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| Event type

100 metres Freestyle, Women

Date30 July – 2 August 1948
StatusOlympic
LocationWembley Arena, Wembley, London
Participants34 from 14 countries

Denmark had emerged as a force in women’s swimming over the previous decade and, although Ragnhild Hveger had retired, they had three strong contenders for gold including European champion Fritze Carstensen. The preliminaries saw the youngest of the Danes, Greta Andersen, and Ann Curtis of the USA provide the most impressive performances and they would battle for gold in the final. Although Curtis, who was better over longer distances, kept close to Andersen throughout the Danish swimmer maintained a slender lead and became her nation’s first ever gold medallist in swimming. Andersen later turned professional and became a specialist English Channel swimmer. She set a record for the England to France swim in 1964.

PosSwimmerNOCR1SFFinal
1Greta AndersenDEN1:07.0 (2 h4)1:05.9 (1 h1)1:06.3 (1)Gold
2Ann CurtisUSA1:06.9 (1 h4)1:07.6 (1 h2)1:06.5 (2)Silver
3Marie-Louise VaessenNED1:07.5 (2 h2)1:08.4 (2 h2)1:07.6 (3)Bronze
4Karen Margrethe HarupDEN1:08.4 (2 h3)1:08.7 (5 h2)1:08.1 (4)
5Ingegärd FredinSWE1:08.1 (1 h5)1:08.4 (3 h2)1:08.4 (5)
6Irma SchuhmacherNED1:07.9 (1 h1)1:07.7 (3 h1)1:08.4 (6)
7Elisabeth AhlgrenSWE1:08.7 (1 h3)1:08.6 (4 h2)1:08.8 (7)
8Fritze CarstensenDEN1:06.5 (1 h2)1:07.5 (2 h1)1:09.1 (8)
4 h1 r2/3Marie CorridonUSA1:08.4 (2 h5)1:08.9 (4 h1)
5 h1 r2/3Marianne LundquistSWE1:09.0 (3 h4)1:09.5 (5 h1)
6 h1 r2/3Marjorie McQuadeAUS1:08.5 (3 h3)1:09.6 (6 h1)
6 h2 r2/3Lillian PreeceGBR1:09.0 (3 h5)1:09.3 (6 h2)
7 h1 r2/3Pat NielsenGBR1:09.4 (5 h3)1:09.6 (7 h1)
7 h2 r2/3Piedade Coutinho-TavaresBRA1:08.6 (4 h3)1:09.5 (7 h2)
8 h1 r2/3Judit TemesHUN1:08.3 (2 h1)1:09.7 (8 h1)
8 h2 r2/3Brenda HelserUSA1:09.0 (3 h1)1:10.0 (8 h2)
3 h2 r1/3Denise SpencerAUS1:10.0 (3 h2)
4 h1 r1/3Josette ArèneFRA1:09.7 (4 h1)
4 h2 r1/3Eleonora SchmittBRA1:10.8 (4 h2)
4 h4 r1/3Margaret WellingtonGBR1:09.8 (4 h4)
4 h5 r1/3Hannie TermeulenNED1:09.8 (4 h5)
5 h1 r1/3Eileen HoltARG1:12.0 (5 h1)
5 h2 r1/3Mária LittomeritzkyHUN1:13.0 (5 h2)
5 h4 r1/3Kay McNameeCAN1:13.3 (5 h4)
5 h5 r1/3Fernande CaroenBEL1:12.1 (5 h5)
6 h1 r1/3Magda BrüggemannMEX1:12.5 (6 h1)
6 h2 r1/3Adriana CamelliARG1:16.5 (6 h2)
6 h3 r1/3Ginette JanyFRA1:12.1 (6 h3)
6 h4 r1/3Zsuzsa NádorHUN1:15.8 (6 h4)
6 h5 r1/3Irene StrongCAN1:13.5 (6 h5)
7 h1 r1/3Marianne ErismannSUI1:19.9 (7 h1)
7 h3 r1/3Enriqueta DuarteARG1:14.9 (7 h3)
7 h4 r1/3Maria da CostaBRA1:16.0 (7 h4)
7 h5 r1/3Gisèle VallereyFRA1:14.0 (7 h5)
DNSVivian KingCAN– (DNS h2)

Round One (30 July 1948 — 19:00)

Top two in each heat and the next six fastest advanced to the semi-finals.

