100 metres Backstroke, Women
| Date | 3 – 5 August 1948 |
|---|---|
| Status | Olympic |
| Location | Wembley Arena, Wembley, London |
| Participants | 24 from 16 countries |
The cancellation of the 1940 and 1944 Games meant that Con Kint of Holland would never grace the Olympic stage. Her world record, set in 1939, would last for 21 years but Kint herself was long retired by the time the London Games came around. The favourite was the Dane, Karen Margrethe Harup, who had won the event at the 1947 European Championships. Harup proved to be a worthy champion as she broke the Olympic record in all three of her races. She finished over a second clear of Suzanne Zimmerman of the USA with Judy-Joy Davies taking bronze for Australia. Monique Berlioux, who was eliminated in the semi-finals was a member of the French Resistance during World War Two and later went on a career with the International Olympic Committee. She served as Director of the IOC between 1971 and 1995.
| Pos | Swimmer | NOC | R1 | SF | Final | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Karen Margrethe Harup |  DEN | 1:15.6 (1 h2) | 1:15.5 (1 h1) | 1:14.4 (1) | Gold | ||
| 2 | Suzanne Zimmerman |  USA | 1:16.8 (2 h2) | 1:16.8 (1 h2) | 1:16.0 (2) | Silver | ||
| 3 | Judy-Joy Davies |  AUS | 1:16.4 (1 h3) | 1:17.8 (2 h2) | 1:16.7 (3) | Bronze | ||
| 4 | Ilona Novák |  HUN | 1:17.3 (2 h3) | 1:17.6 (2 h1) | 1:18.4 (4) | |||
| 5 | Ria van der Horst |  NED | 1:18.7 (1 h1) | 1:18.2 (3 h2) | 1:18.8 (5) | |||
| 6 | Dicky van Ekris | NED | 1:19.3 (4 h3) | 1:18.2 (4 h1) | 1:18.9 (6) | |||
| 7 | Muriel Mellon | USA | 1:18.7 (2 h4) | 1:18.2 (3 h1) | 1:19.0 (7) | |||
| 8 | Greetje Galliard | NED | 1:18.2 (1 h4) | 1:18.4 (5 h1) | 1:19.1 (8) | |||
| 4 h2 r2/3 | Helen Yate |  GBR | 1:18.3 (3 h2) | 1:18.6 (4 h2) | – | |||
| 5 h2 r2/3 | Barbara Jensen | USA | 1:18.8 (3 h3) | 1:19.1 (5 h2) | – | |||
| 6 h1 r2/3 | Cathie Gibson | GBR | 1:19.7 (3 h4) | 1:18.6 (6 h1) | – | |||
| 6 h2 r2/3 | Monique Berlioux |  FRA | 1:18.8 (3 h1) | 1:20.2 (6 h2) | – | |||
| 7 h1 r2/3 | Ngaire Lane |  NZL | 1:18.8 (2 h1) | 1:19.0 (7 h1) | – | |||
| 7 h2 r2/3 | Vera Ellery | GBR | 1:20.9 (5 h3) | 1:20.8 (7 h2) | – | |||
| 8 h1 r2/3 | Beryl Marshall |  ARG | 1:20.9 (4 h2) | 1:20.7 (8 h1) | – | |||
| 4 h1 r1/3 | Ingegärd Fredin |  SWE | 1:21.2 (4 h1) | – (DNS h2) | – | |||
| 4 h4 r1/3 | Magda Brüggemann |  MEX | 1:21.4 (4 h4) | – | – | |||
| 5 h1 r1/3 | Kolbrún Ólafsdóttir |  ISL | 1:25.6 (5 h1) | – | – | |||
| 5 h2 r1/3 | Doris Gontersweiler |  SUI | 1:26.2 (5 h2) | – | – | |||
| 5 h4 r1/3 | Bea Ballintijn |  NOR | 1:22.1 (5 h4) | – | – | |||
| 6 h2 r1/3 | Joyce Court |  CAN | 1:26.8 (6 h2) | – | – | |||
| 6 h3 r1/3 | Liliana Gonzalías | ARG | 1:26.9 (6 h3) | – | – | |||
| 6 h4 r1/3 | Edith de Oliveira |  BRA | 1:22.5 (6 h4) | – | – | |||
| 7 h4 r1/3 | Ginette Jany | FRA | 1:22.7 (7 h4) | – | – | |||
| Zsuzsa Nádor | HUN | – (DNS h2) | – | – | ||||
| J. T. Szemes | HUN | – (DNS h1) | – | – |
Round One (4 August 1948 — 20:30)
Top three in each heat and the next four fastest advanced to the semi-finals.
