# Gymnastics at the 1952 Summer Olympics – Men's rings

The men's rings competition at the 1952 Summer Olympics was held at Töölö Sports Hall, Exhibition Hall I from 19 to 21 July. It was the eighth appearance of the event. There were 185 competitors from 29 nations, with each nation sending up to 8 gymnasts. The Soviet Union, in its debut in the event, won a medal of every color but did not quite sweep the medals as there was a tie for third. Hrant Shahinyan was the winner, Viktor Chukarin took silver, and Dmytro Leonkin shared bronze with Hans Eugster of Switzerland.

## Background

This was the eighth appearance of the event, which is one of the five apparatus events held every time there were apparatus events at the Summer Olympics (no apparatus events were held in 1900, 1908, 1912, or 1920). Four of the top 10 gymnasts from 1948 returned: bronze medalist Zdeněk Růžička of Czechoslovakia, fifth-place finisher Josef Stalder of Switzerland, and eighth-place finisher Heikki Savolainen (who had also been in the top 10 in 1932 and 1936) and ninth-place finisher Olavi Rove of Finland. The reigning (1950) world champion, Walter Lehmann of Switzerland, was not competing in Helsinki. Rove had taken second, with Hans Eugster third.
Belgium, India, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Saar, South Africa, the Soviet Union, Spain, and Sweden each made their debut in the men's rings. The United States made its seventh appearance, most of any nation, having missed only the inaugural 1896 Games. Of the 22 different nations that had competed at least once in the event before 1952, 19 competed in Helsinki (only Greece, Mexico, and the Netherlands were missing among the nations having previously competed).

## Competition format

The gymnastics format continued to use the aggregation format. Each nation entered a team of between five and eight gymnasts or up to three individual gymnasts. All entrants in the gymnastics competitions performed both a compulsory exercise and a voluntary exercise for each apparatus. The 2 exercise scores were summed to give a total for the apparatus.
No separate finals were contested.
For each exercise, four judges gave scores from 0 to 10 in one-tenth point increments. The top and bottom scores were discarded and the remaining two scores averaged to give the exercise total. Thus, exercise scores ranged from 0 to 10 and apparatus scores from 0 to 20.
The competitor had the option to make a second try only on the compulsory exercise—with the second attempt counting regardless of whether it was better than the first.

## Schedule

All times are Eastern European Summer Time (UTC+3)
| Date | Time | Round |
| Saturday, 19 July 1952 Sunday, 20 July 1952 Monday, 21 July 1952 | 7:30 8:00 8:00 | Final |

