| Date | 11 – 13 August 1936 |
|---|---|
| Status | Olympic |
| Location | Schwimmstadion, Reichssportfeld, Berlin |
| Participants | 21 from 12 countries |
The first sensation of this event happened before one of the potential medalists had even set foot in Germany. Eleanor Holm, the glamorous American who had won this event in Los Angeles, was removed from the US team because of her behavior on the boat bringing her from America. She was accused, amongst other charges, of being blind drunk following a party. Holm was still present in the Olympic swimming stadium, but only covering the Games for a press agency.
Even if Holm had participated, the favorite would still have been the Netherlands’ Rie Mastenbreok, who held the world record. As the competition progressed, it was Mastenbroek’s 16 year old teammate Nida Senff who proved to be the star performer. She set the fastest times in both heats and semi-finals, as Mastenbroek’s more extensive schedule perhaps weighed against her.
The final seemed to have been decided when Senff built up an apparently unassailable lead at halfway, but she made what appeared to be a disastrous error and failed to touch the wall. Rather than risk disqualification, she turned round and went back, but dropped from first to sixth. Mastenbroek moved ahead of the pack, but she clipped the lane dividers and lost enough time for Senff to close back on her. With 20 metres left, Senff edged into the lead and held on to win the championship.
| Pos | Number | Competitor | NOC | R1 | SF | Final | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 174 | Nida Senff |  NED | 1:16.6 (1 h1) | 1:17.1 (1 h1) | 1:18.9 (1) | Gold | ||
| 2 | 173 | Rie Mastenbroek | NED | 1:22.0 (2 h3) | 1:19.1 (1 h2) | 1:19.2 (2) | Silver | ||
| 3 | 457 | Alice Bridges |  USA | 1:19.2 (1 h2) | 1:20.4 (3 h2) | 1:19.4 (3) | Bronze | ||
| 4 | 458 | Edith Motridge | USA | 1:21.0 (1 h3) | 1:19.1 (2 h1) | 1:19.6 (4) | |||
| 5 | 91 | Tove Brunnstrøm Madsen |  DEN | 1:20.4 (2 h1) | 1:19.1 (3 h1) | 1:20.4 (5) | |||
| 6 | 139 | Lorna Frampton |  GBR | 1:20.9 (3 h1) | 1:19.6 (2 h2) | 1:20.6 (6) | |||
| 7 | 141 | Phyllis Harding | GBR | 1:22.1 (3 h2) | 1:19.8 (4 h1) | 1:21.5 (7) | |||
| 8 | 172 | Truus Kerkmeester | NED | 1:21.2 (2 h2) | 1:21.3 (4 h2) | – | |||
| 9 | 140 | Audrey Hancock | GBR | 1:23.6 (3 h3) | 1:21.6 (5 h2) | – | |||
| 10 | 506 | Anni Stolte |  GER | 1:23.1 (4 h1) | 1:21.7 (5 h1) | – | |||
| 11 | 22 | Pat Norton |  AUS | 1:22.3 (4 h2) | 1:21.9 (6 h1) | – | |||
| 12 | 92 | Tove Nielsen | DEN | 1:25.3 (4 h3) | 1:22.0 (6 h2) | – | |||
| 13 | 505 | Christel Rupke | GER | 1:23.7 (5 h2) | – | – | |||
| 14 | 112 | Thérèse Blondeau |  FRA | 1:23.8 (6 h2) | – | – | |||
| 15 | 20 | Kitty Mackay | AUS | 1:24.6 (5 h1) | – | – | |||
| 16 | 68 | Mary McConkey |  CAN | 1:25.3 (5 h3) | – | – | |||
| 17 | 409 | Irén Győrffy |  HUN | 1:25.8 (6 h1) | – | – | |||
| 18 | 291 | Roma Wagner |  AUT | 1:28.4 (7 h2) | – | – | |||
| 19 | 69 | Noel Oxenbury | CAN | 1:28.9 (7 h1) | – | – | |||
| 20 | 53 | Sieglinde Lenk |  BRA | 1:32.0 (8 h1) | – | – | |||
| 21 | 79 | Yang Xiuqiong |  CHN | 1:36.4 (6 h3) | – | – | |||
| 66 | Irene Pirie-Milton | CAN | – (DNS h2) | – | – |
| Date | 11 August 1936 — 8:00 |
|---|---|
| Format | Top four in each heat advanced to the semi-finals. |
| Pos | Lane | Competitor | NOC | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | Nida Senff | NED | 1:16.6 | ||
| 2 | 1 | Alice Bridges | USA | 1:19.2 | ||
| 3 | 6 | Tove Brunnstrøm Madsen | DEN | 1:20.4 | ||
| 4 | 3 | Lorna Frampton | GBR | 1:20.9 | ||
| 5 | 5 | Edith Motridge | USA | 1:21.0 | ||
| 6 | 4 | Truus Kerkmeester | NED | 1:21.2 | ||
| 7 | 4 | Rie Mastenbroek | NED | 1:22.0 | ||
