The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland competed as Great Britain at the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki, Finland. 257 competitors, 213 men and 44 women, took part in 127 events in 18 sports. British athletes have competed in every Summer Olympic Games. Indeed, it is the only country to have won at least one gold medal at every Summer Olympic Games: in 1952, they achieved their only gold medal during the last event of the last day of competition in Helsinki. This was Great Britain's lowest ever medal count.
Harry Llewellyn, Duggie Stewart, and Wilf White — Equestrian, Jumping Team CompetitionSheila Lerwill — Athletics, Women's High JumpCharles Currey — Sailing, Men's Finn Individual CompetitionMcDonald Bailey — Athletics, Men's 100 metresJohn Disley — Athletics, Men's 3000m SteeplechaseHeather Armitage, Sylvia Cheeseman, Jean Desforges, and June Foulds-Paul — Athletics, Women's 4x100 metres RelayShirley Cawley — Athletics, Women's Long JumpDonald Burgess, George Newberry, Alan Newton, and Ronald Stretton — Cycling, Men's 4000m Team PursuitHelen Gordon — Swimming, Women's 200m BreaststrokeKenneth Richmond — Wrestling, Men's Freestyle HeavyweightDenys Carnill, John Cockett, John Conroy, Graham Dadds, Derek Day, Dennis Eagan, Robin Fletcher, Roger Midgley, Richard Norris, Neil Nugent, Anthony Nunn, Anthony Robinson, and John Taylor — Field Hockey, Men's Team CompetitionMen's 100 metres
McDonald BaileyFirst Round — 10.4sFirst Round — 10.5sSemifinals — 10.5sFinal — 10.4s (→ Bronze Medal)Men's Hammer Throw
Duncan ClarkQualifying Round — 50.69mFinal Round — 51.07m (→ 18th place)Women's Discus Throw
Suzanne AlldayQualifying Round — 36.37 mFinal — 37.96 m (→ 15th place)Men's Flyweight:
David Dower- First Round – Defeated Abdelamid Boutefnouchet of France (3 – 0)
- Second Round – Defeated Leslie Donovan Perera Handunge of Ceylon (3 – 0)
- Third Round – Lost to Anatoli Bulakov of Soviet Union (1 – 2)
Men's Bantamweight:
Thomas Nicholls- First Round – Lost to Pentti Olavi Hämäläinen of Finland (0 – 3)
Men's Featherweight:
Percival Lewis- First Round – Lost to Georghe Ilie of Romania (0 – 3)
Men's Lightweight:
Frederick Reardon- First Round – Defeated Roger Cuche of Switzerland (KO 3R)
- Second Round – Defeated Aleksandr Zasuhin of Soviet Union (0 – 3)
- Third Round – Lost to Aleksy Antkiewicz of Poland (0 – 3)
Men's Light Welterweight:
Peter Waterman- First Round – Defeated Oscar Juan Galardo of Argentina (2 – 1)
- Second Round – Lost to Alexander Grant Webster of South Africa (0 – 3)
Men's Welterweight:
John Maloney- First Round – Lost to Július Torma of Czechoslovakia (1 – 2)
Men's Light Middleweight:
Bernard Foster- First Round – Lost to Petar Stankoff Spassoff of Bulgaria (1 – 2)
Men's Middleweight:
Terence Gooding- First Round – Defeated Moustafa Mohamed Fahim of Egypt (2 – 1)
- Second Round – Lost to Boris Georgiev Nikolov of Bulgaria (2 – 1)
Men's Light Heavyweight:
Henry Cooper- Second Round – Lost to Anatoli Perov of Soviet Union (1 – 2)
Men's Heavyweight:
Edgar Hearn- First Round – Defeated José Victorio Sartor of Argentina (2 – 1)
- Third Round – Lost to Ilkka Rickhard Koski of Finland (0 – 3)
Road CompetitionMen's Individual Road Race (190.4 km)
Desmond Robinson — 5:18:08.9 (→ 26th place)Brian Robinson — 5:18:08.9 (→ 27th place)Graham Vines — 5:22:33.2 (→ 31st place)Leslie Ingman — did not finish (→ no ranking)Track CompetitionMen's 1.000m Time Trial
Donald McKellowFinal — 1:13.3 (→ 5th place)Men's 1.000m Sprint Scratch Race
Cyril Peacock — 4th placeMen's 4.000m Team Pursuit
Alan Newton, Donald Burgess, George Newberry, and Ronald StrettonBronze Medal Match — defeated France (→ Bronze Medal)Men's 3m Springboard
Anthony TurnerFinal — 151.90 points (→ 7th place)Peter HeatlyPreliminary Round — 63.37 points (→ 16th place)Peter ElliottPreliminary Round — 61.85 points (→ 20th place)Women's 10m Platform
Phyllis LongPreliminary Round — 43.23 pointsFinal — 63.19 points (→ 5th place)Diana SpencerPreliminary Round — 43.16 pointsFinal — 60.76 points (→ 7th place)Valerie Lloyd-ChandosPreliminary Round — 35.39 points (→ 12th place)17 fencers, 14 men and 3 women, represented Great Britain in 1952.
Men's foilRené PaulLuke WendonRaymond PaulMen's team foilRené Paul, Luke Wendon, Emrys Lloyd, Raymond Paul, Harry Cooke, Allan JayMen's épéeAllan JayRonald ParfittRené PaulMen's team épéeRené Paul, Allan Jay, Christopher Grose-Hodge, Ronald Parfitt, Raymond Harrison, Charles de BeaumontMen's sabreWilliam BeatleyBob AndersonOlgierd PorebskiMen's team sabreRoger Tredgold, Olgierd Porebski, Bob Anderson, William Beatley, Luke WendonWomen's foilMary Glen-HaigGillian SheenPatricia BullerThe British Gymnastics team competed in 15 events and was made up of 14 gymnasts, (6 men and 8 women), including Frank Turner and George Weedon, both of whom had competed in the 1948 Summer Olympics.
Three male pentathletes represented Great Britain in 1952.
IndividualLeon LumsdaineJohn HewittJervis PercyTeamLeon LumsdaineJohn HewittJervis PercySingle scull - Tony Fox - FourthDouble scull - P Brandt, J R A MacMillan - UnplacedCoxless pair - D N Callender, Chris Davidge - FourthCoxless four - H H Almond, J S M Jones, James Crowden, Adrian Cadbury - FourthCoxed four - John MacMillan, Graham Fisk, Laurence Guest, Peter de Giles, Paul Massey - FourthEight - David Jennens, D D Macklin, A L MacLeod, Brian Lloyd, R F A Sharpley, N B M Clack, W A D Windham, E J Worlidge, J F K Hinde - FourthTwelve shooters represented Great Britain in 1952.
25 m pistolHenry SteeleHenry Swire50 m pistolRonald GuyWilliam White300 m rifle, three positionsJohn PearsonJocelyn Barlow50 m rifle, three positionsSteffen CranmerCharles Hyde50 m rifle, proneCharles HydeSteffen Cranmer100m running deerCyril Mackworth-PraedIngram CapperTrapEnoch JenkinsCharles Lucas 
