At the 1952 Helsinki Olympics, the women’s group gymnastics competition was more than just a test of skill; it became a flashpoint of artistry, politics, and controversy. Sweden claimed gold in the hand apparatus event, but minor mistakes, scoring quirks, and whispers of biased judging left many debating who truly deserved the podium.
Here’s what happened on Thursday, July 24, 1952.
Quick Links: Results | Videos | Commentary | Appendix: The Official Results
Results
Group Rhythmic Exercises
| CTRY | Total |
| 1. SWE | 74.20 |
| 2. URS | 73.00 |
| 3. HUN | 71.60 |
| 4. GER | 71.20 |
| 5. FIN | 70.60 |
| 6T. TCH | 70.00 |
| 6T. NED | 70.00 |
Final Team Results
| CTRY | FX | BB | UB | VT | Group |
| 1. URS | 56.15 | 56.11 | 56.47 | 57.35 | |
| 527.03 | 57.22 | 57.38 | 57.21 | 56.14 | 73.00 |
| 2. HUN | 55.71 | 55.01 | 56.35 | 55.35 | |
| 520.96 | 57.94 | 56.48 | 56.82 | 55.70 | 71.60 |
| 3. TCH | 54.75 | 53.28 | 52.84 | 54.66 | |
| 503.32 | 52.58 | 55.71 | 55.48 | 54.02 | 70.00 |
| 4. SWE | 54.55 | 51.01 | 52.00 | 54.78 | |
| 501.83 | 53.69 | 54.27 | 52.04 | 55.29 | 74.20 |
| 5. GER* | 53.88 | 51.64 | 52.74 | 53.52 | |
| 495.23 | 52.68 | 53.18 | 52.95 | 53.44 | 71.20 |
| 6. ITA | 52.32 | 50.67 | 54.02 | 55.89 | |
| 494.74 | 54.24 | 52.91 | 52.15 | 54.34 | 68.20 |
| 7. BUL | 54.18 | 55.07 | 52.11 | 55.02 | |
| 493.77 | 51.72 | 54.81 | 52.45 | 51.61 | 66.80 |
| 8. POL | 54.10 | 48.42 | 48.34 | 53.77 | |
| 483.72 | 52.99 | 55.06 | 54.96 | 51.88 | 64.20 |
| 9. ROU* | 52.61 | 52.52 | 51.18 | 52.84 | |
| 483.06 | 52.48 | 51.67 | 52.28 | 50.68 | 66.80 |
| 10. AUT | 53.17 | 48.17 | 50.22 | 52.85 | |
| 477.80 | 50.42 | 51.55 | 51.38 | 51.64 | 68.40 |
| 11. YUG* | 52.08 | 49.92 | 48.08 | 51.42 | |
| 477.52 | 50.95 | 52.19 | 50.81 | 52.87 | 69.20 |
| 12. FRA | 52.39 | 50.75 | 48.79 | 53.04 | |
| 476.35 | 51.64 | 51.89 | 49.64 | 50.41 | 67.80 |
| 13. FIN | 53.44 | 50.92 | 45.85 | 50.34 | |
| 473.92 | 51.23 | 53.15 | 47.31 | 51.08 | 70.60 |
| 14. NED | 49.45 | 49.41 | 48.90 | 51.35 | |
| 473.02 | 49.01 | 52.06 | 49.35 | 53.49 | 70.00 |
| 15. USA* | 51.82 | 49.75 | 52.48 | 51.58 | |
| 467.42 | 50.91 | 46.62 | 50.45 | 52.21 | 61.60 |
| 16. GBR | 48.91 | 49.25 | 45.81 | 53.58 | |
| 457.31 | 48.08 | 47.82 | 48.84 | 52.02 | 63.00 |
*Note: The official results list Germany’s team total as 495.20, Romania’s as 482.06, Yugoslavia’s as 477.34, and the United States’ as 467.36. However, after recalculating the scores several times, I arrived at different numbers, which are listed in the tables above.
Note #2: Please pay attention to the column headers. The official results were not printed in today’s Olympic order.
Note #3: For individual results, see this post.
Videos
You can watch more on the Olympics.com website.
Commentary
Preamble
Before we get to the commentary, we have to establish a few facts. Here were the judges for the final portion of the competition:
Ensemble exercise: Ms. Ljunggren (Sweden), Ms. Burianová (Czechoslovakia), Ms. Wiesenberger (Austria), Ms. Poljšak (Yugoslavia), Ms. Korobian (Romania), Ms. Fieseler (Netherlands), Ms. Mahl (Germany), Ms. Rosatti (Italy).
The Minutes from the Women’s Technical Committee
In other words, all of the judges came from Europe—three from the Eastern bloc (TCH, ROU, YUG) and five from the Western bloc (SWE, AUT, NED, GER, ITA).
