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Did you know?
- The height of the cauldron for the flame in the Helsinki Olympic Stadium was 72m and 71 centimetres. That height was determined by the performance of an important Finnish athlete, Matti Jarvinen, by which he had won the gold medal in the javelin throw in the 1932 Los Angeles Olympics. The flame was lit by Hannes Kolehmainen, the first of the great Finnish athletes that were given the name "flying Finns". The first altar that was situated in the stadium was lit by Paavo Nurmi.
- Marjorie Jackson, the winner in the 100m and 200m could have won one more gold medal. She was the anchorwoman in the 4x100m relay team of Australia, which had the lead until the final change. As her teammate handed her the baton, she kicked her unintentionally on the sole of the foot and made her lose her footing. Despite her attempt, Jackson (and the Australian team) finished in the fifth place.
- The second time that there was no torch relay from ancient Olympia to Athens was in 1984. The flame was transferred by helicopter, this being part of the protest by the Hellenic Olympic Committee for the commercialization of the Olympic torch relay, an accusation that it lodged against the organizers of the Los Angeles Games. It should be noted that the flame was not transferred by runners to Athens in the following organization either. More specifically, in 1988 the flame was carried from Olympia to Piraeus by ship. What is more, the ship was an exact copy of an ancient Athenian trireme that bore the name "Olympias".
- Victor Chukarin had been a captive during World War II. The Ukraine was one of the regions of the Soviet Union that suffered the most from the German attack. The 20-year-old Chukarin was arrested in battle and for the next four years he was sent to concentration camps, in the Baltic region mostly. The number 10491 that was etched on his body, would be etched as an experience on his memory too.
- Women participated for the first time in the individual and team all-around gymnastics events in the Games of 1952. 31-year-old Maria Gorokhovskaya was a multi winner of the sport in that organization winning a total of 7 medals, two gold and five silver. The 31-year old Victor Chukarin won a gold medal in the individual and team all-around events with a predominant Soviet team in its first Olympic participation.
- In the field hockey final one player scored five of the six goals of his team. That player was Balbir Singh and his team was India, which won the Netherlands in the final with a score of 6-1. Balbir Singh had participated in three Olympic organizations, in London (1948), Helsinki (1952) and Melbourne (1956).
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