# Cycling at the 1952 Summer Olympics – Men's track time trial

The men's track time trial at the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki, Finland was held on July 31, 1952. There were 27 participants from 27 nations, with each nation limited to one competitor. The event was won by Russell Mockridge of Australia, the nation's first victory in the men's track time trial since 1932 and second overall (tying France for most of any nation). Marino Morettini's silver was Italy's first medal in the event; Raymond Robinson's bronze was South Africa's. France's three-Games podium streak ended.

## Background

This was the sixth appearance of the event, which had previously been held in 1896 and every Games since 1928. It would be held every Games until being dropped from the programme after 2004. The only returning cyclist from 1948 was tenth-place finisher Onni Kasslin of Finland. Russell Mockridge of Australia had competed in the road race in 1948; he had won the sprint and time trial at the 1950 British Empire Games and taken second place in the 1951 sprint world championship. Marino Morettini was the amateur world record holder.
Czechoslovakia, Guatemala, Jamaica, Japan, Romania, and the Soviet Union each made their debut in the men's track time trial. France and Great Britain each made their sixth appearance, having competed at every appearance of the event.

## Competition format

The event was a time trial on the track, with each cyclist competing separately to attempt to achieve the fastest time. Each cyclist raced one kilometre from a standing start.

## Records

The following were the world and Olympic records prior to the competition.
| World record | Marino Morettini (ITA) | 1:10.6 | Milan, Italy | 18 October 1950 |
| Olympic record | Arie van Vliet (NED) | 1:12.0 | Berlin, Germany | 1 August 1936 |
Russell Mockridge broke the Olympic record. Nobody else was able to surpass the old time.

## Schedule

All times are Eastern European Summer Time (UTC+3)
| Date | Time | Round |
| Thursday, 31 July 1952 | 11:00 | Final |

## Results

Kato was the first to ride. Robinson was sixth, and was the first to surpass the 1948 winner's time; Robinson led for much of the competition. Mockridge was 20th, finally surpassing Robinson with a new Olympic record. Morettini went 26th, unable to beat Mockridge but dropping Robinson to third place.
| Rank | Cyclist | Nation | Time | Notes |
| | Russell Mockridge | Australia | 1:11.1 | OR |
| | Marino Morettini | Italy | 1:12.7 | |
| | Raymond Robinson | South Africa | 1:13.0 | |
| 4 | Clodomiro Cortoni | Argentina | 1:13.2 | |
| 5 | Donald McKellow | Great Britain | 1:13.3 | |
| 6 | Ib Vagn Hansen | Denmark | 1:14.4 | |
| 7 | Ion Ioniţă | Romania | 1:14.4 | |
| 8 | Jan Hijzelendoorn | Netherlands | 1:14.5 | |
| 9 | Henri Andrieux | France | 1:14.7 | |
| 10 | Joseph De Bakker | Belgium | 1:14.7 | |
| 11 | Malcolm Simpson | New Zealand | 1:15.1 | |
| 12 | Ladislav Fouček | Czechoslovakia | 1:15.2 | |
| 13 | Lev Tsipursky | Soviet Union | 1:15.2 | |
| 14 | Onni Kasslin | Finland | 1:15.3 | |
| 15 | Fredy Arber | Switzerland | 1:15.4 | |
| 16 | Andoni Ituarte | Venezuela | 1:15.4 | |
| 17 | Hernán Masanés | Chile | 1:15.9 | |
| 18 | István Lang | Hungary | 1:16.9 | |
| 19 | Luis Angel de los Santos | Uruguay | 1:17.0 | |
| 20 | Kenneth Farnum | Jamaica | 1:17.2 | |
| 21 | Kurt Nemetz | Austria | 1:17.5 | |
| 22 | Frederick Henry | Canada | 1:17.6 | |
| 23 | Frank Brilando | United States | 1:17.8 | |
| 24 | Gustavo Martínez | Guatemala | 1:18.9 | |
| 25 | Imtiaz Bhatti | Pakistan | 1:21.2 | |
| 26 | Tadashi Kato | Japan | 1:23.2 | |
| 27 | Suprovat Chakravarty | India | 1:26.0 | |