200 metres, Women
| Date | 29 – 30 November 1956 |
|---|---|
| Status | Olympic |
| Location | Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne, Victoria |
| Participants | 27 from 12 countries |
In September 1956, Betty Cuthbert broke the world record with a time of 23.2. In the preliminaries she ran the fastest time in both round one and the semi-finals. The final was an easy victory for Cuthbert, the “Golden Girl,” who had won the 100 four days prior. Her winning mark of 23.55 was considered an early version of the auto-timed world record for 200 metres. She would add a third gold medal by anchoring the relay for Australia.
Cuthbert competed at the 1960 Olympics but was injured and not at her best. She later turned to the 400 metres and won the gold medal in that event at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, the first time it was ever contested for women. Cuthbert remains, through 2016, the only person to win Olympic golds in the 100, 200, and 400 metres.
| Pos | Nr | Athlete | NOC | R1 | SF | Final | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 468 | Betty Cuthbert |  AUS | 23.5 (1 h1) | 23.6 (1 h1) | 23.4 (1) | Gold | ||
| 2 | 484 | Christa Stubnick |  GER | 24.5 (1 h3) | 23.9 (2 h1) | 23.7 (2) | Silver | ||
| 3 | 470 | Marlene Mathews | AUS | 24.0 (1 h6) | 24.3 (2 h2) | 23.8 (3) | Bronze | ||
| 4 | 511 | Norma Croker | AUS | 24.9 (2 h3) | 24.3 (3 h1) | 24.0 (4) | |||
| 5 | 486 | June Paul |  GBR | 23.8 (1 h4) | 24.2 (1 h2) | 24.3 (5) | |||
| 6 | 482 | Gisela Köhler | GER | 24.4 (2 h2) | 24.3 (3 h2) | 24.3 (6) | |||
| 4 h1 r2/3 | 518 | Mariya Itkina |  URS | 24.1 (1 h2) | 24.3 (4 h1) | – | |||
| 4 h2 r2/3 | 487 | Heather Armitage | GBR | 24.8 (1 h5) | 24.7 (4 h2) | – | |||
| 5 h1 r2/3 | 513 | Jean Scrivens | GBR | 24.3 (2 h6) | 24.4 (5 h1) | – | |||
| 5 h2 r2/3 | 504 | Mae Faggs |  USA | 24.9 (2 h1) | 24.8 (5 h2) | – | |||
| 6 h1 r2/3 | 500 | Barbara Lerczak |  POL | 24.8 (2 h5) | 25.2 (6 h1) | – | |||
| 6 h2 r2/3 | 519 | Vera Yugova | URS | 24.9 (2 h4) | 24.9 (6 h2) | – | |||
| 3 h1 r1/3 | 473 | Diane Matheson |  CAN | 25.7 (3 h1) | – | – | |||
| 3 h2 r1/3 | 517 | Wilma Rudolph | USA | 24.6 (3 h2) | – | – | |||
| 3 h3 r1/3 | 491 | Giuseppina Leone |  ITA | 25.6 (3 h3) | – | – | |||
| 3 h4 r1/3 | 514 | Letizia Bertoni | ITA | 25.2 (3 h4) | – | – | |||
| 3 h5 r1/3 | 512 | Simone Henry |  FRA | 25.0 (3 h5) | – | – | |||
| 3 h6 r1/3 | 481 | Inge Fuhrmann | GER | 24.7 (3 h6) | – | – | |||
| 4 h1 r1/3 | 502 | Mary Klass |  SGP | 26.3 (4 h1) | – | – | |||
| 4 h2 r1/3 | 515 | Genowefa Minicka | POL | 25.0 (4 h2) | – | – | |||
| 4 h3 r1/3 | 516 | Meredith Ellis | USA | 26.3 (4 h3) | – | – | |||
| 4 h4 r1/3 | 471 | Claudette Masdammer |  GUY | 25.4 (4 h4) | – | – | |||
| 4 h5 r1/3 | 472 | Eleanor Haslam | CAN | 25.3 (4 h5) | – | – | |||
| 4 h6 r1/3 | 480 | Micheline Fluchot | FRA | 24.9 (4 h6) | – | – | |||
| 5 h1 r1/3 | 489 | Maeve Kyle |  IRL | 26.4 (5 h1) | – | – | |||
| 5 h5 r1/3 | 520 | Olga Kosheleva | URS | 25.3 (5 h5) | – | – | |||
| 5 h6 r1/3 | 474 | Maureen Rever | CAN | 26.1 (5 h6) | – | – | |||
| 479 | Catherine Capdevielle | FRA | – (DNS h3) | – | – | ||||
| 493 | Annie Choong |  MAL | – (DNS h2) | – | – | ||||
| 499 | Maria Kusion | POL | – (DNS h4) | – | – |
Round One (29 November 1956 — 15:20)
Top two in each heat advanced to the semi-finals.
