| Date | 8 – 11 August 1936 |
|---|---|
| Status | Olympic |
| Location | Schwimmstadion, Reichssportfeld, Berlin |
| Participants | 23 from 12 countries |
Hideko Maehata of Japan entered the Olympic Games as a strong favorite to become the first Asian woman to claim an Olympic title. She had held the world record since 1933. Maehata was severely challenged in the final by a 14 year old German by the name of Martha Genenger. For 150 metres, the two women fought stroke-for-stroke for the lead, but the superior stamina of the Japanese pulled her through for the victory.
Inge Sørensen of Denmark, the bronze medalist, was 12 years and 21 days old. As of 2024, she is still the youngest Olympic medalist in an individual event.
| Pos | Number | Competitor | NOC | R1 | SF | Final | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 223 | Hideko Maehata |  JPN | 3:01.9 (1 h3) | 3:03.1 (1 h1) | 3:03.6 (1) | Gold | ||
| 2 | 507 | Martha Genenger |  GER | 3:02.9 (1 h2) | 3:02.8 (1 h2) | 3:04.2 (2) | Silver | ||
| 3 | 95 | Inge Sørensen |  DEN | 3:06.7 (1 h1) | 3:06.0 (2 h1) | 3:07.8 (3) | Bronze | ||
| =4 | 508 | Hanni Hölzner | GER | 3:11.0 (4 h1) | 3:08.8 (3 h1) | 3:09.5 (=4) | |||
| =4 | 177 | Jopie Waalberg |  NED | 3:10.4 (3 h1) | 3:09.7 (4 h1) | 3:09.5 (=4) | |||
| 6 | 144 | Doris Storey |  GBR | 3:10.8 (2 h4) | 3:09.8 (3 h2) | 3:09.7 (6) | |||
| 7 | – | Jenny Kastein | NED | 3:07.8 (2 h2) | 3:09.2 (2 h2) | 3:12.8 (7) | |||
| 8 | 509 | Trude Wollschläger | GER | 3:08.5 (1 h4) | 3:10.3 (5 h1) | – | |||
| 9 | 335 | Kerstin Isberg |  SWE | 3:08.7 (2 h1) | 3:11.4 (4 h2) | – | |||
| 10 | – | Valborg Christensen | DEN | 3:12.0 (2 h3) | 3:14.1 (5 h2) | – | |||
| 11 | 143 | Peggy Gomm | GBR | 3:15.7 (3 h3) | 3:15.8 (6 h1) | – | |||
| 12 | – | Maria Lenk |  BRA | 3:17.2 (3 h4) | 3:17.7 (7 h1) | – | |||
| 13 | 224 | Unoko Tsuboi | JPN | 3:15.0 (3 h2) | 3:18.4 (6 h2) | – | |||
| 14 | 461 | Dorothy Schiller |  USA | 3:17.4 (5 h1) | 3:18.5 (7 h2) | – | |||
| 15 | 104 | Anja Lappalainen |  FIN | 3:19.1 (4 h2) | – | – | |||
| 16 | 94 | Edel Nielsen | DEN | 3:21.3 (4 h4) | – | – | |||
| 17 | 142 | Vera Kingston | GBR | 3:21.7 (6 h1) | – | – | |||
| 18 | 459 | Iris Cummings | USA | 3:21.9 (4 h3) | – | – | |||
| 19 | 176 | Jo Stroomberg | NED | 3:22.5 (5 h4) | – | – | |||
| 20 | – | Joan Langdon |  CAN | 3:24.3 (7 h1) | – | – | |||
| 21 | 460 | Anne Govednik | USA | 3:25.3 (5 h2) | – | – | |||
| 22 | – | Eliška Boubelová |  TCH | 3:25.8 (5 h3) | – | – | |||
