN	1:54.5 (1 h3)	1:52.8 (4 h3)	–
5 h1 r2/3	735	Urban Cleve	GER	1:53.4 (2 h7)	1:51.6 (5 h1)	–
5 h2 r2/3	176	Tom White	GBR	1:52.7 (3 h2)	1:53.6 (5 h2)	–
5 h3 r2/3	567	Edmund Potrzebowski	POL	1:52.6 (2 h2)	1:53.7 (5 h3)	–
6 h1 r2/3	350	Bill Parnell	CAN	1:53.1 (3 h8)	1:52.7 (6 h1)	–
6 h2 r2/3	899	Ludvík Liška	TCH	1:52.3 (3 h6)	1:54.8 (6 h2)	–
6 h3 r2/3	–	Sohan Singh	IND	1:52.0 (2 h6)	1:54.9 (6 h3)	–
7 h1 r2/3	421	Pyotr Chevgun	URS	1:51.8 (2 h4)	1:52.8 (7 h1)	–
7 h2 r2/3	420	Gennady Modoy	URS	1:55.8 (3 h1)	1:55.7 (7 h2)	–
7 h3 r2/3	936	Jenő Bakos	HUN	1:54.5 (3 h3)	1:55.5 (7 h3)	–
8 h1 r2/3	22	Don MacMillan	AUS	1:55.0 (3 h5)	1:58.4 (8 h1)	–
8 h3 r2/3	174	Frank Evans	GBR	1:53.8 (3 h7)	1:56.8 (8 h3)	–
1 h8 r1/3	604	Patrick El Mabrouk	FRA	1:52.0 (1 h8)	– (DNS h2)	–
4 h1 r1/3	968	Maurice Marshall	NZL	1:56.2 (4 h1)	–	–
4 h2 r1/3	778	Olavi Talja	FIN	1:52.9 (4 h2)	–	–
4 h3 r1/3	566	Roman Korban	POL	1:54.7 (4 h3)	–	–
4 h4 r1/3	40	Louis Desmet	BEL	1:52.9 (4 h4)	–	–
4 h5 r1/3	39	Oscar Soetewey	BEL	1:55.4 (4 h5)	–	–
4 h6 r1/3	352	John Ross	CAN	1:52.5 (4 h6)	–	–
4 h7 r1/3	914	Ekrem Koçak	TUR	1:54.5 (4 h7)	–	–
4 h8 r1/3	304	Yoshitaka Muroya	JPN	1:54.0 (4 h8)	–	–
5 h1 r1/3	849	Johannes Baumgartner	SUI	1:57.1 (5 h1)	–	–
5 h2 r1/3	918	Turhan Göker	TUR	1:55.9 (5 h2)	–	–
5 h3 r1/3	528	Alam Zeb	PAK	1:56.3 (5 h3)	–	–
5 h4 r1/3	603	René Djian	FRA	1:54.3 (5 h4)	–	–
5 h5 r1/3	419	Georgy Ivakin	URS	1:56.4 (5 h5)	–	–
5 h6 r1/3	59	Argemiro Roque	BRA	1:54.1 (5 h6)	–	–
5 h7 r1/3	974	Filemón Camacho	VEN	2:00.0 (5 h7)	–	–
5 h8 r1/3	848	Fred Lüthi	SUI	1:55.0 (5 h8)	–	–
6 h1 r1/3	391	Mohamed Sanni-Thomas	GHA	2:05.8 (6 h1)	–	–
6 h2 r1/3	400	Evelio Planas	CUB	1:57.6 (6 h2)	–	–
6 h3 r1/3	376	Vasilios Mavroidis	GRE	1:58.7 (6 h3)	–	–
6 h5 r1/3	543	Frank Rivera	PUR	1:57.6 (6 h5)	–	–
6 h6 r1/3	38	Lucien De Muynck	BEL	1:57.4 (6 h6)	–	–
6 h7 r1/3	233	Arie Gill	ISR	2:00.9 (6 h7)	–	–
6 h8 r1/3	780	Erkki Rönnholm	FIN	1:55.7 (6 h8)	–	–
7 h5 r1/3	122	Víctor Solares	GUA	2:01.4 (7 h5)	–	–
7 h6 r1/3	890	Boonpak Kwancharoen	THA	2:12.6 (7 h6)	–	–
7 h8 r1/3	157	Guðmundur Lárusson	ISL	1:56.5 (7 h8)	–	–
DNS	74	Hugo Nutini	CHI	– (DNS h1)	–	–
DNS	121	Augusto Robles	GUA	– (DNS h3)	–	–
DNS	542	Frank Prince	PAN	– (DNS h4)	–	–
DNS	21	John Landy	AUS	– (DNS h6)	–	–
DNS	93	William Fahmy	EGY	– (DNS h4)	–	–
DNS	779	Rainer Pelkonen	FIN	– (DNS h7)	–	–
DNS	375	Vasilios Sillis	GRE	– (DNS h8)	–	–
DNS	149	Jimmy Reardon	IRL	– (DNS h7)	–	–
DNS	305	Hiroshi Yamamoto	JPN	– (DNS h5)	–	–
DNS	406	Josy Barthel	LUX	– (DNS h2)	–	–

