Saar at the 1952 Summer Olympics facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Saar at the1952 Summer Olympics |
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Flag of the Saar protectorate
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| IOC code | SAA |
| NOC | National Olympic Committee of the Saarland |
| in Helsinki | |
| Competitors | 36 in 9 sports |
| Summer appearances | |
| 1952 | |
| Other related appearances | |
 Germany (1896–1936, 1952, 1992–) United Team of Germany (1956–1964) West Germany (1968-1988) |
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The National Olympic Committee (NOC) of the Saarland was created in 1950. Saarland was a special area in Western Germany that France occupied after World War II. It was called the Saar Protectorate from 1947 to 1956. Saarland sent its own team to the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki. This was the only time Saarland competed as a separate team. In 1956, Saarland joined the German team again. Thirty-six athletes from Saarland, 31 men and 5 women, took part in 32 events across nine sports.
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Saarland's Olympic Journey
After World War II, Saarland was not allowed to join West Germany right away. France had occupied the area since 1945. However, other countries did not allow France to take over Saarland completely.
Because the people of Saarland did not want to become part of France, they started their own groups. This included the Saarland football team and, in 1950, their own Olympic Committee. In German, this committee was called Nationales Olympisches Komitee des Saarlandes.
Saarland could have sent athletes to the 1952 Winter Olympics. But they did not have enough athletes who were good at winter sports. Saarland was known for coal mining for over 500 years. They even gave a special miner's safety lamp for the 1952 Summer Olympics torch relay. This lamp helped carry the flame safely on airplanes.
At the opening ceremony of the 1952 Summer Olympics, 41 athletes from Saarland marched. The team did not win any medals. They were ranked 44th out of 69 teams.
In 1955, the people of Saarland voted. They decided they did not want to be an independent "European territory." Instead, they wanted to join West Germany. So, in 1956, the Saar Treaty was signed. This allowed Saarland to become part of Germany on January 1, 1957.
Saarland did not send separate teams to the 1956 Olympic Games. Instead, a United Team of Germany competed. This team included athletes from all three German states at that time. The Olympic Committee of the Saarland officially closed in February 1957. Its members then joined the German Olympic Committee.
Famous Saarland Athlete
Therese Zenz was a famous athlete from Saarland. She was born in 1932 in Merzig. At the 1952 Olympics, she was 19 years old. She finished 9th in the canoe race. This race was held on the open Baltic Sea, which was new for her. Saarland is a landlocked country, meaning it has no coast.
Therese Zenz became a world champion in 1954. She won in the K-1 500 m event. Later, she competed for Germany. She won a silver medal in 1956 and two more silver medals in 1960. After her racing career, Zenz became a coach. She coached Roswitha Esser and Annemarie Zimmermann to win gold medals at the 1964 Olympics.
Medals Won by Saarland
Saarland competed in only one Olympic Games as a separate team.
Medals by Games
| Games | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 1952 Helsinki |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Athletes from Saarland in 1952
Here are some of the athletes who competed for Saarland in the 1952 Summer Olympics.
Athletics
Saarland had athletes compete in track and field events.
- Men
- Field events
| Athlete | Event | Qualification | Final | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Distance | Position | Distance | Position | ||
| Toni Breder | Long jump | 6.88 | 19 | did not advance | |
| Willi Burgard | Triple jump | 13.86 | 29 | did not advance | |
- Women
- Track & road events
| Athlete | Event | Heat | Quarterfinal | Semifinal | Final | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Result | Rank | Result | Rank | Result | Rank | Result | Rank | ||
| Hilda Antes | 80 m hurdles | 12.0 | 4 | did not advance | |||||
| Hilda Antes Inge Eckel Ursel Finger Inge Glashörster |
4 × 100 m relay | 49.0 | 5 | did not advance | |||||
- Field events
| Athlete | Event | Qualification | Final | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Distance | Position | Distance | Position | ||
| Ursel Finger | Long jump | 5.27 | 25 | did not advance | |
Boxing
Three men from Saarland competed in boxing.
