Modern Pentathlon at the 1952 Summer Olympics

Dates 21 – 25 July 1952
Medal Events 2

The Union Internationale de Pentathlon Moderne (UIPM), the first governing body of modern pentathlon was formed during the 1948 Olympics, and it began World Championships for the first time in 1949. In Helsinki, a team event was added, consisting of three competitors from the individual event. Point-for-place scoring was still being used although this would soon be replaced by a point scoring system that was initiated in 1954. The team event was scored by adding up the individual placement scores of the nation’s three athletes. The order of events was the by-now standard of riding, fencing, shooting, swimming, and running. The competitions were held at Hameenlinna, a training center of the Finnish Army, and the facilities were noted to be excellent with very scenic surroundings.

Events

Event Status Date Participants NOCs
Individual, Men Olympic 21 – 25 July 1952 51 19
Team, Men Olympic 21 – 25 July 1952 48 16
51 (51/0) 19 (19/0)

Medals

Event Gold Silver Bronze
Individual, Men Lars HallSWE Gábor BenedekHUN István SzondyHUN
Team, Men HungaryHUN SwedenSWE FinlandFIN

Medal table

NOC Gold Silver Bronze Total
Hungary HUN 1 1 1 3
Sweden SWE 1 1 0 2
Finland FIN 0 0 1 1