Round One

Date	20 July 1952 — 16:55
Format	Top three in each heat advanced to the semi-finals.

Pos	Number	Competitor	NOC	Time (hand)
1	734	Heinz Ulzheimer	GER	1:51.4	Q
2	989	Reggie Pearman	USA	1:51.6	Q
3	421	Pyotr Chevgun	URS	1:51.8	Q
=4	–	Sohan Singh	IND	1:52.0	Q
=4	604	Patrick El Mabrouk	FRA	1:52.0	Q
6	899	Ludvík Liška	TCH	1:52.3	Q
=7	996	Mal Whitfield	USA	1:52.5	Q
=7	352	John Ross	CAN	1:52.5
9	567	Edmund Potrzebowski	POL	1:52.6	Q
=10	176	Tom White	GBR	1:52.7	Q
=10	736	Günther Steines	GER	1:52.7	Q
=12	778	Olavi Talja	FIN	1:52.9
=12	40	Louis Desmet	BEL	1:52.9
14	871	Gunnar Nielsen	DEN	1:53.0	Q
15	350	Bill Parnell	CAN	1:53.1	Q
16	504	Audun Boysen	NOR	1:53.2	Q
17	735	Urban Cleve	GER	1:53.4	Q
18	674	Hans Ring	SWE	1:53.6	Q
19	174	Frank Evans	GBR	1:53.8	Q
20	304	Yoshitaka Muroya	JPN	1:54.0
21	59	Argemiro Roque	BRA	1:54.1
22	297	Arthur Wint	JAM	1:54.2	Q
23	603	René Djian	FRA	1:54.3
24	351	Jack Hutchins	CAN	1:54.5	Q
25	990	John Barnes	USA	1:54.5	Q
26	936	Jenő Bakos	HUN	1:54.5	Q
27	914	Ekrem Koçak	TUR	1:54.5
28	566	Roman Korban	POL	1:54.7
=29	22	Don MacMillan	AUS	1:55.0	Q
=29	848	Fred Lüthi	SUI	1:55.0
31	671	Lars-Erik Wolfbrandt	SWE	1:55.3	Q
32	39	Oscar Soetewey	BEL	1:55.4
33	175	Albert Webster	GBR	1:55.5	Q
34	780	Erkki Rönnholm	FIN	1:55.7
35	420	Gennady Modoy	URS	1:55.8	Q
36	918	Turhan Göker	TUR	1:55.9
37	968	Maurice Marshall	NZL	1:56.2
38	528	Alam Zeb	PAK	1:56.3
39	419	Georgy Ivakin	URS	1:56.4
40	157	Guðmundur Lárusson	ISL	1:56.5
41	849	Johannes Baumgartner	SUI	1:57.1
42	38	Lucien De Muynck	BEL	1:57.4
=43	400	Evelio Planas	CUB	1:57.6
=43	543	Frank Rivera	PUR	1:57.6
45	376	Vasilios Mavroidis	GRE	1:58.7
46	974	Filemón Camacho	VEN	2:00.0
47	233	Arie Gill	ISR	2:00.9
48	122	Víctor Solares	GUA	2:01.4
49	391	Mohamed Sanni-Thomas	GHA	2:05.8
50	890	Boonpak Kwancharoen	THA	2:12.6
DNS	74	Hugo Nutini	CHI	–
DNS	406	Josy Barthel	LUX	–
DNS	121	Augusto Robles	GUA	–
DNS	542	Frank Prince	PAN	–
DNS	93	William Fahmy	EGY	–
DNS	305	Hiroshi Yamamoto	JPN	–
DNS	21	John Landy	AUS	–
DNS	779	Rainer Pelkonen	FIN	–
DNS	149	Jimmy Reardon	IRL	–
DNS	375	Vasilios Sillis	GRE	–

