| | Event type
100 metres Freestyle, Women
| Date | 30 July – 2 August 1948 |
|---|---|
| Status | Olympic |
| Location | Wembley Arena, Wembley, London |
| Participants | 34 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.
| Pos | Swimmer | NOC | R1 | SF | Final | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Greta Andersen |  DEN | 1:07.0 (2 h4) | 1:05.9 (1 h1) | 1:06.3 (1) | Gold | ||
| 2 | Ann Curtis |  USA | 1:06.9 (1 h4) | 1:07.6 (1 h2) | 1:06.5 (2) | Silver | ||
| 3 | Marie-Louise Vaessen |  NED | 1:07.5 (2 h2) | 1:08.4 (2 h2) | 1:07.6 (3) | Bronze | ||
| 4 | Karen Margrethe Harup | DEN | 1:08.4 (2 h3) | 1:08.7 (5 h2) | 1:08.1 (4) | |||
| 5 | Ingegärd Fredin |  SWE | 1:08.1 (1 h5) | 1:08.4 (3 h2) | 1:08.4 (5) | |||
| 6 | Irma Schuhmacher | NED | 1:07.9 (1 h1) | 1:07.7 (3 h1) | 1:08.4 (6) | |||
| 7 | Elisabeth Ahlgren | SWE | 1:08.7 (1 h3) | 1:08.6 (4 h2) | 1:08.8 (7) | |||
| 8 | Fritze Carstensen | DEN | 1:06.5 (1 h2) | 1:07.5 (2 h1) | 1:09.1 (8) | |||
| 4 h1 r2/3 | Marie Corridon | USA | 1:08.4 (2 h5) | 1:08.9 (4 h1) | – | |||
| 5 h1 r2/3 | Marianne Lundquist | SWE | 1:09.0 (3 h4) | 1:09.5 (5 h1) | – | |||
| 6 h1 r2/3 | Marjorie McQuade |  AUS | 1:08.5 (3 h3) | 1:09.6 (6 h1) | – | |||
| 6 h2 r2/3 | Lillian Preece |  GBR | 1:09.0 (3 h5) | 1:09.3 (6 h2) | – | |||
| 7 h1 r2/3 | Pat Nielsen | GBR | 1:09.4 (5 h3) | 1:09.6 (7 h1) | – | |||
| 7 h2 r2/3 | Piedade Coutinho-Tavares |  BRA | 1:08.6 (4 h3) | 1:09.5 (7 h2) | – | |||
| 8 h1 r2/3 | Judit Temes |  HUN | 1:08.3 (2 h1) | 1:09.7 (8 h1) | – | |||
| 8 h2 r2/3 | Brenda Helser | USA | 1:09.0 (3 h1) | 1:10.0 (8 h2) | – | |||
| 3 h2 r1/3 | Denise Spencer | AUS | 1:10.0 (3 h2) | – | – | |||
| 4 h1 r1/3 | Josette Arène |  FRA | 1:09.7 (4 h1) | – | – | |||
| 4 h2 r1/3 | Eleonora Schmitt | BRA | 1:10.8 (4 h2) | – | – | |||
| 4 h4 r1/3 | Margaret Wellington | GBR | 1:09.8 (4 h4) | – | – | |||
| 4 h5 r1/3 | Hannie Termeulen | NED | 1:09.8 (4 h5) | – | – | |||
| 5 h1 r1/3 | Eileen Holt |  ARG | 1:12.0 (5 h1) | – | – | |||
| 5 h2 r1/3 | Mária Littomeritzky | HUN | 1:13.0 (5 h2) | – | – | |||
| 5 h4 r1/3 | Kay McNamee |  CAN | 1:13.3 (5 h4) | – | – | |||
| 5 h5 r1/3 | Fernande Caroen |  BEL | 1:12.1 (5 h5) | – | – | |||
| 6 h1 r1/3 | Magda Brüggemann |  MEX | 1:12.5 (6 h1) | – | – | |||
| 6 h2 r1/3 | Adriana Camelli | ARG | 1:16.5 (6 h2) | – | – | |||
| 6 h3 r1/3 | Ginette Jany | FRA | 1:12.1 (6 h3) | – | – | |||
| 6 h4 r1/3 | Zsuzsa Nádor | HUN | 1:15.8 (6 h4) | – | – | |||
| 6 h5 r1/3 | Irene Strong | CAN | 1:13.5 (6 h5) | – | – | |||
| 7 h1 r1/3 | Marianne Erismann |  SUI | 1:19.9 (7 h1) | – | – | |||
| 7 h3 r1/3 | Enriqueta Duarte | ARG | 1:14.9 (7 h3) | – | – | |||
| 7 h4 r1/3 | Maria da Costa | BRA | 1:16.0 (7 h4) | – | – | |||
| 7 h5 r1/3 | Gisèle Vallerey | FRA | 1:14.0 (7 h5) | – | – | |||
| Vivian King | CAN | – (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
| Pos | Lane | Swimmer | NOC | Time | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | Irma Schuhmacher | NED | 1:07.9 | |||
| 2 | 6 | Judit Temes | HUN | 1:08.3 | |||
| 3 | 1 | Brenda Helser | USA | 1:09.0 | |||
| 4 | 3 | Josette Arène | FRA | 1:09.7 | |||
| 5 | 4 | Eileen Holt | ARG | 1:12.0 | |||
| 6 | 7 | Magda Brüggemann | MEX | 1:12.5 | |||
