| | Event type
100 metres, Women
| Date | 31 July – 2 August 1948 |
|---|---|
| Status | Olympic |
| Location | Empire Stadium, Wembley, London |
| Participants | 38 from 21 countries |
The 100 metres was the first of four events in which Fanny Blankers-Koen was entered at the London Olympics. While she was the World Record holder in the 100 yards, many observers considered her to be past her prime. But the Dutchwoman soon silenced her critics, winning the heats and semi-finals with ease. The only contestant who could think of threatening her was home-runner Dorothy Manley. She was originally a high jumper, but was discovered to have more talent for sprinting. Manley had a good start in the final and briefly led until Blankers-Koen took over and won easily. Her time of 11.9 was decent considering the poor track conditions due to the wet weather.
| Pos | Nr | Athlete | NOC | R1 | SF | Final | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 692 | Fanny Blankers-Koen |  NED | 12.0 (1 h1) | 12.0 (1 h1) | 11.9 (1) | Gold | ||
| 2 | 691 | Dorothy Manley |  GBR | 12.1 (1 h6) | 12.4 (1 h2) | 12.2 (2) | Silver | ||
| 3 | 668 | Shirley Strickland |  AUS | 12.4 (1 h2) | 12.4 (2 h1) | 12.2 (3) | Bronze | ||
| 4 | 680 | Viola Myers |  CAN | 12.5 (2 h1) | 12.4 (1 h3) | 12.3est (4) | |||
| 5 | 679 | Pat Jones | CAN | 12.7 (1 h9) | 12.6 (2 h2) | 12.4est (5) | |||
| 6 | 702 | Cynthia Thompson |  JAM | 12.4 (1 h4) | 12.5 (2 h3) | 12.6est (6) | 1 | ||
| 3 h1 r2/3 | 685 | Grethe Lovsø Nielsen |  DEN | 12.6 (1 h3) | 12.7 (3 h1) | – | |||
| 3 h2 r2/3 | 705 | Daphne Robb |  RSA | 12.4 (2 h4) | 12.7 (3 h2) | – | |||
| =3 h3 r2/3 | 684 | Birthe Nielsen | DEN | 12.9 (2 h2) | 12.5 (=3 h3) | – | |||
| =3 h3 r2/3 | 682 | Olga Šicnerová |  TCH | 12.4 (1 h7) | 12.5 (=3 h3) | – | |||
| 4 h1 r2/3 | 689 | Doris Batter | GBR | 12.6 (1 h5) | – (4 h1) | – | |||
| 4 h2 r2/3 | 683 | Bente Bergendorff | DEN | 12.6 (2 h7) | – (4 h2) | – | |||
| 5 h1 r2/3 | 698 | Liliana Tagliaferri |  ITA | 12.8 (1 h8) | – (5 h1) | – | |||
| 5 h2 r2/3 | 694 | Xenia Stad-de Jong | NED | 12.9 (2 h8) | – (5 h2) | – | |||
| 5 h3 r2/3 | 690 | Winnie Jordan | GBR | 12.7 (2 h3) | – (5 h3) | – | |||
| 6 h1 r2/3 | 674 | Phyllis Lightbourn |  BER | 13.0 (2 h6) | – (6 h1) | – | |||
| 6 h2 r2/3 | 701 | Kathleen Russell | JAM | 12.9 (2 h5) | – (6 h2) | – | |||
| 6 h3 r2/3 | 693 | Gré de Jongh | NED | 12.9 (2 h9) | – (6 h3) | – | |||
| 3 h1 r1/3 | 667 | Betty McKinnon | AUS | 12.7 (3 h1) | – | – | |||
| 3 h2 r1/3 | 665 | Noemí Simonetto de Portela |  ARG | 13.1 (3 h2) | – | – | |||
| 3 h3 r1/3 | 707 | Mickey Patterson |  USA | 12.8 (3 h3) | – | – | |||
| 3 h4 r1/3 | 708 | Mabel Walker | USA | 12.8 (3 h4) | – | – | |||
| 3 h5 r1/3 | 709 | Lillian Young | USA | 13.0 (3 h5) | – | – | |||
| 3 h6 r1/3 | 672 | Marie-Thérèse Renard |  BEL | 13.6 (3 h6) | – | – | |||
| 3 h7 r1/3 | 675 | Helena de Menezes |  BRA | 13.2 (3 h7) | – | – | |||
| 3 h8 r1/3 | 673 | Phyllis Edness | BER | 13.6 (3 h8) | – | – | |||
| 3 h9 r1/3 | 687 | Jeanine Moussier |  FRA | 12.9 (3 h9) | – | – | |||
| 4 h1 r1/3 | 669 | Maria Oberbreyer-Trösch |  AUT | – (4 h1) | – | – | |||
| 4 h2 r1/3 | 677 | Benedicta Oliveira | BRA | 13.2est (4 h2) | – | – | |||
