Wood represented Australia in the single scull event at the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki, where he was honoured by being selected to carry the Australian flag at the opening ceremony. On the journey to Finland, Wood stopped in England and repeated his victory at the Henley Royal Regatta in the Diamond Challenge Sculls, beating Tony Fox in the final. Wood was a favourite to win the single scull at the Olympics, but lost the final by 1.7 seconds to Yuriy Tyukalov. Although he never offered it as an excuse, as a child, Wood had injured his arm which occasionally caused him distress while rowing including during the summer of 1952. This may have affected his performance at the games, but Wood also faced far stiffer competition than in the 1948 games, which were held shortly after the Second World War, and his main rival Tyukalov would prove to be one of the best oarsmen of his generation.