| | Event type

4 × 100 metres Freestyle Relay, Women

Date	30 July – 1 August 1952
Status	Olympic
Location	Helsingin Uimastadion, Helsinki
Participants	53 from 13 countries

Hungary had broken the Danish team’s long standing world record earlier in 1952 although this record would not be ratified until after the Olympics. The Hungarians lived up to their status as favourites by dominating their opponents. The three members who raced in the individual event actually improved their times for the relay and the Hungarians finished well clear and three seconds inside their own world record. The silver medal went to Holland which finished ahead of the USA.

Pos	Number	Competitors	NOC	R1	Final
1	–	Hungary	HUN	4:32.5 (1 h1)	4:24.4 (1)	Gold
	581	Ilona Novák		–	–
	579	Judit Temes		–	–
	583	Éva Novák		–	–
	580	Kató Szőke		–	–
	587	Mária Littomeritzky		–	–
	584	Éva Székely DNS		–	–
2	–	Netherlands	NED	4:30.6 (2 h2)	4:29.0 (2)	Silver
	168	Marie-Louise Linssen-Vaessen		–	–
	159	Koosje van Voorn		–	–
	158	Hannie Termeulen		–	–
	–	Irma Heijting-Schuhmacher		–	–
	161	Ria van der Horst DNS		–	–
	162	Geertje Wielema DNS		–	–
3	–	United States	USA	4:28.1 (1 h2)	4:30.1 (3)	Bronze
	–	Jackie LaVine		–	–
	633	Marilee Stepan		–	–
	–	Jody Alderson		–	–
	641	Evelyn Kawamoto		–	–
	632	Judy Roberts DNS		–	–
	649	Sharon Geary DNS		–	–
4	–	Denmark	DEN	4:36.4 (3 h1)	4:36.2 (4)
	554	Rita Larsen		–	–
	547	Mette Ove Petersen		–	–
	548	Greta Andersen		–	–
	549	Ragnhild Hveger		–	–
	550	Gerda Olsen DNS		–	–
5	–	Great Britain	GBR	4:36.0 (2 h1)	4:37.8 (5)
	227	Margaret Linton		–	–
	–	Jean Botham		–	–
	212	Angela Barnwell		–	–
	214	Lillian Preece		–	–
	–	Daphne Wilkinson DNS		–	–
	221	Grace Wood DNS		–	–
6	–	Sweden	SWE	4:38.1 (3 h2)	4:39.0 (6)
	481	Marianne Lundquist		–	–
	487	Anita Andersson		–	–
	480	Maud Berglund		–	–
	482	Ingegärd Fredin		–	–
	484	Ulla-Britt Eklund DNS		–	–
	483	Ingegerd Lindfeldt DNS		–	–
7	–	Unified Team of Germany	GER	4:42.7 (4 h1)	4:40.3 (7)
	506	Elisabeth Rechlin		–	–
	507	Wera Schäferkordt		–	–
	513	Kati Jansen		–	–
	511	Gisela Jacob-Arendt		–	–
	510	Ursula Happe DNS		–	–
	512	Ruth Schleibinger DNS		–	–
8	–	France	FRA	4:42.0 (4 h2)	4:44.1 (8)
	442	Gaby Tanguy		–	–
	447	Maryse Morandini		–	–
	441	Ginette Jany		–	–
	440	Josette Arène		–	–
	444	Colette Thomas DNS		–	–
	448	Odile Vouaux DNS		–	–
9	–	Italy	ITA	4:52.6 (5 h1)	–
	249	Maria Nardi		–	–
	251	Fides Benini		–	–
	250	Eva Belaise		–	–
	248	Romana Calligaris		–	–
	252	Carla Campregher DNS		–	–
10	–	Japan	JPN	4:54.0 (6 h1)	–
	297	Yasuko Oishi		–	–
	291	Fumiko Sakaguchi		–	–
	295	Misako Tamura		–	–
	290	Sadako Yamashita		–	–
	292	Shizue Miyabe DNS		–	–
=11	–	Belgium	BEL	4:54.8 (6 h2)	–
	59	Nicole Guilini		–	–
	58	Huguette Peeters		–	–
	61	Irène Possemiers		–	–
	56	Sybille Verckist		–	–
	60	Maria Nijssen DNS		–	–
=11	–	Canada	CAN	4:54.8 (5 h2)	–
	324	Irene Strong		–	–
	325	Lenora Fisher		–	–
	322	Gladys Priestley		–	–
	323	Kay McNamee		–	–
13	–	Finland	FIN	4:56.0 (7 h2)	–
	528	Raili Riuttala		–	–
	527	Ritva Koivula		–	–
	529	Anneli Haaranen		–	–
	526	Ritva Järvinen		–	–
	532	Marita Hagelin DNS		–	–
	531	Eva Korhonen DNS		–	–

Round One

Date	30 July 1952 — 10:00
Format	Fastest 8 advanced to the final round.