| 23 | 366 | Tenny Wyss |  SUI | 3:31.3 (6 h3) | – | – | |||
| 292 | Elfriede Freudenreich |  AUT | – (DNS h2) | – | – | ||||
| 293 | Josefine Steiner | AUT | – (DNS h4) | – | – | ||||
| 482 | Dorothea Dickinson | USA | – | – | – |
| Date | 8 August 1936 — 10:00 |
|---|---|
| Format | Top 3 in each heat and the next 2 fastest advanced to the semi-finals. |
| Pos | Lane | Competitor | NOC | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | Hideko Maehata | JPN | 3:01.9 | ||
| 2 | 4 | Martha Genenger | GER | 3:02.9 | ||
| 3 | 5 | Inge Sørensen | DEN | 3:06.7 | ||
| 4 | 5 | Jenny Kastein | NED | 3:07.8 | ||
| 5 | 3 | Trude Wollschläger | GER | 3:08.5 | ||
| 6 | 6 | Kerstin Isberg | SWE | 3:08.7 | ||
| 7 | 1 | Jopie Waalberg | NED | 3:10.4 | ||
| 8 | 4 | Doris Storey | GBR | 3:10.8 | ||
| 9 | 2 | Hanni Hölzner | GER | 3:11.0 | ||
| 10 | 6 | Valborg Christensen | DEN | 3:12.0 | ||
| 11 | 3 | Unoko Tsuboi | JPN | 3:15.0 | ||
| 12 | 1 | Peggy Gomm | GBR | 3:15.7 | ||
| 13 | 5 | Maria Lenk | BRA | 3:17.2 | ||
| 14 | 3 | Dorothy Schiller | USA | 3:17.4 | ||
| 15 | 1 | Anja Lappalainen | FIN | 3:19.1 | ||
| 16 | 6 | Edel Nielsen | DEN | 3:21.3 | ||
| 17 | 4 | Vera Kingston | GBR | 3:21.7 | ||
| 18 | 2 | Iris Cummings | USA | 3:21.9 | ||
| 19 | 1 | Jo Stroomberg | NED | 3:22.5 | ||
| 20 | 7 | Joan Langdon | CAN | 3:24.3 | ||
| 21 | 2 | Anne Govednik | USA | 3:25.3 | ||
| 22 | 4 | Eliška Boubelová | TCH | 3:25.8 | ||
| 23 | 5 | Tenny Wyss | SUI | 3:31.3 | ||
| 6 | Elfriede Freudenreich | AUT | – | |||
| 2 | Josefine Steiner | AUT | – |
| Pos | Lane | Competitor | NOC | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | Inge Sørensen | DEN | 3:06.7 | ||
| 2 | 6 | Kerstin Isberg | SWE | 3:08.7 | ||
| 3 | 1 | Jopie Waalberg | NED | 3:10.4 | ||
| 4 | 2 | Hanni Hölzner | GER | 3:11.0 | ||
| 5 | 3 | Dorothy Schiller | USA | 3:17.4 | ||
| 6 | 4 | Vera Kingston | GBR | 3:21.7 | ||
| 7 | 7 | Joan Langdon | CAN | 3:24.3 |
| Pos | Lane | Competitor | NOC | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | Martha Genenger | GER | 3:02.9 | ||
| 2 | 5 | Jenny Kastein | NED | 3:07.8 | ||
| 3 | 3 | Unoko Tsuboi | JPN | 3:15.0 | ||
| 4 | 1 | Anja Lappalainen | FIN | 3:19.1 | ||
| 5 | 2 | Anne Govednik | USA | 3:25.3 | ||
| 6 | Elfriede Freudenreich | AUT | – |
| Pos | Lane | Competitor | NOC | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | Hideko Maehata | JPN | 3:01.9 | ||
| 2 | 6 | Valborg Christensen | DEN | 3:12.0 | ||
| 3 | 1 | Peggy Gomm | GBR | 3:15.7 | ||