Heat One

PosLaneSwimmerNOCTime
15Irma SchuhmacherNED1:07.9Q
26Judit TemesHUN1:08.3Q
31Brenda HelserUSA1:09.0q
43Josette ArèneFRA1:09.7
54Eileen HoltARG1:12.0
67Magda BrüggemannMEX1:12.5
72Marianne ErismannSUI1:19.9

Heat Two

PosLaneSwimmerNOCTime
16Fritze CarstensenDEN1:06.5Q
23Marie-Louise VaessenNED1:07.5Q
35Denise SpencerAUS1:10.0
47Eleonora SchmittBRA1:10.8
51Mária LittomeritzkyHUN1:13.0
62Adriana CamelliARG1:16.5
DNS4Vivian KingCAN

Heat Three

PosLaneSwimmerNOCTime
14Elisabeth AhlgrenSWE1:08.7Q1
25Karen Margrethe HarupDEN1:08.4Q
32Marjorie McQuadeAUS1:08.5q
43Piedade Coutinho-TavaresBRA1:08.6q
56Pat NielsenGBR1:09.4q
67Ginette JanyFRA1:12.1
71Enriqueta DuarteARG1:14.9

Heat Four

PosLaneSwimmerNOCTime
15Ann CurtisUSA1:06.9Q
24Greta AndersenDEN1:07.0Q
37Marianne LundquistSWE1:09.0q
42Margaret WellingtonGBR1:09.8
56Kay McNameeCAN1:13.3
63Zsuzsa NádorHUN1:15.8
71Maria da CostaBRA1:16.0

Heat Five

PosLaneSwimmerNOCTime
14Ingegärd FredinSWE1:08.1Q
27Marie CorridonUSA1:08.4Q
32Lillian PreeceGBR1:09.0q
43Hannie TermeulenNED1:09.8
51Fernande CaroenBEL1:12.1
66Irene StrongCAN1:13.5
75Gisèle VallereyFRA1:14.0

Semi-Finals (31 July 1948 — 19:00)

Top two in each heat and the next four fastest advanced to the final.

Heat One

PosLaneSwimmerNOCTime
14Greta AndersenDEN1:05.9QOR
25Fritze CarstensenDEN1:07.5Q
36Irma SchuhmacherNED1:07.7q
47Marie CorridonUSA1:08.9
58Marianne LundquistSWE1:09.5
62Marjorie McQuadeAUS1:09.6
71Pat NielsenGBR1:09.62
83Judit TemesHUN1:09.7

Heat Two

PosLaneSwimmerNOCTime
15Ann CurtisUSA1:07.6Q
24Marie-Louise VaessenNED1:08.4Q
36Ingegärd FredinSWE1:08.4q
47Elisabeth AhlgrenSWE1:08.6q
53Karen Margrethe HarupDEN1:08.7q
61Lillian PreeceGBR1:09.3
72Piedade Coutinho-TavaresBRA1:09.5
88Brenda HelserUSA1:10.0

Final (2 August 1948 — 19:00)

PosLaneSwimmerNOCTime
15Greta AndersenDEN1:06.3
26Ann CurtisUSA1:06.5
37Marie-Louise VaessenNED1:07.6
41Karen Margrethe HarupDEN1:08.1
52Ingegärd FredinSWE1:08.4
63Irma SchuhmacherNED1:08.4
78Elisabeth AhlgrenSWE1:08.8
84Fritze CarstensenDEN1:09.1