| | Event type
200 metres Breaststroke, Women
| Date | 8 – 11 August 1936 |
|---|---|
| Status | Olympic |
| Location | Schwimmstadion, Reichssportfeld, Berlin |
| Participants | 23 from 12 countries |
Hideko Maehata of Japan entered the Olympic Games as a strong favourite to become the first Asian woman to claim an Olympic title. She had held the world record since 1933. Maehata was severely challenged in the final by a fourteen year old German by the name of Martha Geneger. For 150m the two women fought stroke-for-stroke for the lead but the superior stamina of the Japanese pulled her through for the victory. Inge Sørensen of Denmark, the bronze medallist, was twelve years and 24 days old and the youngest Olympic medallist in an individual event.
| Pos | Swimmer | NOC | R1 | SF | Final | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hideko Maehata |  JPN | 3:01.9 (1 h3) | 3:03.1 (1 h1) | 3:03.6 (1) | Gold | ||
| 2 | Martha Genenger |  GER | 3:02.9 (1 h2) | 3:02.8 (1 h2) | 3:04.2 (2) | Silver | ||
| 3 | Inge Sørensen |  DEN | 3:06.7 (1 h1) | 3:06.0 (2 h1) | 3:07.8 (3) | Bronze | ||
| =4 | Hanni Hölzner | GER | 3:11.0 (4 h1) | 3:08.8 (3 h1) | 3:09.5 (=4) | |||
| =4 | Jopie Waalberg |  NED | 3:10.4 (3 h1) | 3:09.7 (4 h1) | 3:09.5 (=4) | |||
| 6 | Doris Storey |  GBR | 3:10.8 (2 h4) | 3:09.8 (3 h2) | 3:09.7 (6) | |||
| 7 | Jenny Kastein | NED | 3:07.8 (2 h2) | 3:09.2 (2 h2) | 3:12.8 (7) | |||
| 4 h2 r2/3 | Kerstin Isberg |  SWE | 3:08.7 (2 h1) | 3:11.4 (4 h2) | – | |||
| 5 h1 r2/3 | Trude Wollschläger | GER | 3:08.5 (1 h4) | 3:10.3 (5 h1) | – | |||
| 5 h2 r2/3 | Valborg Christensen | DEN | 3:12.0 (2 h3) | 3:14.1 (5 h2) | – | |||
| 6 h1 r2/3 | Peggy Gomm | GBR | 3:15.7 (3 h3) | 3:15.8 (6 h1) | – | |||
| 6 h2 r2/3 | Unoko Tsuboi | JPN | 3:15.0 (3 h2) | 3:18.4 (6 h2) | – | |||
| 7 h1 r2/3 | Maria Lenk |  BRA | 3:17.2 (3 h4) | 3:17.7 (7 h1) | – | |||
| 7 h2 r2/3 | Dorothy Schiller |  USA | 3:17.4 (5 h1) | 3:18.5 (7 h2) | – | |||
| 4 h2 r1/3 | Anja Lappalainen |  FIN | 3:19.1 (4 h2) | – | – | |||
| 4 h3 r1/3 | Iris Cummings | USA | 3:21.9 (4 h3) | – | – | |||
| 4 h4 r1/3 | Edel Nielsen | DEN | 3:21.3 (4 h4) | – | – | |||
| 5 h2 r1/3 | Anne Govednik | USA | 3:25.3 (5 h2) | – | – | |||
| 5 h3 r1/3 | Eliška Boubelová |  TCH | 3:25.8 (5 h3) | – | – | |||
| 5 h4 r1/3 | Jo Stroomberg | NED | 3:22.5 (5 h4) | – | – | |||
| 6 h1 r1/3 | Vera Kingston | GBR | 3:21.7 (6 h1) | – | – | |||
| 6 h3 r1/3 | Tenny Wyss |  SUI | 3:31.3 (6 h3) | – | – | |||
| 7 h1 r1/3 | Joan Langdon |  CAN | 3:24.3 (7 h1) | – | – | |||
| Elfriede Freudenreich |  AUT | – (DNS h2) | – | – | ||||
| Josefine Steiner | AUT | – (DNS h4) | – | – | ||||
| Dorothea Dickinson | USA | – | – | – |
Round One (8 August 1936 — 10:00)
Top three in each heat and the next two fastest advanced to the semi-finals.