- Men
| Athlete | Event | 1 Round | 2 Round | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Final | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Opposition Result |
Opposition Result |
Opposition Result |
Opposition Result |
Opposition Result |
Rank | ||
| Helmut Hofmann | Flyweight |  Han Soo-An (KOR)L TKO 1R |
did not advance | ||||
| Kurt Schirra | Featherweight |  Luis Aranguren (VEN)W 2:1 |
 János Erdei (HUN)L 0:3 |
did not advance | |||
| Willi Rammo | Light Middleweight |  Josef Hamberger (AUT)L 0:3 |
did not advance | ||||
Canoeing
Saarland had canoeists compete in 1952.
- Men
| Athlete | Event | Heats | Final | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Time | Rank | Time | Rank | ||
| Heinrich Heß Kurt Zimmer |
K-2 1000 m | 4:01.4 | 4 | did not advance | |
| K-2 10000 m | N/A | 48:05.6 | 12 | ||
- Women
| Athlete | Event | Heats | Final | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Time | Rank | Time | Rank | ||
| Therese Zenz | K-1 500 m | 2:26.9 | 3 Q | 2:27.9 | 9 |
Fencing
Five male fencers represented Saarland in 1952.
- Men's foil
- Karl Bach
- Ernst Rau
- Günther Knödler
- Men's team foil
- Ernst Rau, Walter Brödel, Karl Bach, Günther Knödler
- Men's sabre
- Ernst Rau
- Karl Bach
- Günther Knödler
- Men's team sabre
- Karl Bach, Willi Rössler, Ernst Rau, Günther Knödler, Walter Brödel
Rowing
Saarland had seven male rowers compete in three events.
- Men
| Athlete | Event | Heats | Repechage | Semifinal | Repechage | Final | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Time | Rank | Time | Rank | Time | Rank | Time | Rank | Time | Rank | ||||||
| Günther Schütt | Single sculls | 7:58.4 | 3 R | 7:38.4 | 1 Q | BYE | 7:42.9 | 2 | did not advance | ||||||
| Klaus Hahn Herbert Kesel |
Coxless pair | 8:09.5 | 3 R | DNF | did not advance | ||||||||||
| Werner Biel Hans Krause-Wichmann Achim Krause-Wichmann Hanns Peters |
Coxless four | 6:40.8 | 1 Q | BYE | 7:10.4 | 3 R | 6:47.2 | 2 | did not advance | ||||||
Shooting
Two shooters represented Saarland in 1952.
- Men
| Athlete | Event | Final | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Score | Rank | ||
| Hans Eschenbrenner | 50 m rifle, prone | 384 | 52 |
| Ludwig Gräf | 50 m rifle, three positions | 1089 | 38 |
| 50 m rifle, prone | 391 | 40 | |
Swimming
One male swimmer from Saarland competed.
- Men
| Athlete | Event | Heat | Semifinal | Final | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Time | Rank | Time | Rank | Time | Rank | ||
| Georg Mascetti | 400 metre freestroke | 5:31.2 | 7 | did not advance | |||
Wrestling
Three men from Saarland competed in Greco-Roman wrestling.
- Men's Greco-Roman
| Athlete | Event | Elimination pool | Final round | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Round 1 Result |
Round 2 Result |
Round 3 Result |
Round 4 Result |
Round 5 Result |
Final round Result |
Rank | ||
| Werner Zimmer | −52 kg | Heini Weber (GER) L F 3:29 |
 Leo Honkala (FIN)L F 6:41 |
did not advance | 14 | |||
| Norbert Kohler | −57 kg |  Oswaldo Johnston (GUA)W F 7:05 |
Ferdinand Schmitz (GER) L F 2:55 |
 Hubert Persson (SWE)L 0–3 |
did not advance | 10 | ||
| Erich Schmidt | −67 kg |  Kamal Hussain (EGY)L 0–3 |
 Georgios Petmezas (GRE)W 2–1 |
 Jan Cools (BEL)W 3–0 |
did not advance | 10 | ||
See also