Another important point: During the competition, the top two scores and the bottom two scores were dropped:
They will be judged by a group of 8 ladies of different nationalities, each of whom will give a mark of no more than 10 points. The final score for an ensemble exercise will therefore be a maximum of 80 points.
Of the 10 points available to each judge, the following will be awarded: 2.5 points for the difficulty of the exercise and its physiological value 2.5 points for the beauty and combination of the exercise 5 points for the accuracy of execution and ensemble.
The final score will be established as follows: the 2 highest and 2 lowest scores will be eliminated, and the total of the average scores will be multiplied by two.
The Rules for the Women’s Competition at the 1952 Olympic Games
So, imagine all three Eastern bloc judges hand out 10.0s, while the Western bloc judges stick with 9.0s. The counting scores? 10, 9, 9, 9. Fair and balanced or blatantly skewed? It all depends on how you look at it, and without a Code of Points in place, you could look at it many different ways.
So, let’s take a look at how some people looked at it…
The Soviet Press
All in all, the Soviet press struck a neutral tone about the results of the group exercises.
Lightness of movement and high skill was characterized by the performance of Swedish gymnasts who performed with a ball. Soviet gymnasts, who took second place in this type of exercise, demonstrated high skill, performing with hoops. The Hungarian team, which took the third place, performed with clubs.
Sovetsky Sport, no. 90, 1952
Легкостью движений и высоким мастерством отличалось выступление шведских гимнасток, показавших вольные упражнения с мячом. Советские гимнастки, занявшие в этом виде упражнений второе место, продемонстрировали высокое мастерство, выступая с обручами. Венгерская команда, занявшая третье место, выступала с упражнениями с булавами.
The Hungarian Press
In the Hungarian media’s eyes, the Swedes won on paper, but only because the judges turned a blind eye to their mistakes while punishing the Soviets and Hungarians harshly. Bias—not performance—delivered Sweden the Olympic title.
In the first group, the Swedes performed best.
They moved beautifully and demonstrated their rhythmic exercises with the ball. Although they dropped the ball twice during the exercise, the judges apparently did not consider this a major mistake and ultimately awarded them 74.20 points for the exercise.
In the second group, there was great anticipation for the Soviet team’s performance.
Soviet gymnasts are highly respected in Helsinki. Dressed in emerald green uniforms, they performed magnificently. Their routines were imaginative. Their routines were beautiful and rhythmic, with beautifully executed movements, jumps and leaps. The team members also excelled individually. One of them touched the ground twice with her hoop, which the judges took much more seriously than the Swedish team’s mistake earlier, and awarded only 73 points for the routine.
The audience greeted the Soviet team’s performance with thunderous applause, and when the score appeared on the scoreboard, many shouted, “Not enough, not enough…”
In the third group, the members of the Hungarian team performed their routine with the most difficult hand apparatus, the club, holding one club in each hand.
Heavy circles and swings followed each other in perfect harmony with the music, they performed imaginative changes of position, forming different shapes and figures. There was beauty and strength in their movements. There was only one mistake in the routine: in the first third of the routine, Köröndi dropped one of her clubs. The club clattered loudly on the floor. Köröndi picked it up immediately, did not lose her rhythm, and continued the routine. After the difficult and beautifully executed routine, despite the one mistake, the scoreboard showed 71.60 points. The Hungarian team definitely deserved a higher score, but the judges were clearly biased against them, with the West German female judges’ bias being particularly noticeable.
The audience rewarded the magnificent performance with thunderous applause and cheers, and, as in the case of the Soviet team, expressed their dissatisfaction with the score.
The Czechoslovakian, Bulgarian, and Romanian gymnasts also performed their routines beautifully. In the end, the Swedes won the Olympic championship, even though the Hungarian and Soviet teams’ routines were definitely more impressive.
Minor mistakes by the Soviet and Hungarian teams were a good excuse for the judges to give them lower scores and award the Swedes an undeserved Olympic championship.
Népsport, July 25, 1952
Az I. csoportban a svédek szerepeltek a legjobban.
Igen szépen mozogtak, labdával mutatták be ritmikus gyakorlataikat. A gyakorlat közben ugyan kétszer is elejtették a labdát, ezt azonban a pontozók láthatólag nem értékelték atúl nagy hibának és végül is 74,20 pontot adtak a gyakorlatra.
A II. csoportban a szovjet csapat szereplését igen nagy érdeklődés előzte meg.
A szovjet tornászoknakigen nagy a tekintélyük Helsinkiben. Almazöldszínű mezben, karikával mutatták be pompát. Ötletes gyakorlataikat. Szépség, ritmus volt a gyakorlataikban, gyönyörűen kidolgozott mozdulatok, szökdelések, ugrások váltakoztak. A csapat tagjai egyénileg is mind remekeltek. Egyikük két alkalommal érintette karikájával a földet, ezt a pontozók sokkal szigorúbban vették, mint előzőleg a svéd csapat hibáját és Csak 73 pontot adtak a gyakorlatra.
