Within nine magical days in Helsinki, Czechslovakian army officer Emil Zatopek established himself, alongside Paavo Nurmi, as the greatest long-distance runner of all times. Zatopek started off by effortlessly winning (by a margin of 15 seconds), repeating his 10,000 meter victory from 1948. He went on to win the 5,000 meter before deciding to run the first marathon of his life. Upon reaching the 2/3 mark Zatopek put on his unbeatable pace, and camein first by two and a half minutes. So impressed by Zatopek was the Jamaican 4x400 meter relay team, who had just won a gold medal of their own, that they carried Zatopek around the track on their shoulders. Above all, Zatopek was a true sportsman. Finishing sixth in the 1956 Olympic marathon, Zatopek saluted his good friend Alain Mimoun O'kacha, runner up in the 1952 5,000 and 10,000 meters who had finally won gold. "For me, that is more than a medal", said O'kacha. Years later Zatopek presented his 10,000 meter Olympic gold medal to Australian great Ron Clark, who had never won one of his own.
While running the third leg of the 4x400 meter relay in 1948, Jamaican relay race team member Arthur Wint pulled a muscle. His injury prevented a victory for Jamaica, at the time a country which had dominated the quarter-mile distance races. Wint and team mate Herbert McKenley won gold and silver respectively in the 400 meter race. In 1952 the same four-man team of 1948 was back. This time George Rhoden won the 400 meter race and McKeneley won two more silvers. Wint also won a second consecutive silver in the 800 meter race. Running an inspired anchor leg of the 4 x 400 relay, Rhoden gave Jamaica a one-tenth-of-a-second victory over the United States. In the process the fleet footed quartet from the small island nation suceeded in breaking the world record by 4.3 seconds.