## Results

| Rank | Gymnast | Nation | Compulsory | Voluntary | Total |
| | Hrant Shahinyan | Soviet Union | 9.80 | 9.95 | 19.75 |
| | Viktor Chukarin | Soviet Union | 9.65 | 9.90 | 19.55 |
| | Hans Eugster | Switzerland | 9.60 | 9.80 | 19.40 |
| | Dmytro Leonkin | Soviet Union | 9.55 | 9.85 | 19.40 |
| 5 | Valentin Muratov | Soviet Union | 9.45 | 9.90 | 19.35 |
| 6 | Masao Takemoto | Japan | 9.40 | 9.80 | 19.20 |
| 7 | Ferenc Kemény | Hungary | 9.45 | 9.70 | 19.15 |
| 7 | Yevgeny Korolkov | Soviet Union | 9.45 | 9.70 | 19.15 |
| 7 | Berndt Lindfors | Finland | 9.40 | 9.75 | 19.15 |
| 7 | Ali Zaky | Egypt | 9.45 | 9.70 | 19.15 |
| 11 | Iosif Berdiev | Soviet Union | 9.50 | 9.60 | 19.10 |
| 11 | Josef Stalder | Switzerland | 9.45 | 9.65 | 19.10 |
| 13 | Mikhail Perelman | Soviet Union | 9.35 | 9.70 | 19.05 |
| 14 | Helmut Bantz | Germany | 9.35 | 9.60 | 18.95 |
| 14 | Vladimir Belyakov | Soviet Union | 9.25 | 9.70 | 18.95 |
| 14 | Onni Lappalainen | Finland | 9.30 | 9.65 | 18.95 |
| 14 | Zdeněk Růžička | Czechoslovakia | 9.45 | 9.50 | 18.95 |
| 18 | Hans Pfann | Germany | 9.40 | 9.50 | 18.90 |
| 19 | Ferdinand Daniš | Czechoslovakia | 9.45 | 9.40 | 18.85 |
| 19 | Akitomo Kaneko | Japan | 9.40 | 9.45 | 18.85 |
| 19 | Heikki Savolainen | Finland | 9.40 | 9.45 | 18.85 |
| 22 | Vladimír Kejř | Czechoslovakia | 9.40 | 9.40 | 18.80 |
| 23 | Josef Škvor | Czechoslovakia | 9.40 | 9.35 | 18.75 |
| 23 | Josef Svoboda | Czechoslovakia | 9.30 | 9.45 | 18.75 |
| 23 | Jean Tschabold | Switzerland | 9.15 | 9.60 | 18.75 |
| 26 | Raymond Dot | France | 9.30 | 9.40 | 18.70 |
| 26 | Jack Günthard | Switzerland | 9.15 | 9.55 | 18.70 |
| 26 | Josy Stoffel | Luxembourg | 9.35 | 9.35 | 18.70 |
| 29 | Vasil Konstantinov | Bulgaria | 9.15 | 9.50 | 18.65 |
| 29 | Olavi Rove | Finland | 9.30 | 9.35 | 18.65 |
| 29 | Lajos Sántha | Hungary | 9.20 | 9.45 | 18.65 |
| 32 | Ferenc Pataki | Hungary | 9.10 | 9.50 | 18.60 |
| 32 | Hans Sauter | Austria | 9.30 | 9.30 | 18.60 |
| 34 | Guido Figone | Italy | 9.45 | 9.10 | 18.55 |
| 35 | Mihai Botez | Romania | 9.15 | 9.35 | 18.50 |
| 35 | Károly Kocsis | Hungary | 9.15 | 9.35 | 18.50 |
| Iliya Topalov | Bulgaria | 9.30 | 9.20 | 18.50 |
| 38 | Paavo Aaltonen | Finland | 9.05 | 9.40 | 18.45 |
| 38 | Joaquín Blume | Spain | 9.20 | 9.25 | 18.45 |
| 38 | Littorio Sampieri | Italy | 9.25 | 9.20 | 18.45 |
| 38 | Hans Schwarzentruber | Switzerland | 9.15 | 9.30 | 18.45 |
| 38 | Leo Sotorník | Czechoslovakia | 9.20 | 9.25 | 18.45 |
| 38 | Mincho Todorov | Bulgaria | 9.35 | 9.10 | 18.45 |
| 38 | Dimitar Yordanov | Bulgaria | 9.20 | 9.25 | 18.45 |
| 45 | Adalbert Dickhut | Germany | 9.05 | 9.35 | 18.40 |
