Speed skating at the 1952 Winter Olympics – Men's 500 metres

Speed skating
at the
1952 Winter Olympics
500 m men
1500 m men
5000 m men
10000 m men

The 500 metres speed skating event was part of the speed skating at the 1952 Winter Olympics programme. The competition was held on Saturday, February 16, 1952 at 3 p.m..

Forty-one speed skaters from 14 nations competed.

Medalists

Gold Silver Bronze
 Ken Henry
United States (USA)		  Don McDermott
United States (USA)		  Gordon Audley
Canada (CAN)
 Arne Johansen
Norway (NOR)

Records

These were the standing world and Olympic records (in seconds) prior to the 1952 Winter Olympics.

World record 41.2(*) Soviet Union Yuri Sergeev Medeo (URS) January 19, 1952
Olympic record 43.1 Norway Finn Helgesen St. Moritz (SUI) January 31, 1948

(*) The record was set in a high altitude venue (more than 1000 metres above sea level) and on naturally frozen ice.

Results

The current world record holder Yuri Sergeev did not compete as the Soviet Union did not participate in Winter Games before 1956.

PlaceSpeed skaterTime
1  Ken Henry (USA) 43.2
2  Don McDermott (USA) 43.9
3  Gordon Audley (CAN) 44.0
 Arne Johansen (NOR) 44.0
5  Finn Helgesen (NOR) 44.0
6  Hroar Elvenes (NOR) 44.1
 Kiyotaka Takabayashi (JPN) 44.1
8  Gerard Maarse (NED) 44.2
 Toivo Salonen (FIN) 44.2
10  Sigmund Søfteland (NOR) 44.3
11  Johnny Werket (USA) 44.5
12  Masanori Aoki (JPN) 44.8
 Mats Bolmstedt (SWE) 44.8
 Frank Stack (CAN) 44.8
15  Robert Fitzgerald (USA) 44.9
 Sukenobu Kudo (JPN) 44.9
 Craig MacKay (CAN) 44.9
18  Tsuneo Sato (JPN) 45.2
19  Cockie van der Elst (NED) 45.3
 Wim van der Voort (NED) 45.3
21  Norman Holwell (GBR) 45.4
 Kalevi Laitinen (FIN) 45.4
23  Gunnar Ström (SWE) 45.6
24  Kauko Salomaa (FIN) 45.7
25  Stig Lindberg (SWE) 45.9
 Franz Offenberger (AUT) 45.9
 Enrico Musolino (ITA) 45.9
28  Ferenc Lőrincz (HUN) 46.1
29  Colin Hickey (AUS) 46.2
30  Ralf Olin (CAN) 46.5
31  Bengt Malmsten (SWE) 46.6
32  József Merényi (HUN) 46.7
33  Theo Meding (GER) 46.8
34  Bill Jones (GBR) 46.9
35  Robert Laboubée (BEL) 47.2
36  Konrad Pecher (AUT) 47.3
37  Arthur Mannsbarth (AUT) 47.6
38  Guido Citterio (ITA) 48.2
39  Jean Massez (BEL) 49.2
—  Jan Charisius (NED) DNF
 Lassi Parkkinen (FIN) DNF

Finn Helgesen did not receive a bronze medal because he was paired up with Arne Johansen and finished behind his opponent.

Jan Charisius and Lassi Parkkinen gave up after a fall.

References