| 4 h3 r1/3 | 666 | Joyce King | AUS | 13.1est (4 h3) | – | – | |||
| 4 h4 r1/3 | 678 | Millie Cheater | CAN | – (4 h4) | – | – | |||
| 4 h5 r1/3 | 676 | Elizabeth Müller | BRA | 13.2est (4 h5) | – | – | |||
| 4 h7 r1/3 | 706 | Üner Teoman |  TUR | 13.6est (4 h7) | – | – | |||
| 4 h8 r1/3 | 670 | Grete Pavlousek | AUT | – (4 h8) | – | – | |||
| 4 h9 r1/3 | 704 | Liv Paulsen |  NOR | – (4 h9) | – | – | |||
| 5 h2 r1/3 | 703 | Tilly Decker |  LUX | – (5 h2) | – | – | |||
| 5 h3 r1/3 | 681 | Betty Kretschmer |  CHI | – (5 h3) | – | – | |||
| 5 h8 r1/3 | 710 | Alma Butia |  YUG | – (5 h8) | – | – | |||
| 696 | Jolán Mertin |  HUN | – (DNS h1) | – | – | ||||
| 686 | Léa Caurla | FRA | – (DNS h4) | – | – | ||||
| 699 | Mavis Evelyn | JAM | – (DNS h4) | – | – | ||||
| 695 | Lenke Eirandt | HUN | – (DNS h5) | – | – | ||||
| 697 | Zsuzsa Szigeti-Varga | HUN | – (DNS h6) | – | – | ||||
| 671 | Elfriede Steurer | AUT | – (DNS h9) | – | – | ||||
| 688 | Liliane Sprécher | FRA | – (DNS h7) | – | – | ||||
| 700 | Carmen Phipps | JAM | – (DNS h6) | – | – |
Round One (31 July 1948 — 14:45)
Top two in each heat advanced to the semi-finals.
Heat One
| Wind | <0.0 m/s |
|---|
| Pos | Lane | Athlete | NOC | Time (H) | Time (A) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Fanny Blankers-Koen | NED | 12.0 | 12.1 | |||
| 2 | 4 | Viola Myers | CAN | 12.5 | – | |||
| 3 | 3 | Betty McKinnon | AUS | 12.7 | – | |||
| 4 | 2 | Maria Oberbreyer-Trösch | AUT | – | – | |||
| 5 | Jolán Mertin | HUN | – | – |
Heat Two
| Wind | <0.0 m/s |
|---|
| Pos | Lane | Athlete | NOC | Time (H) | Time (A) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Shirley Strickland | AUS | 12.4 | 12.6 | |||
| 2 | 4 | Birthe Nielsen | DEN | 12.9 | – | |||
| 3 | 2 | Noemí Simonetto de Portela | ARG | 13.1 | – | |||
| 4 | 3 | Benedicta Oliveira | BRA | 13.2est | – | |||
| 5 | 5 | Tilly Decker | LUX | – | – |
Heat Three
| Wind | <0.0 m/s |
|---|
| Pos | Lane | Athlete | NOC | Time (H) | Time (A) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | Grethe Lovsø Nielsen | DEN | 12.6 | 12.7 | |||
| 2 | 1 | Winnie Jordan | GBR | 12.7 | – | |||
| 3 | 5 | Mickey Patterson | USA | 12.8 | – | |||
| 4 | 3 | Joyce King | AUS | 13.1est | – | |||
| 5 | 2 | Betty Kretschmer | CHI | – | – |
Heat Four
| Wind | 1.0 m/s |
|---|
| Pos | Lane | Athlete | NOC | Time (H) | Time (A) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | Cynthia Thompson | JAM | 12.4 | 12.6 | |||
| 2 | 4 | Daphne Robb | RSA | 12.4 | – | |||
| 3 | 5 | Mabel Walker | USA | 12.8 | – | |||
| 4 | 3 | Millie Cheater | CAN | – | – | |||
| 1 | Léa Caurla | FRA | – | – | ||||
| 699 | Mavis Evelyn | JAM | – | – |
Heat Five
| Wind | <0.0 m/s |
|---|
| Pos | Lane | Athlete | NOC | Time (H) | Time (A) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | Doris Batter | GBR | 12.6 | 12.7 | |||
| 2 | 5 | Kathleen Russell | JAM | 12.9 | – | |||
| 3 | 1 | Lillian Young | USA | 13.0 | – | |||
| 4 | 3 | Elizabeth Müller | BRA | 13.2est | – | |||
| 4 | Lenke Eirandt | HUN | – | – |
Heat Six
| Wind | 0.3 m/s |
|---|
| Pos | Lane | Athlete | NOC | Time (H) | Time (A) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | Dorothy Manley | GBR | 12.1 | 12.3 | |||