Heat One
| Pos | Lane | Swimmer | NOC | Time | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | Inge Sørensen | DEN | 3:06.7 | |||
| 2 | 6 | Kerstin Isberg | SWE | 3:08.7 | |||
| 3 | 1 | Jopie Waalberg | NED | 3:10.4 | |||
| 4 | 2 | Hanni Hölzner | GER | 3:11.0 | |||
| 5 | 3 | Dorothy Schiller | USA | 3:17.4 | |||
| 6 | 4 | Vera Kingston | GBR | 3:21.7 | |||
| 7 | 7 | Joan Langdon | CAN | 3:24.3 |
Heat Two
| Pos | Lane | Swimmer | NOC | Time | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | Martha Genenger | GER | 3:02.9 | |||
| 2 | 5 | Jenny Kastein | NED | 3:07.8 | |||
| 3 | 3 | Unoko Tsuboi | JPN | 3:15.0 | |||
| 4 | 1 | Anja Lappalainen | FIN | 3:19.1 | |||
| 5 | 2 | Anne Govednik | USA | 3:25.3 | |||
| 6 | Elfriede Freudenreich | AUT | – |
Heat Three
| Pos | Lane | Swimmer | NOC | Time | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | Hideko Maehata | JPN | 3:01.9 | |||
| 2 | 6 | Valborg Christensen | DEN | 3:12.0 | |||
| 3 | 1 | Peggy Gomm | GBR | 3:15.7 | |||
| 4 | 2 | Iris Cummings | USA | 3:21.9 | |||
| 5 | 4 | Eliška Boubelová | TCH | 3:25.8 | |||
| 6 | 5 | Tenny Wyss | SUI | 3:31.3 |
Heat Four
| Pos | Lane | Swimmer | NOC | Time | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | Trude Wollschläger | GER | 3:08.5 | |||
| 2 | 4 | Doris Storey | GBR | 3:10.8 | |||
| 3 | 5 | Maria Lenk | BRA | 3:17.2 | |||
| 4 | 6 | Edel Nielsen | DEN | 3:21.3 | |||
| 5 | 1 | Jo Stroomberg | NED | 3:22.5 | |||
| 2 | Josefine Steiner | AUT | – |
Semi-Finals (9 August 1936 — 10:00)
Top three in each heat and the fastest fourth-place advanced to the final.
Heat One
| Pos | Lane | Swimmer | NOC | Time | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 7 | Hideko Maehata | JPN | 3:03.1 | |||
| 2 | 5 | Inge Sørensen | DEN | 3:06.0 | |||
| 3 | 3 | Hanni Hölzner | GER | 3:08.8 | |||
| 4 | 2 | Jopie Waalberg | NED | 3:09.7 | |||
| 5 | 4 | Trude Wollschläger | GER | 3:10.3 | |||
| 6 | 6 | Peggy Gomm | GBR | 3:15.8 | |||
| 7 | 1 | Maria Lenk | BRA | 3:17.7 |
Heat Two
| Pos | Lane | Swimmer | NOC | Time | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 7 | Martha Genenger | GER | 3:02.8 | |||
| 2 | 2 | Jenny Kastein | NED | 3:09.2 | |||
| 3 | 6 | Doris Storey | GBR | 3:09.8 | |||
| 4 | 1 | Kerstin Isberg | SWE | 3:11.4 | |||
| 5 | 5 | Valborg Christensen | DEN | 3:14.1 | |||
| 6 | 3 | Unoko Tsuboi | JPN | 3:18.4 | |||
| 7 | 4 | Dorothy Schiller | USA | 3:18.5 |
Final (11 August 1936 — 15:50)
| Pos | Lane | Swimmer | NOC | Time | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6 | Hideko Maehata | JPN | 3:03.6 | |||
| 2 | 7 | Martha Genenger | GER | 3:04.2 | |||
| 3 | 3 | Inge Sørensen | DEN | 3:07.8 | |||
| =4 | 4 | Hanni Hölzner | GER | 3:09.5 | |||
| =4 | 2 | Jopie Waalberg | NED | 3:09.5 | |||
| 6 | 1 | Doris Storey | GBR | 3:09.7 | |||
| 7 | 5 | Jenny Kastein | NED | 3:12.8 |