Heat One
| Pos | Lane | Swimmer | NOC | Time | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | Ria van der Horst | NED | 1:18.7 | |||
| 2 | 4 | Ngaire Lane | NZL | 1:18.8 | |||
| 3 | 3 | Monique Berlioux | FRA | 1:18.8 | |||
| 4 | 6 | Ingegärd Fredin | SWE | 1:21.2 | |||
| 5 | 7 | Kolbrún Ólafsdóttir | ISL | 1:25.6 | |||
| 1 | J. T. Szemes | HUN | – |
Heat Two
| Pos | Lane | Swimmer | NOC | Time | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Karen Margrethe Harup | DEN | 1:15.6 | |||
| 2 | 4 | Suzanne Zimmerman | USA | 1:16.8 | |||
| 3 | 6 | Helen Yate | GBR | 1:18.3 | |||
| 4 | 7 | Beryl Marshall | ARG | 1:20.9 | |||
| 5 | 3 | Doris Gontersweiler | SUI | 1:26.2 | |||
| 6 | 2 | Joyce Court | CAN | 1:26.8 | |||
| 5 | Zsuzsa Nádor | HUN | – |
Heat Three
| Pos | Lane | Swimmer | NOC | Time | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | Judy-Joy Davies | AUS | 1:16.4 | |||
| 2 | 6 | Ilona Novák | HUN | 1:17.3 | |||
| 3 | 7 | Barbara Jensen | USA | 1:18.8 | |||
| 4 | 3 | Dicky van Ekris | NED | 1:19.3 | |||
| 5 | 4 | Vera Ellery | GBR | 1:20.9 | |||
| 6 | 2 | Liliana Gonzalías | ARG | 1:26.9 |
Heat Four
| Pos | Lane | Swimmer | NOC | Time | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | Greetje Galliard | NED | 1:18.2 | |||
| 2 | 6 | Muriel Mellon | USA | 1:18.7 | |||
| 3 | 7 | Cathie Gibson | GBR | 1:19.7 | |||
| 4 | 5 | Magda Brüggemann | MEX | 1:21.4 | |||
| 5 | 3 | Bea Ballintijn | NOR | 1:22.1 | |||
| 6 | 4 | Edith de Oliveira | BRA | 1:22.5 | |||
| 7 | 1 | Ginette Jany | FRA | 1:22.7 |
Semi-Finals (5 August 1948 — 14:00)
Top three in each heat and the next two fastest advanced to the final.
Heat One
| Pos | Lane | Swimmer | NOC | Time | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | Karen Margrethe Harup | DEN | 1:15.5 | |||
| 2 | 4 | Ilona Novák | HUN | 1:17.6 | |||
| 3 | 3 | Muriel Mellon | USA | 1:18.2 | |||
| 4 | 8 | Dicky van Ekris | NED | 1:18.2 | 1 | ||
| 5 | 6 | Greetje Galliard | NED | 1:18.4 | |||
| 6 | 2 | Cathie Gibson | GBR | 1:18.6 | |||
| 7 | 7 | Ngaire Lane | NZL | 1:19.0 | |||
| 8 | 1 | Beryl Marshall | ARG | 1:20.7 |
Heat Two
| Pos | Lane | Swimmer | NOC | Time | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | Suzanne Zimmerman | USA | 1:16.8 | |||
| 2 | 5 | Judy-Joy Davies | AUS | 1:17.8 | |||
| 3 | 3 | Ria van der Horst | NED | 1:18.2 | 2 | ||
| 4 | 6 | Helen Yate | GBR | 1:18.6 | |||
| 5 | 2 | Barbara Jensen | USA | 1:19.1 | |||
| 6 | 7 | Monique Berlioux | FRA | 1:20.2 | |||
| 7 | 8 | Vera Ellery | GBR | 1:20.8 | |||
| 1 | Ingegärd Fredin | SWE | – |
Final (5 August 1948 — 20:00)
| Pos | Lane | Swimmer | NOC | Time | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | Karen Margrethe Harup | DEN | 1:14.4 | |||
| 2 | 4 | Suzanne Zimmerman | USA | 1:16.0 | |||
| 3 | 3 | Judy-Joy Davies | AUS | 1:16.7 | |||
| 4 | 6 | Ilona Novák | HUN | 1:18.4 | |||
| 5 | 1 | Ria van der Horst | NED | 1:18.8 | |||
| 6 | 7 | Dicky van Ekris | NED | 1:18.9 | |||
| 7 | 2 | Muriel Mellon | USA | 1:19.0 | |||
| 8 | 8 | Greetje Galliard | NED | 1:19.1 |