| 45 | Friedel Overwien | Germany | 9.10 | 9.30 | 18.40 |
| 45 | Ed Scrobe | United States | 9.35 | 9.05 | 18.40 |
| 45 | Bob Stout | United States | 9.20 | 9.20 | 18.40 |
| 45 | Theo Wied | Germany | 9.00 | 9.40 | 18.40 |
| 50 | József Fekete | Hungary | 8.95 | 9.40 | 18.35 |
| 50 | Tadao Uesako | Japan | 9.00 | 9.35 | 18.35 |
| 50 | Erich Wied | Germany | 9.00 | 9.35 | 18.35 |
| 53 | Andrei Kerekes | Romania | 9.00 | 9.30 | 18.30 |
| 53 | Ernst Fivian | Switzerland | 8.95 | 9.35 | 18.30 |
| 53 | Zdzisław Lesiński | Poland | 9.35 | 8.95 | 18.30 |
| 53 | János Mogyorósi-Klencs | Hungary | 8.95 | 9.35 | 18.30 |
| 53 | Melchior Thalmann | Switzerland | 8.80 | 9.50 | 18.30 |
| 58 | Nikolay Milev | Bulgaria | 9.10 | 9.15 | 18.25 |
| 58 | Børge Minerth | Denmark | 9.05 | 9.20 | 18.25 |
| 58 | Alfred Schwarzmann | Germany | 9.00 | 9.25 | 18.25 |
| 61 | Jindřich Mikulec | Czechoslovakia | 9.25 | 8.95 | 18.20 |
| 61 | Frank Turner | Great Britain | 9.15 | 9.05 | 18.20 |
| 63 | Fabio Bonacina | Italy | 9.15 | 9.00 | 18.15 |
| 63 | Freddy Jensen | Denmark | 8.90 | 9.25 | 18.15 |
| 63 | Kaino Lempinen | Finland | 8.85 | 9.30 | 18.15 |
| 63 | Takashi Ono | Japan | 8.95 | 9.20 | 18.15 |
| 67 | Ahmed Issam Allam | Egypt | 8.90 | 9.15 | 18.05 |
| 67 | Sreten Stefanović | Yugoslavia | 8.85 | 9.20 | 18.05 |
| 69 | Tetsumi Nabeya | Japan | 8.70 | 9.30 | 18.00 |
| 69 | Børge Nielsen | Denmark | 8.95 | 9.05 | 18.00 |
| 69 | Szymon Sobala | Poland | 9.15 | 8.85 | 18.00 |
| 72 | Nikolay Atanasov | Bulgaria | 9.15 | 8.80 | 17.95 |
| 73 | Jakob Kiefer | Germany | 8.70 | 9.20 | 17.90 |
| 73 | Kalevi Laitinen | Finland | 8.60 | 9.30 | 17.90 |
| 73 | Alf Nørgaard | Norway | 9.00 | 8.90 | 17.90 |
| 73 | Paweł Świętek | Poland | 9.20 | 8.70 | 17.90 |
| 77 | Miloš Kolejka | Czechoslovakia | 8.45 | 9.40 | 17.85 |
| 77 | Ernst Wister | Austria | 8.80 | 9.05 | 17.85 |
| 79 | Raymond Badin | France | 8.75 | 9.05 | 17.80 |
| 79 | Magne Kleiven | Norway | 8.80 | 9.00 | 17.80 |
| 79 | Odd Lie | Norway | 8.95 | 8.85 | 17.80 |
| 79 | Sándor Réthy | Hungary | 8.60 | 9.20 | 17.80 |
| 79 | Volmer Thomsen | Denmark | 8.90 | 8.90 | 17.80 |
| 84 | Georg Johansen | Norway | 8.80 | 8.95 | 17.75 |
| 84 | Orlando Polmonari | Italy | 8.85 | 8.90 | 17.75 |
| 86 | Ernst Gebendinger | Switzerland | 8.50 | 9.20 | 17.70 |
| 87 | Silvio Brivio | Italy | 8.70 | 8.95 | 17.65 |
| 87 | Arthur Schmitt | Saar | 8.65 | 9.00 | 17.65 |
| 89 | Jack Whitford | Great Britain | 8.95 | 8.65 | 17.60 |
| 90 | Magdy Gheriani | Egypt | 8.60 | 8.90 | 17.50 |
| 90 | Poul Jessen | Denmark | 8.35 | 9.15 | 17.50 |
| 90 | Michel Mathiot | France | 8.90 | 8.60 | 17.50 |