A közönség hatalmas tapssal fogadta a szovjet csapat gyakorlatát és amikor megjelent a hirdetőtáblán a pontszám, sokan kiabáltak, hogy „Kevés, kevés…“
A III. csoportban a magyar csapat tagjai a legnehezebb kéziszerrel, a buzogánnyal hajtották végre gyakorlatukat, méghozzá mindkét kezükben egy-egy buzogánnyal.
A zenével pontosan együttfolyó nehéz körzések, lendítések követték egymást, ötletes helyváltoztatásokat hajtottak végre, különböző formákat és alakzatokat alakítottak ki. Szépség és baj volt a mozgásukban. A gyakorlatba mindössze egy hiba csúszott be: a gyakorlat első harmadában Köröndi elejtette az egyik buzogányát. A buzogány nagyot csattant a padlózaton. Köröndi azonnal felkapta, nem esett ki az ütemből és folytatta tovább a gyakorlatot. A nehéz és az egy hibától eltekintett gyönyörűen végrehajtott gyakorlat utáni 71.60 pontot mutatott a hirdetőtábla. Amagyar csapat feltétlenül magasabbpontszámot érdemelt volna, a pontozókszemmel láthatólag nyomták a csapatot,különösen a nyugatnémet női pontozórészrehajlása volt feltűnő.
A közönség óriási tapssal, valóságos üdvrivalgással jutalmazta a nagyszerű gyakorlatot és akárcsak a szovjet csapat esetében, most is kifejezést adott a pontszám miatti elégedetlenségének.
Nagyon szépen végezték gyakorlataikata csehszlovák, bolgár és román torneznek is. Végeredményben az olimpiai bajnokságot a svédek nyerték meg, noha a magyar és a szovjet csapat, gyakorlata egyaránt feltétlenül értékesebb volt.
A szovjet és a magyar csapat kisebb hibája jó ürügy volt a pontozóknak arra, hogy alacsonyabbra értékeljék teljesítményüket és megajándékozzák a svédeket egy meg nem érdemelt olimpiai bajnoksággal.
Germany’s Official Report
Germany saw the overall results as fair. The Swedes earned gold, even if they leaned on German innovations to get there.
More important than medals, the Germans argued, was that the competition should spark a reform of women’s gymnastics toward true physical expression, not just staged uniformity of tricks.
The groups march out one last time, this time in festive gymnastic attire. Once again, the colors have been carefully chosen, and a new element has been added: hand apparatus that the gymnasts can choose themselves. The Russian women’s green leotards feature a narrow gold belt, and even their hoops are gold-plated. The Swedish women come with a large red ball and the American women even with star-spangled ribbons. But it is not men who judge, but eight female judges who are less impressed by the fashionable effect. And that’s a good thing. Their task, however, is difficult and impossible to solve fairly. The German gymnasts, dressed in blue leotards, are the only group to have chosen the tricky rope. Their routine shows good use of space, clever changes in formation, demanding individual elements, and a gradual build-up toward the finale. Confidence shines from their eyes, and they are awarded a well-deserved high score. However, it is a little surprising that it is not the German group but the Swedish group that makes use of the latest findings in German gymnastics and thus wins the gold medal. This, in turn, is reassuring, because almost all other performances show that international women’s gymnastics has persistently ignored the findings of the gymnastics movement. There is hardly a group in which balls, hoops, sticks, or clubs can prevent handstands, splits, rolls and even handsprings and cartwheels from being performed in practiced uniformity as “group gymnastics.” The fact that the Swedish women proved to be the best gives hope that the Olympic results will also lead to fundamental reform in this area.
“Frauenturnen,” Olympiade 1952: Auszug aus dem offiziellen Standardwerk des Nationalen Olympischen Komitees
The overall result is fair, even from a gymnastics point of view. If one were to remove from the routines the tricks belonging to variety shows and the stage, the rankings might narrow but the order itself would not change. This is conciliatory despite all the problems. There are no disagreements, only questions about the future. Because there must be another measure, beyond all medals and the moment: the measure of female physical development and female personality.