| 8 | 3 | Phyllis Harding | GBR | 1:22.1 | ||
| 9 | 8 | Pat Norton | AUS | 1:22.3 | ||
| 10 | 8 | Anni Stolte | GER | 1:23.1 | ||
| 11 | 6 | Audrey Hancock | GBR | 1:23.6 | ||
| 12 | 5 | Christel Rupke | GER | 1:23.7 | ||
| 13 | 7 | Thérèse Blondeau | FRA | 1:23.8 | ||
| 14 | 5 | Kitty Mackay | AUS | 1:24.6 | ||
| =15 | 3 | Tove Nielsen | DEN | 1:25.3 | ||
| =15 | 7 | Mary McConkey | CAN | 1:25.3 | ||
| 17 | 7 | Irén Győrffy | HUN | 1:25.8 | ||
| 18 | 6 | Roma Wagner | AUT | 1:28.4 | ||
| 19 | 1 | Noel Oxenbury | CAN | 1:28.9 | ||
| 20 | 4 | Sieglinde Lenk | BRA | 1:32.0 | ||
| 21 | 1 | Yang Xiuqiong | CHN | 1:36.4 | ||
| 2 | Irene Pirie-Milton | CAN | – |
| Pos | Lane | Competitor | NOC | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | Nida Senff | NED | 1:16.6 | ||
| 2 | 6 | Tove Brunnstrøm Madsen | DEN | 1:20.4 | ||
| 3 | 3 | Lorna Frampton | GBR | 1:20.9 | ||
| 4 | 8 | Anni Stolte | GER | 1:23.1 | ||
| 5 | 5 | Kitty Mackay | AUS | 1:24.6 | ||
| 6 | 7 | Irén Győrffy | HUN | 1:25.8 | ||
| 7 | 1 | Noel Oxenbury | CAN | 1:28.9 | ||
| 8 | 4 | Sieglinde Lenk | BRA | 1:32.0 |
| Pos | Lane | Competitor | NOC | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Alice Bridges | USA | 1:19.2 | ||
| 2 | 4 | Truus Kerkmeester | NED | 1:21.2 | ||
| 3 | 3 | Phyllis Harding | GBR | 1:22.1 | ||
| 4 | 8 | Pat Norton | AUS | 1:22.3 | ||
| 5 | 5 | Christel Rupke | GER | 1:23.7 | ||
| 6 | 7 | Thérèse Blondeau | FRA | 1:23.8 | ||
| 7 | 6 | Roma Wagner | AUT | 1:28.4 | ||
| 2 | Irene Pirie-Milton | CAN | – |
| Pos | Lane | Competitor | NOC | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | Edith Motridge | USA | 1:21.0 | ||
| 2 | 4 | Rie Mastenbroek | NED | 1:22.0 | ||
| 3 | 6 | Audrey Hancock | GBR | 1:23.6 | ||
| 4 | 3 | Tove Nielsen | DEN | 1:25.3 | ||
| 5 | 7 | Mary McConkey | CAN | 1:25.3 | ||
| 6 | 1 | Yang Xiuqiong | CHN | 1:36.4 |
| Date | 12 August 1936 — 8:00 |
|---|---|
| Format | Top three in each heat and the fastest fourth-place advanced to the final. |
| Pos | Lane | Competitor | NOC | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | Nida Senff | NED | 1:17.1 | ||
| =2 | 1 | Edith Motridge | USA | 1:19.1 | ||
| =2 | 2 | Tove Brunnstrøm Madsen | DEN | 1:19.1 | ||
| =2 | 3 | Rie Mastenbroek | NED | 1:19.1 | ||
| 5 | 1 | Lorna Frampton | GBR | 1:19.6 | ||
| 6 | 6 | Phyllis Harding | GBR | 1:19.8 | ||
| 7 | 4 | Alice Bridges | USA | 1:20.4 | ||
| 8 | 2 | Truus Kerkmeester | NED | 1:21.3 | ||
| 9 | 6 | Audrey Hancock | GBR | 1:21.6 | ||
| 10 | 3 | Anni Stolte | GER | 1:21.7 | ||
| 11 | 5 | Pat Norton | AUS | 1:21.9 | ||
| 12 | 5 | Tove Nielsen | DEN | 1:22.0 |
| Pos | Lane | Competitor | NOC | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | Nida Senff | NED | 1:17.1 | ||
| 2 | 1 | Edith Motridge | USA | 1:19.1 | ||
| 3 | 2 | Tove Brunnstrøm Madsen | DEN | 1:19.1 | ||
| 4 | 6 | Phyllis Harding | GBR | 1:19.8 | ||
| 5 | 3 | Anni Stolte | GER | 1:21.7 | ||
| 6 | 5 | Pat Norton | AUS | 1:21.9 |
| Pos | Lane | Competitor | NOC | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | Rie Mastenbroek | NED | 1:19.1 | ||
| 2 | 1 | Lorna Frampton | GBR | 1:19.6 | ||
| 3 | 4 | Alice Bridges | USA | 1:20.4 | ||
| 4 | 2 | Truus Kerkmeester | NED | 1:21.3 | ||
| 5 | 6 | Audrey Hancock | GBR | 1:21.6 | ||
| 6 | 5 | Tove Nielsen | DEN | 1:22.0 |
| Date | 13 August 1936 — 17:10 |
|---|
| Pos | Lane | Competitor | NOC | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | Nida Senff | NED | 1:18.9 | ||
| 2 | 4 | Rie Mastenbroek | NED | 1:19.2 | ||
| 3 | 6 | Alice Bridges | USA | 1:19.4 | ||
| 4 | 3 | Edith Motridge | USA | 1:19.6 | ||
| 5 | 2 | Tove Brunnstrøm Madsen | DEN | 1:20.4 | ||
| 6 | 7 | Lorna Frampton | GBR | 1:20.6 | ||
| 7 | 1 | Phyllis Harding | GBR | 1:21.5 |