| 90 | Kalevi Viskari | Finland | 8.30 | 9.20 | 17.50 |
| 94 | Ken Buffin | Great Britain | 8.70 | 8.75 | 17.45 |
| 94 | Norbert Dietrich | Saar | 8.90 | 8.55 | 17.45 |
| 94 | Mathias Jamtvedt | Norway | 8.75 | 8.70 | 17.45 |
| 94 | Bjarne Jørgensen | Denmark | 8.50 | 8.95 | 17.45 |
| 94 | Frederic Orendi | Romania | 8.50 | 8.95 | 17.45 |
| 94 | Todor Todorov | Bulgaria | 8.80 | 8.65 | 17.45 |
| 100 | Anders Lindh | Sweden | 8.45 | 8.95 | 17.40 |
| 100 | Alf Olsen | Norway | 8.80 | 8.60 | 17.40 |
| 102 | Ryszard Kucjas | Poland | 9.00 | 8.35 | 17.35 |
| 102 | Lajos Tóth | Hungary | 8.25 | 9.10 | 17.35 |
| 104 | Wolfgang Girardi | Austria | 8.10 | 9.05 | 17.15 |
| 104 | Jey Kugeler | Luxembourg | 8.40 | 8.75 | 17.15 |
| 106 | Arne Knudsen | Norway | 8.75 | 8.35 | 17.10 |
| 107 | Joaquim Granger | Portugal | 8.00 | 9.05 | 17.05 |
| 108 | Luigi Zanetti | Italy | 7.95 | 9.00 | 16.95 |
| 109 | Ángel Aguiar | Cuba | 7.85 | 9.05 | 16.90 |
| 109 | Don Holder | United States | 8.70 | 8.20 | 16.90 |
| 111 | Ernst Madland | Norway | 8.20 | 8.65 | 16.85 |
| 111 | Quinto Vadi | Italy | 7.85 | 9.00 | 16.85 |
| 111 | André Weingand | France | 8.00 | 8.85 | 16.85 |
| 114 | Zoltan Balogh | Romania | 7.85 | 8.95 | 16.80 |
| 114 | Heinz Ostheimer | Saar | 8.35 | 8.45 | 16.80 |
| 116 | George Weedon | Great Britain | 8.30 | 8.45 | 16.75 |
| 117 | Paweł Gawron | Poland | 8.70 | 8.00 | 16.70 |
| 117 | Aurel Losnita | Romania | 7.80 | 8.90 | 16.70 |
| 119 | Francisc Cocis | Romania | 8.10 | 8.55 | 16.65 |
| 119 | Mahmoud Safwat | Egypt | 7.80 | 8.85 | 16.65 |
| 121 | Dušan Furlan | Yugoslavia | 7.80 | 8.60 | 16.40 |
| 121 | Rafael Lecuona | Cuba | 7.95 | 8.45 | 16.40 |
| 121 | René Schroeder | Luxembourg | 7.85 | 8.55 | 16.40 |
| 124 | Maurice De Groote | Belgium | 8.10 | 8.25 | 16.35 |
| 125 | Arrigo Carnoli | Italy | 7.65 | 8.60 | 16.25 |
| 125 | Frederik De Waele | Belgium | 8.35 | 7.90 | 16.25 |
| 127 | Gunnar Pedersen | Denmark | 7.75 | 8.40 | 16.15 |
| 127 | Charles Simms | United States | 8.35 | 7.80 | 16.15 |
| 127 | Rolf Yelseth | South Africa | 7.65 | 8.50 | 16.15 |
| 130 | Armand Huberty | Luxembourg | 7.75 | 8.35 | 16.10 |
| 131 | Jerzy Jokiel | Poland | 8.00 | 8.00 | 16.00 |
| 131 | Eugen Balint | Romania | 8.25 | 7.75 | 16.00 |
| 131 | Georges Floquet | France | 7.85 | 8.15 | 16.00 |
| 131 | Manuel Gouveia | Portugal | 7.65 | 8.35 | 16.00 |
| 131 | Peter Starling | Great Britain | 8.35 | 7.65 | 16.00 |
| 136 | Juan Caviglia | Argentina | 7.85 | 8.10 | 15.95 |
| 137 | Walter Blattmann | United States | 8.20 | 7.70 | 15.90 |
| 137 | Marcel de Wolf | France | 7.70 | 8.20 | 15.90 |