Heat #1

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time (Hand)	Time (Automatic)
1	671	Lars-Erik Wolfbrandt	SWE	1:55.3	–	Q
2	175	Albert Webster	GBR	1:55.5	–	Q
3	420	Gennady Modoy	URS	1:55.8	–	Q
4	968	Maurice Marshall	NZL	1:56.2	–
5	849	Johannes Baumgartner	SUI	1:57.1	–
6	391	Mohamed Sanni-Thomas	GHA	2:05.8	–
DNS	74	Hugo Nutini	CHI	–	–

Heat #2

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time (Hand)	Time (Automatic)
1	996	Mal Whitfield	USA	1:52.5	–	Q
2	567	Edmund Potrzebowski	POL	1:52.6	–	Q
3	176	Tom White	GBR	1:52.7	–	Q
4	778	Olavi Talja	FIN	1:52.9	–
5	918	Turhan Göker	TUR	1:55.9	–
6	400	Evelio Planas	CUB	1:57.6	–
DNS	406	Josy Barthel	LUX	–	–

Heat #3

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time (Hand)	Time (Automatic)
1	351	Jack Hutchins	CAN	1:54.5	–	Q
2	990	John Barnes	USA	1:54.5	–	Q
3	936	Jenő Bakos	HUN	1:54.5	–	Q
4	566	Roman Korban	POL	1:54.7	–
5	528	Alam Zeb	PAK	1:56.3	–
6	376	Vasilios Mavroidis	GRE	1:58.7	–
DNS	121	Augusto Robles	GUA	–	–

Heat #4

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time (Hand)	Time (Automatic)
1	989	Reggie Pearman	USA	1:51.6	–	Q
2	421	Pyotr Chevgun	URS	1:51.8	–	Q
3	736	Günther Steines	GER	1:52.7	–	Q
4	40	Louis Desmet	BEL	1:52.9	–
5	603	René Djian	FRA	1:54.3	–
DNS	542	Frank Prince	PAN	–	–
DNS	93	William Fahmy	EGY	–	–

Heat #5

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time (Hand)	Time (Automatic)
1	674	Hans Ring	SWE	1:53.6	–	Q
2	297	Arthur Wint	JAM	1:54.2	–	Q
3	22	Don MacMillan	AUS	1:55.0	–	Q
4	39	Oscar Soetewey	BEL	1:55.4	–
5	419	Georgy Ivakin	URS	1:56.4	–
6	543	Frank Rivera	PUR	1:57.6	–
7	122	Víctor Solares	GUA	2:01.4	–
DNS	305	Hiroshi Yamamoto	JPN	–	–

Heat #6

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time (Hand)	Time (Automatic)
1	734	Heinz Ulzheimer	GER	1:51.4	–	Q
2	–	Sohan Singh	IND	1:52.0	–	Q
3	899	Ludvík Liška	TCH	1:52.3	–	Q
4	352	John Ross	CAN	1:52.5	–
5	59	Argemiro Roque	BRA	1:54.1	–
6	38	Lucien De Muynck	BEL	1:57.4	–
7	890	Boonpak Kwancharoen	THA	2:12.6	–
DNS	21	John Landy	AUS	–	–

Heat #7

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time (Hand)	Time (Automatic)
1	504	Audun Boysen	NOR	1:53.2	–	Q
2	735	Urban Cleve	GER	1:53.4	–	Q
3	174	Frank Evans	GBR	1:53.8	–	Q
4	914	Ekrem Koçak	TUR	1:54.5	–
5	974	Filemón Camacho	VEN	2:00.0	–
6	233	Arie Gill	ISR	2:00.9	–
DNS	779	Rainer Pelkonen	FIN	–	–
DNS	149	Jimmy Reardon	IRL	–	–

Heat #8

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time (Hand)	Time (Automatic)
1	604	Patrick El Mabrouk	FRA	1:52.0	–	Q
2	871	Gunnar Nielsen	DEN	1:53.0	–	Q
3	350	Bill Parnell	CAN	1:53.1	–	Q
4	304	Yoshitaka Muroya	JPN	1:54.0	–
5	848	Fred Lüthi	SUI	1:55.0	–
6	780	Erkki Rönnholm	FIN	1:55.7	–
7	157	Guðmundur Lárusson	ISL	1:56.5	–
DNS	375	Vasilios Sillis	GRE	–	–

Semi-Finals

Date	21 July 1952 — 16:40
Format	Top three in each heat advanced to the final.