| 4 | 2 | Iris Cummings | USA | 3:21.9 | ||
| 5 | 4 | Eliška Boubelová | TCH | 3:25.8 | ||
| 6 | 5 | Tenny Wyss | SUI | 3:31.3 |
| Pos | Lane | Competitor | NOC | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | Trude Wollschläger | GER | 3:08.5 | ||
| 2 | 4 | Doris Storey | GBR | 3:10.8 | ||
| 3 | 5 | Maria Lenk | BRA | 3:17.2 | ||
| 4 | 6 | Edel Nielsen | DEN | 3:21.3 | ||
| 5 | 1 | Jo Stroomberg | NED | 3:22.5 | ||
| 2 | Josefine Steiner | AUT | – |
| Date | 9 August 1936 — 10:00 |
|---|---|
| Format | Top 3 in each heat and the fastest fourth-place advanced to the final round. |
| Pos | Lane | Competitor | NOC | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 7 | Martha Genenger | GER | 3:02.8 | ||
| 2 | 7 | Hideko Maehata | JPN | 3:03.1 | ||
| 3 | 5 | Inge Sørensen | DEN | 3:06.0 | ||
| 4 | 3 | Hanni Hölzner | GER | 3:08.8 | ||
| 5 | 2 | Jenny Kastein | NED | 3:09.2 | ||
| 6 | 2 | Jopie Waalberg | NED | 3:09.7 | ||
| 7 | 6 | Doris Storey | GBR | 3:09.8 | ||
| 8 | 4 | Trude Wollschläger | GER | 3:10.3 | ||
| 9 | 1 | Kerstin Isberg | SWE | 3:11.4 | ||
| 10 | 5 | Valborg Christensen | DEN | 3:14.1 | ||
| 11 | 6 | Peggy Gomm | GBR | 3:15.8 | ||
| 12 | 1 | Maria Lenk | BRA | 3:17.7 | ||
| 13 | 3 | Unoko Tsuboi | JPN | 3:18.4 | ||
| 14 | 4 | Dorothy Schiller | USA | 3:18.5 |
| Pos | Lane | Competitor | NOC | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 7 | Hideko Maehata | JPN | 3:03.1 | ||
| 2 | 5 | Inge Sørensen | DEN | 3:06.0 | ||
| 3 | 3 | Hanni Hölzner | GER | 3:08.8 | ||
| 4 | 2 | Jopie Waalberg | NED | 3:09.7 | ||
| 5 | 4 | Trude Wollschläger | GER | 3:10.3 | ||
| 6 | 6 | Peggy Gomm | GBR | 3:15.8 | ||
| 7 | 1 | Maria Lenk | BRA | 3:17.7 |
| Pos | Lane | Competitor | NOC | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 7 | Martha Genenger | GER | 3:02.8 | ||
| 2 | 2 | Jenny Kastein | NED | 3:09.2 | ||
| 3 | 6 | Doris Storey | GBR | 3:09.8 | ||
| 4 | 1 | Kerstin Isberg | SWE | 3:11.4 | ||
| 5 | 5 | Valborg Christensen | DEN | 3:14.1 | ||
| 6 | 3 | Unoko Tsuboi | JPN | 3:18.4 | ||
| 7 | 4 | Dorothy Schiller | USA | 3:18.5 |
| Date | 11 August 1936 — 15:50 |
|---|
| Pos | Lane | Competitor | NOC | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6 | Hideko Maehata | JPN | 3:03.6 | ||
| 2 | 7 | Martha Genenger | GER | 3:04.2 | ||
| 3 | 3 | Inge Sørensen | DEN | 3:07.8 | ||
| =4 | 4 | Hanni Hölzner | GER | 3:09.5 | ||
| =4 | 2 | Jopie Waalberg | NED | 3:09.5 | ||
| 6 | 1 | Doris Storey | GBR | 3:09.7 | ||
| 7 | 5 | Jenny Kastein | NED | 3:12.8 |