| 137 | Ivica Jelić | Yugoslavia | 7.95 | 7.95 | 15.90 |
| 137 | Antun Kropivšek | Yugoslavia | 8.05 | 7.85 | 15.90 |
| 137 | Willi Welt | Austria | 7.70 | 8.20 | 15.90 |
| 142 | Jean Guillou | France | 7.25 | 8.60 | 15.85 |
| 142 | Bill Roetzheim | United States | 7.90 | 7.95 | 15.85 |
| 144 | César Bonoris | Argentina | 8.05 | 7.75 | 15.80 |
| 145 | Börje Stattin | Sweden | 7.00 | 8.75 | 15.75 |
| 146 | Marcel Coppin | Luxembourg | 7.50 | 8.20 | 15.70 |
| 147 | Jack Wells | South Africa | 7.40 | 8.25 | 15.65 |
| 148 | Franz Kemter | Austria | 7.20 | 8.35 | 15.55 |
| 148 | Graham Harcourt | Great Britain | 8.45 | 7.10 | 15.55 |
| 148 | Ede Mađar | Yugoslavia | 8.05 | 7.50 | 15.55 |
| 151 | Walter Müller | Saar | 7.55 | 7.90 | 15.45 |
| 152 | Ahmed Khalil El-Giddawi | Egypt | 7.70 | 7.70 | 15.40 |
| 153 | Francisco Cascante | Cuba | 7.00 | 8.35 | 15.35 |
| 154 | Friedrich Fetz | Austria | 7.55 | 7.75 | 15.30 |
| 154 | Jerzy Solarz | Poland | 6.95 | 8.35 | 15.30 |
| 156 | Franjo Jurjević | Yugoslavia | 6.80 | 8.45 | 15.25 |
| 157 | Vincent D'Autorio | United States | 7.85 | 7.35 | 15.20 |
| 157 | Hubert Erang | Luxembourg | 7.10 | 8.10 | 15.20 |
| 159 | António Leite | Portugal | 7.15 | 8.00 | 15.15 |
| 160 | Jack Beckner | United States | 7.10 | 8.00 | 15.10 |
| 161 | Erich Peters | Sweden | 6.85 | 8.10 | 14.95 |
| 162 | William Thoresson | Sweden | 7.25 | 7.65 | 14.90 |
| 163 | Carol Bedö | Romania | 6.80 | 7.90 | 14.70 |
| 163 | Ronnie Lombard | South Africa | 6.70 | 8.00 | 14.70 |
| 165 | Rolf Lauer | Saar | 7.40 | 7.25 | 14.65 |
| 166 | Mohamed Sayed Hamdi | Egypt | 6.90 | 7.65 | 14.55 |
| 167 | Arne Carlsson | Sweden | 6.70 | 7.60 | 14.30 |
| 168 | Paul Grubenthal | Austria | 5.50 | 8.60 | 14.10 |
| 169 | Jeroom Riske | Belgium | 7.00 | 6.95 | 13.95 |
| 170 | Ivan Čaklec | Yugoslavia | 6.00 | 7.90 | 13.90 |
| 171 | Kurt Wigartz | Sweden | 6.50 | 7.10 | 13.60 |
| 172 | Nils Sjöberg | Sweden | 6.15 | 7.10 | 13.25 |
| 173 | René Changeat | France | 4.75 | 8.45 | 13.20 |
| 174 | Karel Janež | Yugoslavia | 5.85 | 7.20 | 13.05 |
| 175 | Ragai Youssef | Egypt | 5.90 | 7.10 | 13.00 |
| 176 | Fred Wiedersporn | Saar | 5.40 | 7.35 | 12.75 |
| 177 | Manuel Prazeres | Portugal | 4.85 | 7.75 | 12.60 |
| 178 | Raúl Caldeira | Portugal | 3.50 | 7.60 | 11.10 |
| 179 | Mahmoud Mohamed Reda | Egypt | 4.00 | 7.00 | 11.00 |
| 180 | Paweł Gaca | Poland | 2.00 | 8.35 | 10.35 |
| 181 | Manuel Cardoso | Portugal | 2.00 | 7.80 | 9.80 |
| 182 | Stoyan Stoyanov | Bulgaria | 9.40 | — | 9.40 |
| 183 | Hans Friedrich | Austria | 7.75 | — | 7.75 |
| 184 | Vir Singh | India | 1.25 | 4.00 | 5.25 |
| 185 | Khushi Ram | India | 2.00 | 3.00 | 5.00 |