# New Zealand at the 1952 Summer Olympics

New Zealand at the 1952 Summer Olympics was represented by a team of 14 competitors (and one travelling reserve) and three officials. Selection of the team for the Games in Helsinki, Finland, was the responsibility of the New Zealand Olympic and British Empire Games Association. New Zealand's flagbearer at the opening ceremony was Harold Cleghorn. The New Zealand team finished equal 24th on the medal table, winning a total of three medals, one of which was gold.

## Medal tables

| Medal | Name | Sport | Event | Date |
| Gold | Yvette Williams | Athletics | Women's long jump | 23 July |
| Bronze | John Holland | Athletics | Men's 400 m hurdles | 21 July |
| Bronze | Jean Stewart | Swimming | Women's 100 m backstroke | 31 July |
Medals by sport :
| Sport | | | | Total |
| Athletics | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Swimming | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Total | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 |
Medals by gender :
| Gender | | | | Total |
| Male | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Female | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Total | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 |

## Athletics
### Track

| Athlete | Event | Heat | Heat | Quarterfinal | Quarterfinal | Semifinal | Semifinal | Final | Final |
| Athlete | Event | Result | Rank | Result | Rank | Result | Rank | Result | Rank |
| John Holland | Men's 400 m hurdles | 53.3 | 1 Q | 52.2 | 1 Q | 52.0 | 2 Q | 52.0 | |
| George Hoskins | Men's 1500 m | 3:56.2 | 1 Q | — | — | 3:53.0 | 12 | did not advance | did not advance |
| George Hoskins | Men's 5000 m | DNF | DNF | — | — | — | — | did not advance | did not advance |
| Maurice Marshall | Men's 800 m | 1:56.2 | 4 | — | — | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| Maurice Marshall | Men's 1500 m | 4:01.0 | 7 | — | — | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
* ↑ Ranks given are within the heat
* ↑ Ranks given are within the quarterfinal
* ↑ Ranks given are within the semifinal

### Field

| Athlete | Event | Qualification | Qualification | Final | Final |
| Athlete | Event | Result | Rank | Result | Rank |
| Yvette Williams | Women's discus throw | 41.32 | 4 Q | 40.48 | 10 |
| Yvette Williams | Women's long jump | 6.16 OR | 1 Q | 6.24 OR | |
| Yvette Williams | Women's shot put | 12.64 | 10 Q | 13.35 | 6 |

## Cycling
### Track
#### Men's 1000 m time trial

| Athlete | Time | Rank |
| Malcolm Simpson | 1:15.1 | 11 |

#### Men's sprint

| Athlete | Round 1 | Round 1 repechage | Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals repechage | Semifinals | Semifinals repechage | Final | Final |
| Athlete | Opposition Result | Opposition Result | Opposition Result | Opposition Result | Opposition Result | Opposition Result | Opposition Result | Rank |
| Colin Dickinson | Szekeres (HUN) Millman (CAN) Siegenthaler (SUI) 4 R | Robinson (SAF) Masanés (CHI) Farnum (JAM) Ioniță (ROU) 3 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |

#### Men's tandem

| Athlete | Round 1 | Round 1 repechage | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Final | Rank |
| Athlete | Opposition Result | Opposition Result | Opposition Result | Opposition Result | Opposition Result | Rank |
| Colin Dickinson Malcolm Simpson | Switzerland W 11.3 | — | France L | did not advance | did not advance | =5 |

## Rowing

In 1952, seven rowing competitions were held, and New Zealand entered a single boat: a coxed four. The competition was for men only; women would first row at the 1976 Summer Olympics. Hector McLeod travelled to the Summer Olympics as a reserve but did not compete.
| Athlete | Event | Heats | Heats | Repechage | Repechage | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals repechage | Semi-finals repechage | Final | Final |
| Athlete | Event | Time | Rank | Time | Rank | Time | Rank | Time | Rank | Time | Rank |
| Ted Johnson John O'Brien Kerry Ashby Bill Tinnock Colin Johnstone | Coxed four | 7:25.2 | 4 R | 7:07.3 | 2 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |

## Swimming

| Athlete | Event | Heat | Heat | Semifinal | Semifinal | Final | Final |
| Athlete | Event | Result | Rank | Result | Rank | Result | Rank |
| Lincoln Hurring | Men's 100 m backstroke | 1:09.6 | 13 Q | 1:10.2 | 14 | did not advance | did not advance |
| Jean Stewart | Women's 100 m backstroke | 1:16.0 | 4 Q | — | — | 1:15.8 | |

## Weightlifting

| Athlete | Event | Press | Press | Snatch | Snatch | Clean & Jerk | Clean & Jerk | Total | Rank |
| Athlete | Event | Result | Rank | Result | Rank | Result | Rank | Total | Rank |
| Harold Cleghorn | Men's heavyweight | 130 | =6 | 117.5 | =6 | 152.5 | =7 | 400.0 | 7 |

## Officials

Chef de mission – Jack Squire