| 7 | 2 | Marianne Erismann | SUI | 1:19.9 |
Heat Two
| Pos | Lane | Swimmer | NOC | Time | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6 | Fritze Carstensen | DEN | 1:06.5 | |||
| 2 | 3 | Marie-Louise Vaessen | NED | 1:07.5 | |||
| 3 | 5 | Denise Spencer | AUS | 1:10.0 | |||
| 4 | 7 | Eleonora Schmitt | BRA | 1:10.8 | |||
| 5 | 1 | Mária Littomeritzky | HUN | 1:13.0 | |||
| 6 | 2 | Adriana Camelli | ARG | 1:16.5 | |||
| 4 | Vivian King | CAN | – |
Heat Three
| Pos | Lane | Swimmer | NOC | Time | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | Elisabeth Ahlgren | SWE | 1:08.7 | 1 | ||
| 2 | 5 | Karen Margrethe Harup | DEN | 1:08.4 | |||
| 3 | 2 | Marjorie McQuade | AUS | 1:08.5 | |||
| 4 | 3 | Piedade Coutinho-Tavares | BRA | 1:08.6 | |||
| 5 | 6 | Pat Nielsen | GBR | 1:09.4 | |||
| 6 | 7 | Ginette Jany | FRA | 1:12.1 | |||
| 7 | 1 | Enriqueta Duarte | ARG | 1:14.9 |
Heat Four
| Pos | Lane | Swimmer | NOC | Time | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | Ann Curtis | USA | 1:06.9 | |||
| 2 | 4 | Greta Andersen | DEN | 1:07.0 | |||
| 3 | 7 | Marianne Lundquist | SWE | 1:09.0 | |||
| 4 | 2 | Margaret Wellington | GBR | 1:09.8 | |||
| 5 | 6 | Kay McNamee | CAN | 1:13.3 | |||
| 6 | 3 | Zsuzsa Nádor | HUN | 1:15.8 | |||
| 7 | 1 | Maria da Costa | BRA | 1:16.0 |
Heat Five
| Pos | Lane | Swimmer | NOC | Time | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | Ingegärd Fredin | SWE | 1:08.1 | |||
| 2 | 7 | Marie Corridon | USA | 1:08.4 | |||
| 3 | 2 | Lillian Preece | GBR | 1:09.0 | |||
| 4 | 3 | Hannie Termeulen | NED | 1:09.8 | |||
| 5 | 1 | Fernande Caroen | BEL | 1:12.1 | |||
| 6 | 6 | Irene Strong | CAN | 1:13.5 | |||
| 7 | 5 | Gisèle Vallerey | FRA | 1:14.0 |
Semi-Finals (31 July 1948 — 19:00)
Top two in each heat and the next four fastest advanced to the final.
Heat One
| Pos | Lane | Swimmer | NOC | Time | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | Greta Andersen | DEN | 1:05.9 | |||
| 2 | 5 | Fritze Carstensen | DEN | 1:07.5 | |||
| 3 | 6 | Irma Schuhmacher | NED | 1:07.7 | |||
| 4 | 7 | Marie Corridon | USA | 1:08.9 | |||
| 5 | 8 | Marianne Lundquist | SWE | 1:09.5 | |||
| 6 | 2 | Marjorie McQuade | AUS | 1:09.6 | |||
| 7 | 1 | Pat Nielsen | GBR | 1:09.6 | 2 | ||
| 8 | 3 | Judit Temes | HUN | 1:09.7 |
Heat Two
| Pos | Lane | Swimmer | NOC | Time | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | Ann Curtis | USA | 1:07.6 | |||
| 2 | 4 | Marie-Louise Vaessen | NED | 1:08.4 | |||
| 3 | 6 | Ingegärd Fredin | SWE | 1:08.4 | |||
| 4 | 7 | Elisabeth Ahlgren | SWE | 1:08.6 | |||
| 5 | 3 | Karen Margrethe Harup | DEN | 1:08.7 | |||
| 6 | 1 | Lillian Preece | GBR | 1:09.3 | |||
| 7 | 2 | Piedade Coutinho-Tavares | BRA | 1:09.5 | |||
| 8 | 8 | Brenda Helser | USA | 1:10.0 |
Final (2 August 1948 — 19:00)
| Pos | Lane | Swimmer | NOC | Time | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | Greta Andersen | DEN | 1:06.3 | |||
| 2 | 6 | Ann Curtis | USA | 1:06.5 | |||
| 3 | 7 | Marie-Louise Vaessen | NED | 1:07.6 | |||
| 4 | 1 | Karen Margrethe Harup | DEN | 1:08.1 | |||
| 5 | 2 | Ingegärd Fredin | SWE | 1:08.4 | |||
| 6 | 3 | Irma Schuhmacher | NED | 1:08.4 | |||
| 7 | 8 | Elisabeth Ahlgren | SWE | 1:08.8 | |||
| 8 | 4 | Fritze Carstensen | DEN | 1:09.1 |