Pos	Lane	Team	NOC	Time
1	7	United States	USA	4:28.1	QOR
2	1	Netherlands	NED	4:30.6	Q
3	5	Hungary	HUN	4:32.5	Q
4	2	Great Britain	GBR	4:36.0	Q
5	4	Denmark	DEN	4:36.4	Q
6	3	Sweden	SWE	4:38.1	Q
7	5	France	FRA	4:42.0	Q
8	3	Unified Team of Germany	GER	4:42.7	Q
9	6	Italy	ITA	4:52.6
10	1	Japan	JPN	4:54.0
=11	4	Canada	CAN	4:54.8
=11	6	Belgium	BEL	4:54.8
13	2	Finland	FIN	4:56.0

Heat #1

Pos	Lane	Competitors	NOC	Time	Split	Exchange
1	5	Hungary	HUN	4:32.5	– (–)	– (–)	Q
Lead-off	587	Mária Littomeritzky		–	1:09.1 (1)	– (–)
2nd Leg	583	Éva Novák		–	1:06.2 (1)	2:15.3 (1)
3rd Leg	–	Ilona Novák		–	1:08.5 (2)	3:23.8 (1)
Anchor	580	Kató Szőke		–	1:08.7 (2)	– (–)
2	2	Great Britain	GBR	4:36.0	– (–)	– (–)	Q
Lead-off	227	Margaret Linton		–	1:09.5 (2)	– (–)
2nd Leg	213	Jean Botham		–	1:09.0 (2)	2:18.5 (2)
3rd Leg	212	Angela Barnwell		–	1:08.3 (1)	3:26.8 (2)
Anchor	214	Lillian Preece		–	1:09.2 (=3)	– (–)
3	4	Denmark	DEN	4:36.4	– (–)	– (–)	Q
Lead-off	554	Rita Larsen		–	1:11.0 (3)	– (–)
2nd Leg	547	Mette Ove Petersen		–	1:09.1 (3)	2:20.1 (3)
3rd Leg	548	Greta Andersen		–	1:10.1 (4)	3:30.2 (3)
Anchor	549	Ragnhild Hveger		–	1:06.2 (1)	– (–)
4	3	Unified Team of Germany	GER	4:42.7	– (–)	– (–)	Q
Lead-off	507	Wera Schäferkordt		–	1:12.1 (4)	– (–)
2nd Leg	513	Kati Jansen		–	1:12.6 (5)	2:24.7 (4)
3rd Leg	506	Elisabeth Rechlin		–	1:08.8 (3)	3:33.5 (4)
Anchor	511	Gisela Jacob-Arendt		–	1:09.2 (=3)	– (–)
5	6	Italy	ITA	4:52.6	– (–)	– (–)
Lead-off	249	Maria Nardi		–	1:14.0 (5)	– (–)
2nd Leg	251	Fides Benini		–	1:11.2 (4)	2:25.2 (5)
3rd Leg	250	Eva Belaise		–	1:15.2 (6)	3:40.4 (5)
Anchor	248	Romana Calligaris		–	1:12.2 (5)	– (–)
6	1	Japan	JPN	4:54.0	– (–)	– (–)
Lead-off	297	Yasuko Oishi		–	1:14.1 (6)	– (–)
2nd Leg	291	Fumiko Sakaguchi		–	1:13.8 (6)	2:27.9 (6)
3rd Leg	295	Misako Tamura		–	1:13.7 (5)	3:41.6 (6)
Anchor	290	Sadako Yamashita		–	1:12.4 (6)	– (–)

Heat #2

Pos	Lane	Competitors	NOC	Time	Split	Exchange
1	7	United States	USA	4:28.1	– (–)	– (–)	QOR
Lead-off	640	Evelyn Kawamoto		–	1:08.3 (2)	– (–)
2nd Leg	648	Jackie LaVine		–	1:06.7 (1)	2:15.0 (1)
3rd Leg	633	Marilee Stepan		–	1:07.0 (1)	3:22.0 (1)
Anchor	631	Jody Alderson		–	1:06.1 (1)	– (–)
2	1	Netherlands	NED	4:30.6	– (–)	– (–)	Q
Lead-off	168	Marie-Louise Linssen-Vaessen		–	1:07.5 (1)	– (–)
2nd Leg	159	Koosje van Voorn		–	1:08.3 (2)	2:15.8 (2)
3rd Leg	158	Hannie Termeulen		–	1:07.2 (2)	3:23.0 (2)
Anchor	157	Irma Heijting-Schuhmacher		–	1:07.6 (3)	– (–)
3	3	Sweden	SWE	4:38.1	– (–)	– (–)	Q
Lead-off	481	Marianne Lundquist		–	1:10.3 (4)	– (–)
2nd Leg	487	Anita Andersson		–	1:10.6 (3)	2:20.9 (4)
3rd Leg	480	Maud Berglund		–	1:09.7 (3)	3:30.6 (3)
Anchor	482	Ingegärd Fredin		–	1:07.5 (2)	– (–)
4	5	France	FRA	4:42.0	– (–)	– (–)	Q
Lead-off	440	Josette Arène		–	1:08.6 (3)	– (–)
2nd Leg	447	Maryse Morandini		–	1:11.9 (4)	2:20.5 (3)
3rd Leg	442	Gaby Tanguy		–	1:11.2 (4)	3:31.7 (4)
Anchor	441	Ginette Jany		–	1:10.3 (4)	– (–)
5	4	Canada	CAN	4:54.8	– (–)	– (–)
Lead-off	324	Irene Strong		–	1:14.2 (7)	– (–)
2nd Leg	325	Lenora Fisher		–	1:17.3 (7)	2:31.5 (7)
3rd Leg	322	Gladys Priestley		–	1:11.8 (5)	3:43.3 (6)
Anchor	323	Kay McNamee		–	1:11.5 (6)	– (–)
6	6	Belgium	BEL	4:54.8	– (–)	– (–)
Lead-off	59	Nicole Guilini		–	1:13.6 (=5)	– (–)
2nd Leg	58	Huguette Peeters		–	1:15.2 (5)	2:28.8 (5)
3rd Leg	61	Irène Possemiers		–	1:12.8 (6)	3:41.6 (5)
Anchor	56	Sybille Verckist		–	1:13.2 (7)	– (–)
7	2	Finland	FIN	4:56.0	– (–)	– (–)
Lead-off	528	Raili Riuttala		–	1:13.6 (=5)	– (–)
2nd Leg	527	Ritva Koivula		–	1:16.5 (6)	2:30.1 (6)
3rd Leg	529	Anneli Haaranen		–	1:15.1 (7)	3:45.2 (7)
Anchor	526	Ritva Järvinen		–	1:10.8 (5)	– (–)