Heat One
| Pos | Lane | Athlete | NOC | Time (H) | Time (A) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | Betty Cuthbert | AUS | 23.5 | 23.60 | |||
| 2 | 3 | Mae Faggs | USA | 24.9 | 24.99 | |||
| 3 | 2 | Diane Matheson | CAN | 25.7 | 25.86 | |||
| 4 | 1 | Mary Klass | SGP | 26.3 | 26.37 | |||
| 5 | 5 | Maeve Kyle | IRL | 26.4 | 26.57 |
Heat Two
| Pos | Lane | Athlete | NOC | Time (H) | Time (A) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Mariya Itkina | URS | 24.1 | 24.31 | |||
| 2 | 4 | Gisela Köhler | GER | 24.4 | 24.53 | |||
| 3 | 2 | Wilma Rudolph | USA | 24.6 | 24.83 | |||
| 4 | 3 | Genowefa Minicka | POL | 25.0 | 25.19 | |||
| 5 | Annie Choong | MAL | – | – |
Heat Three
| Pos | Lane | Athlete | NOC | Time (H) | Time (A) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | Christa Stubnick | GER | 24.5 | 24.58 | |||
| 2 | 3 | Norma Croker | AUS | 24.9 | 25.10 | |||
| 3 | 4 | Giuseppina Leone | ITA | 25.6 | 25.77 | |||
| 4 | 2 | Meredith Ellis | USA | 26.3 | 26.46 | |||
| 1 | Catherine Capdevielle | FRA | – | – |
Heat Four
| Pos | Lane | Athlete | NOC | Time (H) | Time (A) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | June Paul | GBR | 23.8 | 24.00 | |||
| 2 | 5 | Vera Yugova | URS | 24.9 | 25.13 | |||
| 3 | 2 | Letizia Bertoni | ITA | 25.2 | 25.33 | |||
| 4 | 1 | Claudette Masdammer | GUY | 25.4 | 25.73 | |||
| 3 | Maria Kusion | POL | – | – |
Heat Five
| Pos | Lane | Athlete | NOC | Time (H) | Time (A) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | Heather Armitage | GBR | 24.8 | 24.87 | |||
| 2 | 4 | Barbara Lerczak | POL | 24.8 | 24.99 | |||
| 3 | 3 | Simone Henry | FRA | 25.0 | 25.13 | |||
| 4 | 2 | Eleanor Haslam | CAN | 25.3 | 25.27 | |||
| 5 | 1 | Olga Kosheleva | URS | 25.3 | 25.48 |
Heat Six
| Pos | Lane | Athlete | NOC | Time (H) | Time (A) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | Marlene Mathews | AUS | 24.0 | 24.16 | |||
| 2 | 5 | Jean Scrivens | GBR | 24.3 | 24.27 | |||
| 3 | 4 | Inge Fuhrmann | GER | 24.7 | 25.05 | |||
| 4 | 3 | Micheline Fluchot | FRA | 24.9 | 25.12 | |||
| 5 | 1 | Maureen Rever | CAN | 26.1 | 26.17 |
Semi-Finals (29 November 1956 — 17:50)
Top three in each heat advanced to the final.
Heat One
| Pos | Nr | Athlete | NOC | Time (H) | Time (A) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 468 | Betty Cuthbert | AUS | 23.6 | 23.75 | |||
| 2 | 484 | Christa Stubnick | GER | 23.9 | 24.17 | |||
| 3 | 511 | Norma Croker | AUS | 24.3 | 24.41 | |||
| 4 | 518 | Mariya Itkina | URS | 24.3 | 24.42 | |||
| 5 | 513 | Jean Scrivens | GBR | 24.4 | 24.66 | |||
| 6 | 500 | Barbara Lerczak | POL | 25.2 | 25.12 |
Heat Two
| Pos | Nr | Athlete | NOC | Time (H) | Time (A) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 486 | June Paul | GBR | 24.2 | 24.36 | |||
| 2 | 470 | Marlene Mathews | AUS | 24.3 | 24.42 | |||
| 3 | 482 | Gisela Köhler | GER | 24.3 | 24.48 | |||
| 4 | 487 | Heather Armitage | GBR | 24.7 | 24.78 | |||
| 5 | 504 | Mae Faggs | USA | 24.8 | 25.06 | |||
| 6 | 519 | Vera Yugova | URS | 24.9 | 25.12 |
Final (30 November 1956 — 17:15)
| Pos | Lane | Athlete | NOC | Time (H) | Time (A) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | Betty Cuthbert | AUS | 23.4 | 23.55 | |||
| 2 | 6 | Christa Stubnick | GER | 23.7 | 23.89 | |||
| 3 | 1 | Marlene Mathews | AUS | 23.8 | 24.10 | |||
| 4 | 3 | Norma Croker | AUS | 24.0 | 24.22 | |||
| 5 | 2 | June Paul | GBR | 24.3 | 24.30 | |||
| 6 | 4 | Gisela Köhler | GER | 24.3 | 24.68 |