| | Event type
100 metres Freestyle, Women
| Date | 23 – 25 August 1920 |
|---|---|
| Status | Olympic |
| Location | Zwemstadion van Antwerpen, Antwerpen |
| Participants | 19 from 9 countries |
The world and Olympic record was 1:16.2, which had been set by Fanny Durack, who won the 1912 Olympic gold medal. The United States’ Ethelda Bleibtrey was a laughable winner of this event. She set a world record of 1:14.4 in the heats and then improved that record in the finals, winning by almost 3½ seconds. Bleibtrey had only a brief career as an amateur but between 1920 and 1922 she was undefeated and won an AAU title at every distance from 50 yards to the long distance event.
| Pos | Swimmer | NOC | SF | Final | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ethelda Bleibtrey |  USA | 1:14.4 (1 h3) | 1:13.6 (1) | Gold | ||
| 2 | Irene Guest | USA | 1:18.8 (1 h2) | 1:17.0 (2) | Silver | ||
| 3 | Frances Schroth | USA | 1:18.0 (1 h1) | 1:17.2 (3) | Bronze | ||
| 4 | Connie Jeans |  GBR | 1:20.8 (2 h2) | 1:22.8 (4) | |||
| 5 | Violet Walrond |  NZL | 1:21.4 (3 h2) | – (5) | |||
| 6 | Jane Gylling |  SWE | 1:25.6 (2 h3) | – (6) | |||
| AC r2/2 | Charlotte Boyle | USA | 1:20.4 (2 h1) | – ( | DNF | ||
| 3 h1 r1/2 | Rie Beisenherz |  NED | 1:22.6 (3 h1) | – | |||
| 3 h3 r1/2 | Grace McKenzie | GBR | 1:27.4 (3 h3) | – | |||
| 4 h1 r1/2 | Yvonne Degraine |  FRA | – (4 h1) | – | |||
| 4 h2 r1/2 | Germaine Van Dievoet |  BEL | – (4 h2) | – | |||
| 4 h3 r1/2 | Ernestine Lebrun | FRA | – (4 h3) | – | |||
| 5 h1 r1/2 | Aina Berg | SWE | – (5 h1) | – | |||
| 5 h2 r1/2 | Suzanne Wurtz | FRA | – (5 h2) | – | |||
| 5 h3 r1/2 | Blanche Nash |  RSA | – (5 h3) | – | |||
| 6 h1 r1/2 | Lillian Birkenhead | GBR | – (6 h1) | – | |||
| 6 h2 r1/2 | Carin Nilsson | SWE | – (6 h2) | – | |||
| 6 h3 r1/2 | Lily Beaurepaire |  AUS | – (6 h3) | – | |||
| 7 h2 r1/2 | Charlotte Radcliffe | GBR | – (7 h2) | – |
Semi-Finals (23 August 1920 — 15:45)
Top two in each heat with the fastest third place advanced to the final.
Heat One
| Pos | Lane | Swimmer | NOC | Time | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | – | Frances Schroth | USA | 1:18.0 | |||
| 2 | – | Charlotte Boyle | USA | 1:20.4 | |||
| 3 | – | Rie Beisenherz | NED | 1:22.6 | |||
| 4 | – | Yvonne Degraine | FRA | – | |||
| 5 | – | Aina Berg | SWE | – | |||
| 6 | – | Lillian Birkenhead | GBR | – |
Heat Two
| Pos | Lane | Swimmer | NOC | Time | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | – | Irene Guest | USA | 1:18.8 | |||
| 2 | – | Connie Jeans | GBR | 1:20.8 | |||
| 3 | – | Violet Walrond | NZL | 1:21.4 | |||
| 4 | – | Germaine Van Dievoet | BEL | – | |||
| 5 | – | Suzanne Wurtz | FRA | – | |||
| 6 | – | Carin Nilsson | SWE | – | |||
| 7 | – | Charlotte Radcliffe | GBR | – |
Heat Three
| Pos | Lane | Swimmer | NOC | Time | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | – | Ethelda Bleibtrey | USA | 1:14.4 | |||
| 2 | – | Jane Gylling | SWE | 1:25.6 | |||
| 3 | – | Grace McKenzie | GBR | 1:27.4 | |||
| 4 | – | Ernestine Lebrun | FRA | – | |||
| 5 | – | Blanche Nash | RSA | – | |||
| 6 | – | Lily Beaurepaire | AUS | – |
Final (25 August 1920 — 15:30)
| Pos | Lane | Swimmer | NOC | Time | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | – | Ethelda Bleibtrey | USA | 1:13.6 | |||
| 2 | – | Irene Guest | USA | 1:17.0 | |||
| 3 | – | Frances Schroth | USA | 1:17.2 | |||
| 4 | – | Connie Jeans | GBR | 1:22.8 | |||
| 5 | – | Violet Walrond | NZL | – | |||
| 6 | – | Jane Gylling | SWE | – | |||
| – | Charlotte Boyle | USA | – | 1 |