Zum letzten Male erfolgt der Aufmarsch der Gruppen, diesmal im festlichen gymnastischen Gewand. Wieder sind die Farben mit Bedacht gewählt, ein neues Element, das selbst zu bestimmende Handgerät, kommt diesmal hinzu. Das grüne Trikot der Russinnen trägt einen schmalen goldenen Gürtel, denn auch ihre Reifen sind vergoldet. Die Schwedinnen kommen mit einem großen roten Ball und die Amerikanerinnen gar mit sternblitzenden Stäben. Doch nicht Männer werten, sondern acht Kampfrichterinnen, die dem modischen Effekt kühler gegenüber stehen. Und das ist gut so. Ihre Aufgabe ist allerdings schwer und ganz gerecht niemals zu lösen. Die deutschen Turnerinnen, schmuck im blauen Gymnastikkittel, haben als einzige Gruppe das verfängliche Seil gewählt. Ihre Übung ist gut in der Raumaufteilung, mit geschickten Aufstellungsveränderungen, schwierig in der Einzelleistung und in einer mählichen Steigerung bis zum Schluß angelegt. Die Sicherheit strahlt ihnen aus den Augen, und es gibt die verdient hohe Punktzahl. Es ist jedoch ein wenig verwunderlich, daß nicht die deutsche, sondern die schwedische Gruppe die letzten Erkenntnisse deutscher Gymnastik verwertet und damit die Goldmedaille gewinnt. Dies wiederum ist beruhigend, denn fast alle anderen Vorführungen zeigen, daß das internationale Frauenturnen mit Beharrlichkeit an den Erkenntnissen der Gymnastikbewegung vorbeigegangen ist. Es gibt kaum eine Gruppe, bei der Ball, Reifen, Stab oder Keule verhindern kann, daß nicht doch Standwaage, Spagat, Rolle und sogar Überschlag und Rad in eingeschliffenem Gleichmaß „gruppengeturnt” wird. Daß gerade die Schwedinnen sich als die Besten erwiesen, läßt hoffen, daß auch auf diesem Gebiet das olympische Ergebnis Anlaß zu einer grundlegenden Reform gibt.
Das Gesamtergebnis ist gerecht, auch turnerisch gerecht. Nimmt man aus den gezeigten Übungen die dem Variete und der Bühne zuzuordnenden Kunststücke heraus, können sich die Ergebnisreihen zwar verengen, nicht aber die Ränge selbst verschieben. Das stimmt bei aller Problematik versöhnlich. Es· bleiben keine Mißklänge, sondern nur die Fragen nach dem zukünftigen Maß. Denn es muß noch ein anderes Maß sein, jenseits aller Medaillen und des Augenblicks: das Maß weiblicher Körperbildung und fraulicher Persönlichkeit.
A Finnish Judge
A MAG Finnish judge accused the Soviets of riding a wave of inflated scores from an “Iron Curtain clique” of judges. While he admitted some wins were legitimate, he argued politics—not performance—explained Russia’s sweep, noting that only a different scoring system (i.e. an 8-member judging panel) in the women’s portable apparatus allowed Sweden to break through.
Finn Official Claims Judges In Gymnastics Favor Soviets
HELSINKI, July 24 (INS). – A Finnish official at the Olympic Games today charged that Russia’s astounding success in gymnastics competition was due to a helping hand from a politically-inspired “clique of Iron Curtain judges.”
The Finn, Erkki Palolampi, one of the judges in men’s gymnastics and a veteran of the 1936 and 1948 Olympics, said:
“It is obvious that the Eastern bloc of judges, as well as their athletes, have been instructed to do their best at Helsinki.”
The Russians rolled up 91 points in men’s gymnastics and 95 in women’s to take the over-all Olympic point lead, although they have scored only 104 to the United States 200 in all other events completed so far.
Palolampi, who asserted it was the first time in his experience that “politics has reared its head in the games,” said:
“The Soviet victories on the rings and pommel horse were undoubtedly deserving, but they were overrated in other events by a clique of Iron Curtain judges who always voted high for the Russians.”
The Finnish official added that “something similar happened but perhaps on a lesser scale” in the women’s events.
He said a Swedish team triumph on portable apparatus was due to a different scoring system in that event which canceled the high scores of three of the five East bloc judges.
The Russians won five individual events in the men’s division, and the Soviets and Hungary swept all the medals in the women’s events.
Printed in The Buffalo News, July 24, 1952
The United States
Roberta Bonniwell maintained a fairly diplomatic tone when speaking about the judging overall (not just on the final day).
The Women’s Technical Committee of the International Gymnastic Federation had conducted a two day session for judges which seemed to be profitable, as the judging, for the most part, was adequate. There were some sharp differences of opinion at times which was to be expected in such a large diversified group, however, as the judging progressed those differences resolved themselves and the competition ended in a spirit of harmony and friendliness.
Roberta Bonniwell, United States 1952 Olympic Book
An interesting tidbit: Marie Provazníková, former president of the Women’s Technical Committee who defected to the United States in 1948, played a key role in preparing the group exercises.
The team reported at Panzer College, East Orange, NJ, on June 20, for concentrated training on the team drill, under the tutelage of Mrs. Provaznik. Mrs. Bonniwell directed the apparatus work.
Roberta Bonniwell, United States 1952 Olympic Book
In conclusion, rhythmic gymnastics competitions have been controversial for decades. 😜
Appendix: All the Scores
More on 1952