Quick Facts Men's 100 metres at the Games of the XV Olympiad, Venue ...

Men's 100 metres at the Games of the XV Olympiad
Venue	Olympic Stadium Helsinki, Finland
Dates	20 July 1952 (heats, quarterfinals) 21 July 1952 (semifinals, final)
Competitors	72 from 33 nations
Winning time	10.4 seconds (hand) 10.79 seconds (auto)
Medalists
Lindy Remigino  United States Herb McKenley  Jamaica McDonald Bailey  Great Britain
← 1948 1956 →

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The men's 100 metres sprint event at the 1952 Olympic Games in Helsinki, Finland was held at the Olympic Stadium on 20 and 21 July. Seventy-two athletes from 33 nations competed; each nation was limited to 3 runners. The final was won by American Lindy Remigino, the fourth consecutive victory by a different American.^[1] Herb McKenley won Jamaica's first medal in the men's 100 metres with his silver, while McDonald Bailey's bronze put Great Britain on the podium for the first time since 1928. The final was "probably the closest mass finish in Olympic 100 metre history" with the first four runners all clocking in at 10.4 seconds hand-timed, all six finalists within 0.12 seconds electric-timed (10.79 for first, 10.91 for sixth), and a photo finish necessary to separate the winners.^[2]

This was the twelfth time the event was held, having appeared at every Olympics since the first in 1896. None of the medalists from 1948 returned, but sixth-place finisher McDonald Bailey (who had recently tied the world record) did. London bronze medalist Lloyd LaBeach's brother Byron LaBeach represented Jamaica. Other notable entrants were American Art Bragg (who pulled his hamstring before the semifinal) and Jamaican Herb McKenley, who were favorites along with Bailey.^[2]

Bulgaria, Ghana, Guatemala, Israel, Nigeria, the Soviet Union, Thailand, and Venezuela were represented in the event for the first time. The United States was the only nation to have appeared at each of the first twelve Olympic men's 100 metres events.

The event retained the four round format from 1920 to 1948: heats, quarterfinals, semifinals, and a final. There were 12 heats, of 4–7 athletes each, with the top 2 in each heat advancing to the quarterfinals. The 24 quarterfinalists were placed into 4 heats of 6 athletes. The top 3 in each quarterfinal advanced to the semifinals. There were 2 heats of 6 semifinalists, once again with the top 3 advancing to the 6-man final.^[2]

Prior to the competition, the existing World and Olympic records were as follows.

World record	10.2	Jesse Owens	Chicago, United States	20 June 1936
	10.2	Harold Davis	Compton, United States	6 June 1941
	10.2	Lloyd LaBeach	Fresno, United States	15 May 1948
	10.2	Barney Ewell	Evanston, United States	9 July 1948
	10.2	McDonald Bailey	Belgrade, Yugoslavia	25 August 1951
Olympic record	10.3	Eddie Tolan	Los Angeles, USA	1 August 1932
	10.3	Ralph Metcalfe	Los Angeles, USA	1 August 1932
	10.3	Jesse Owens	Berlin, Germany	2 August 1936
	10.3	Harrison Dillard	London, United Kingdom	31 July 1948