At the IX Olympic Games there were 37 participants from 14 countries. For the first there were representatives of Hungary, Poland and Portugal. After a long break in the competition, German athletes came back, and had proven themselves as a strong team that managed to break the hegemony of the Swedes on the podium. Helmut Kahl became the first representative of Germany to win the bronze prize of the Olympics. His compatriot Heinz Hucks took the 5th place, and Herman Helter – the 8th. The Englishman D.Torkvend-Young moved to the sixth line, despite the fact that he had been only 13th at the last Olympics.
 
But the Swedes were still leaders in the individual championship, and by the number of unofficial team scoring points (SCP).
 
The tournament was won by Sven Tofelt, a five-time champion of the national pentathlon championships in Sweden. He was ahead of the winner of the VIII Olympics Bo Lindman by the number of seats.
 
The latter was unable to confirm his previous results in any form of competition: from the 1st place in swimming and track and field cross country, he sat down on the 5th and 3rd places, from the 4th in shooting, he slipped down to the 20th. He did worse in other parts of program as well, but the lack of competition allowed him to stay on the second step of the podium.

At the time, Alexander of Macedon noticed that good competition gives rise to a desire to surpass all. Here we have another case: when there’s little competition, there is no special desire for perfection. Unfortunately, the sport has repeatedly confirmed this pattern.
 
IX Olympics highlighted new names and records. Hucks showed an excellent result of 196 out of possible 200 points. After the Swede Osbrink, who got 193 points in 1912 at the V Olympics, there was not any athlete, who could surpass his achievement. Hucks then participated in the Olympics in 1932 and 1936 as a gunner, and won the silver medal in the high-speed shooting with a pistol. In separate types of the complex various countries were successful. The Italian 1adzhnini won the first place in swimming with a result of 4min and 30.3 sec. The Dane Helt Jansen won in fencing, and the Pole Shelestovsky - in the Cross Country Track and Field with a result of 14 min and 14.4 sec. These rates are a consequence of increasing the overall level of training of national teams, striving to prove themselves in the fight for the Olympic leadership.