Pos	Number	Competitor	NOC	Time (automatic)	Time (hand)
1	871	Gunnar Nielsen	DEN	1:50.02	1:50.0	Q	1
2	996	Mal Whitfield	USA	1:50.15	1:50.1	Q
3	175	Albert Webster	GBR	1:50.26	1:50.1	Q
4	504	Audun Boysen	NOR	1:50.57	1:50.4
5	735	Urban Cleve	GER	1:51.77	1:51.6
6	734	Heinz Ulzheimer	GER	1:52.07	1:51.9	Q
7	671	Lars-Erik Wolfbrandt	SWE	1:52.59	1:52.4	Q
8	989	Reggie Pearman	USA	1:52.70	1:52.5	Q
9	351	Jack Hutchins	CAN	1:52.81	1:52.8		2
10	297	Arthur Wint	JAM	1:52.88	1:52.7	Q
11	350	Bill Parnell	CAN	1:52.92	1:52.7
12	736	Günther Steines	GER	1:52.99	1:52.9	Q
13	421	Pyotr Chevgun	URS	1:53.25	1:52.8
14	674	Hans Ring	SWE	1:53.27	1:53.0	Q
15	990	John Barnes	USA	1:53.54	1:53.4
16	176	Tom White	GBR	1:53.79	1:53.6
17	567	Edmund Potrzebowski	POL	1:54.03	1:53.7
18	–	Sohan Singh	IND	1:54.84	1:54.9
19	899	Ludvík Liška	TCH	1:55.04	1:54.8
20	936	Jenő Bakos	HUN	1:55.70	1:55.5
21	420	Gennady Modoy	URS	1:56.12	1:55.7
22	174	Frank Evans	GBR	1:56.99	1:56.8
23	22	Don MacMillan	AUS	1:58.4	–
DNS	604	Patrick El Mabrouk	FRA	–	–

Heat #1

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time (Hand)	Time (Automatic)
1	871	Gunnar Nielsen	DEN	1:50.0	1:50.02	Q	3
2	996	Mal Whitfield	USA	1:50.1	1:50.15	Q
3	175	Albert Webster	GBR	1:50.1	1:50.26	Q
4	504	Audun Boysen	NOR	1:50.4	1:50.57
5	735	Urban Cleve	GER	1:51.6	1:51.77
6	350	Bill Parnell	CAN	1:52.7	1:52.92
7	421	Pyotr Chevgun	URS	1:52.8	1:53.25
8	22	Don MacMillan	AUS	1:58.4	–

Heat #2

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time (Hand)	Time (Automatic)
1	297	Arthur Wint	JAM	1:52.7	1:52.88	Q
2	736	Günther Steines	GER	1:52.9	1:52.99	Q
3	674	Hans Ring	SWE	1:53.0	1:53.27	Q
4	990	John Barnes	USA	1:53.4	1:53.54
5	176	Tom White	GBR	1:53.6	1:53.79
6	899	Ludvík Liška	TCH	1:54.8	1:55.04
7	420	Gennady Modoy	URS	1:55.7	1:56.12
DNS	604	Patrick El Mabrouk	FRA	–	–

Heat #3

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time (Hand)	Time (Automatic)
1	734	Heinz Ulzheimer	GER	1:51.9	1:52.07	Q
2	671	Lars-Erik Wolfbrandt	SWE	1:52.4	1:52.59	Q
3	989	Reggie Pearman	USA	1:52.5	1:52.70	Q
4	351	Jack Hutchins	CAN	1:52.8	1:52.81		4
5	567	Edmund Potrzebowski	POL	1:53.7	1:54.03
6	–	Sohan Singh	IND	1:54.9	1:54.84
7	936	Jenő Bakos	HUN	1:55.5	1:55.70
8	174	Frank Evans	GBR	1:56.8	1:56.99

Final Round

Date	22 July 1952 — 16:50

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time (Hand)	Time (Automatic)
1	996	Mal Whitfield	USA	1:49.2	1:49.34	=OR
2	297	Arthur Wint	JAM	1:49.4	1:49.63
3	734	Heinz Ulzheimer	GER	1:49.7	1:49.78
4	871	Gunnar Nielsen	DEN	1:49.7	1:49.84
5	175	Albert Webster	GBR	1:50.2	1:50.47
6	736	Günther Steines	GER	1:50.6	1:50.81
7	989	Reggie Pearman	USA	1:52.1	1:52.31
8	671	Lars-Erik Wolfbrandt	SWE	1:52.1	1:52.38
9	674	Hans Ring	SWE	1:54.0	1:54.23

Split Times

Time	Athlete(s)	NOC	Result	Notes
400 m	Arthur Wint		54.0