Final

Date	1 August 1952 — 17:00

Pos	Competitors	NOC	Time	Split	Exchange
1	Hungary	HUN	4:24.4	– (–)	– (–)	WR
Lead-off	Ilona Novák		–	1:07.8 (1)	– (–)
2nd Leg	Judit Temes		–	1:05.8 (1)	2:13.6 (1)
3rd Leg	Éva Novák		–	1:05.1 (1)	3:18.7 (1)
Anchor	Kató Szőke		–	1:05.7 (1)	– (–)
2	Netherlands	NED	4:29.0	– (–)	– (–)
Lead-off	Marie-Louise Linssen-Vaessen		–	1:08.1 (=2)	– (–)
2nd Leg	Koosje van Voorn		–	1:07.8 (3)	2:15.9 (3)
3rd Leg	Hannie Termeulen		–	1:06.5 (3)	3:22.4 (3)
Anchor	Irma Heijting-Schuhmacher		–	1:06.6 (2)	– (–)
3	United States	USA	4:30.1	– (–)	– (–)
Lead-off	Jackie LaVine		–	1:08.1 (=2)	– (–)
2nd Leg	Marilee Stepan		–	1:07.7 (2)	2:15.8 (2)
3rd Leg	Jody Alderson		–	1:06.3 (2)	3:22.1 (2)
Anchor	Evelyn Kawamoto		–	1:08.0 (5)	– (–)
4	Denmark	DEN	4:36.2	– (–)	– (–)
Lead-off	Rita Larsen		–	1:10.1 (=5)	– (–)
2nd Leg	Mette Ove Petersen		–	1:08.6 (4)	2:18.7 (4)
3rd Leg	Greta Andersen		–	1:10.5 (7)	3:29.2 (5)
Anchor	Ragnhild Hveger		–	1:07.0 (3)	– (–)
5	Great Britain	GBR	4:37.8	– (–)	– (–)
Lead-off	Margaret Linton		–	1:10.1 (=5)	– (–)
2nd Leg	Jean Botham		–	1:09.7 (5)	2:19.8 (6)
3rd Leg	Angela Barnwell		–	1:07.8 (4)	3:27.6 (4)
Anchor	Lillian Preece		–	1:10.2 (7)	– (–)
6	Sweden	SWE	4:39.0	– (–)	– (–)
Lead-off	Marianne Lundquist		–	1:10.7 (7)	– (–)
2nd Leg	Anita Andersson		–	1:10.2 (7)	2:20.9 (7)
3rd Leg	Maud Berglund		–	1:10.3 (6)	3:31.2 (6)
Anchor	Ingegärd Fredin		–	1:07.8 (4)	– (–)
7	Unified Team of Germany	GER	4:40.3	– (–)	– (–)
Lead-off	Elisabeth Rechlin		–	1:09.2 (4)	– (–)
2nd Leg	Wera Schäferkordt		–	1:10.0 (6)	2:19.2 (5)
3rd Leg	Kati Jansen		–	1:12.4 (8)	3:31.6 (7)
Anchor	Gisela Jacob-Arendt		–	1:08.7 (6)	– (–)
8	France	FRA	4:44.1	– (–)	– (–)
Lead-off	Gaby Tanguy		–	1:11.2 (8)	– (–)
2nd Leg	Maryse Morandini		–	1:12.5 (8)	2:23.7 (8)
3rd Leg	Ginette Jany		–	1:09.8 (5)	3:33.5 (8)
Anchor	Josette Arène		–	1:10.6 (8)	– (–)