| 2 | 3 | Phyllis Lightbourn | BER | 13.0 | – | |||
| 3 | 5 | Marie-Thérèse Renard | BEL | 13.6 | – | |||
| 1 | Zsuzsa Szigeti-Varga | HUN | – | – | ||||
| 4 | Carmen Phipps | JAM | – | – |
Heat Seven
| Wind | <0.0 m/s |
|---|
| Pos | Lane | Athlete | NOC | Time (H) | Time (A) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | Olga Šicnerová | TCH | 12.4 | – | |||
| 2 | 4 | Bente Bergendorff | DEN | 12.6 | – | |||
| 3 | 3 | Helena de Menezes | BRA | 13.2 | – | |||
| 4 | 5 | Üner Teoman | TUR | 13.6est | – | |||
| 1 | Liliane Sprécher | FRA | – | – |
Heat Eight
| Wind | <0.0 m/s |
|---|
| Pos | Lane | Athlete | NOC | Time (H) | Time (A) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Liliana Tagliaferri | ITA | 12.8 | 13.0 | |||
| 2 | 4 | Xenia Stad-de Jong | NED | 12.9 | – | |||
| 3 | 3 | Phyllis Edness | BER | 13.6 | – | |||
| 4 | 2 | Grete Pavlousek | AUT | – | – | |||
| 5 | 5 | Alma Butia | YUG | – | – |
Heat Nine
| Wind | <0.0 m/s |
|---|
| Pos | Lane | Athlete | NOC | Time (H) | Time (A) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | Pat Jones | CAN | 12.7 | – | |||
| 2 | 1 | Gré de Jongh | NED | 12.9 | – | |||
| 3 | 4 | Jeanine Moussier | FRA | 12.9 | – | |||
| 4 | 5 | Liv Paulsen | NOR | – | – | |||
| 2 | Elfriede Steurer | AUT | – | – |
Semi-Finals (2 August 1948 — 15:30)
Top two in each heat advanced to the final.
Heat One
| Wind | <0.0 m/s |
|---|
| Pos | Lane | Athlete | NOC | Time (H) | Time (A) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Fanny Blankers-Koen | NED | 12.0 | 12.3 | |||
| 2 | 2 | Shirley Strickland | AUS | 12.4 | 12.63 | |||
| 3 | 3 | Grethe Lovsø Nielsen | DEN | 12.7 | 12.94 | |||
| 4 | 4 | Doris Batter | GBR | – | 12.96 | |||
| 5 | 5 | Liliana Tagliaferri | ITA | – | 12.99 | |||
| 6 | 6 | Phyllis Lightbourn | BER | – | 13.65 |
Heat Two
| Wind | <0.0 m/s |
|---|
| Pos | Lane | Athlete | NOC | Time (H) | Time (A) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Dorothy Manley | GBR | 12.4 | 12.5 | |||
| 2 | 3 | Pat Jones | CAN | 12.6 | 12.61 | |||
| 3 | 6 | Daphne Robb | RSA | 12.7 | 12.66 | |||
| 4 | 4 | Bente Bergendorff | DEN | – | 12.82 | |||
| 5 | 2 | Xenia Stad-de Jong | NED | – | 12.83 | |||
| 6 | 5 | Kathleen Russell | JAM | – | 13.08 |
Heat Three
| Wind | <0.0 m/s |
|---|
| Pos | Lane | Athlete | NOC | Time (H) | Time (A) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | Viola Myers | CAN | 12.4 | 12.7 | |||
| 2 | 1 | Cynthia Thompson | JAM | 12.5 | 12.73 | |||
| =3 | 6 | Olga Šicnerová | TCH | 12.5 | 12.78 | |||
| =3 | 3 | Birthe Nielsen | DEN | 12.5 | 12.79 | |||
| 5 | 5 | Winnie Jordan | GBR | – | 13.52 | |||
| 6 | 4 | Gré de Jongh | NED | – | 13.70 |
Final (2 August 1948 — 16:45)
| Wind | <0.0 m/s |
|---|
| Pos | Lane | Athlete | NOC | Time (H) | Time (A) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | Fanny Blankers-Koen | NED | 11.9 | 12.2 | |||
| 2 | 6 | Dorothy Manley | GBR | 12.2 | 12.40 | |||
| 3 | 4 | Shirley Strickland | AUS | 12.2 | 12.59 | |||
| 4 | 5 | Viola Myers | CAN | 12.3est | 12.63 | |||
| 5 | 1 | Pat Jones | CAN | 12.4est | 12.69 | |||
| 6 | 2 | Cynthia Thompson | JAM | 12.6est | 12.87 |