Athletics at the 1952 Summer Olympics
At the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki, 33 athletics events were contested, 24 for men and 9 for women. There were a total number of 963 participating athletes from 57 countries.
Medal summary
Men
Women
Records broken
During the 1952 Summer Olympic Games, 26 new Olympic records and 8 new world records were set in the athletics events.Men's Olympic and world records
| Event | Date | Round | Name | Nationality | Result | OR | WR |
| 400 metres | July 25 | Final | George Rhoden Herb McKenley | 45.9 s | OR | ||
| 1500 metres | July 26 | Final | Josy Barthel Bob McMillen | 3:45.2 | OR | ||
| 5000 metres | July 24 | Final | Emil Zátopek | 14:06.6 | OR | ||
| 10,000 metres | July 20 | Final | Emil Zátopek | 29:17.0 | OR | ||
| 110 metres hurdles | July 24 | Final | Harrison Dillard Jack Davis | 13.7 s | OR | ||
| 400 metres hurdles | July 21 | Final | Charles Moore | 50.8 s | OR | ||
| 3000 metres steeplechase | July 25 | Final | Horace Ashenfelter | 8:45.4 s | OR | ||
| 4 x 400 metres relay | July 27 | Final | Les Laing Herb McKenley George Rhoden Arthur Wint | 3:03.9 | OR | WR | |
| 10 kilometres walk | July 27 | Final | John Mikaelsson | 45:02.8 | OR | ||
| 50 kilometres walk | July 21 | Final | Giuseppe Dordoni | 4:28:07.8 | OR | ||
| Marathon | July 27 | Final | Emil Zátopek | 2:23:03.2 | OR | WR | |
| High jump | July 20 | Final | Walt Davis | 2.04 m | OR | ||
| Pole vault | July 22 | Final | Bob Richards | 4.55 m | OR | ||
| Triple jump | July 23 | Final | Adhemar da Silva | 16.22 m | OR | WR | |
| Shot put | July 21 | Final | Parry O'Brien | 17.41 m | OR | ||
| Discus throw | July 22 | Final | Sim Iness | 55.03 m | OR | ||
| Javelin throw | July 24 | Final | Cy Young | 73.78 m | OR | ||
| Hammer throw | July 24 | Final | József Csermák | 60.34 m | OR | WR | |
| Decathlon | July 26 | Final | Bob Mathias | 7887 pts | OR | WR |
Women's Olympic and world records
| Event | Date | Round | Name | Nationality | Result | OR | WR |
| 200 metres | July 26 | Semifinal | Marjorie Jackson | 23.4 s | OR | WR | |
| 80 metres hurdles | July 24 | Final | Shirley Strickland de la Hunty | 10.9 s | OR | WR | |
| 4 x 100 metres relay | July 27 | Final | Mae Faggs Catherine Hardy Barbara Jones Janet Moreau | 45.9 s | OR | WR | |
| Long jump | July 23 | Final | Yvette Williams | 6.24 m | OR | ||
| Shot put | July 26 | Final | Galina Zybina | 15.28 m | OR | WR | |
| Discus throw | July 20 | Final | Nina Romashkova | 51.42 m | OR | ||
| Javelin throw | July 24 | Final | Dana Zátopková | 50.47 m | OR |