100 metres Backstroke, Women
| Date | 29 – 31 July 1952 |
|---|---|
| Status | Olympic |
| Location | Helsingin Uimastadion, Helsinki |
| Participants | 20 from 14 countries |
There was a clear favourite for the 100m Backstroke in the form of the eighteen year old Dutchwoman Geertje Wielema but Wielema was taken ill with anaemia and barely trained in the months before the Games. Despite these problems Wielema set an Olympic record in the semi-final. The final turned into a straight battle between Wielema and sixteen year old Joan Harrison of South Africa who had narrowly missed a medal in the 100m freestyle. Wielema and Harrison, swimming in lanes four and five respectively were level as they approached the wall but Harrison’s finish was better and the decision of the judges was to award the gold to the South African. It was a desperately close finish and not all of the officials were in agreement. Wielema herself believed she a quick glance to see where her rival was may have cost the vital fraction of a second needed for her to win. Dutch disappointment was compounded when Jean Stewart of New Zealand beat Joke de Korte to the bronze in another extremely close finish and also when Ria van der Horst was disqualified by making an illegal turn. Harrison won four medals at the 1954 Commonwealth Games before retiring at the age of just seventeen while Wielema was both European champion and Dutch Sportsperson of the year for the year 1954. Wielema would have been a strong contender for further Olympic honours in 1956 had it not been for the withdrawal of the Dutch team.
| Pos | Number | Competitor | NOC | R1 | Final | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 139 | Joan Harrison |  RSA | 1:14.7 (1 h3) | 1:14.3 (1) | Gold | ||
| 2 | 162 | Geertje Wielema |  NED | 1:13.8 (1 h1) | 1:14.5 (2) | Silver | ||
| 3 | 590 | Jean Stewart |  NZL | 1:16.0 (2 h1) | 1:15.8 (3) | Bronze | ||
| 4 | 160 | Joke de Korte | NED | 1:15.8 (2 h3) | 1:15.8 (4) | |||
| 5 | 635 | Barbara Stark |  USA | 1:17.9 (4 h1) | 1:16.2 (5) | |||
| 6 | 506 | Gertrud Herrbruck |  GER | 1:17.8 (2 h2) | 1:18.0 (6) | |||
| 7 | – | Margaret McDowall |  GBR | 1:17.5 (3 h1) | 1:18.4 (7) | |||
| AC r2/2 | 161 | Ria van der Horst | NED | 1:17.0 (1 h2) | – ( | DQ | ||
| 9 | 634 | Mary Freeman | USA | 1:18.0 (3 h2) | – | |||
| =10 | – | Pauline Musgrove | GBR | 1:19.6 (3 h3) | – | |||
| =10 | 582 | Magdolna Hunyadfy |  HUN | 1:19.6 (4 h3) | – | |||
| 12 | 636 | Coralie O'Connor | USA | 1:19.7 (5 h3) | – | |||
| 13 | 89 | Edith de Oliveira |  BRA | 1:20.0 (4 h2) | – | |||
| 14 | 550 | Gerda Olsen |  DEN | 1:20.1 (5 h1) | – | |||
| 15 | 529 | Anneli Haaranen |  FIN | 1:21.7 (6 h1) | – | |||
| 16 | – | Margareta Westeson |  SWE | 1:22.7 (6 h3) | – | |||
| 17 | 325 | Lenora Fisher |  CAN | 1:22.9 (5 h2) | – | |||
| 18 | – | Erna Herbers | GER | 1:23.1 (7 h3) | – | |||
| 19 | 426 | Irena Milnikiel |  POL | 1:25.5 (6 h2) | – | |||
| 20 | 540 | Doris Gontersweiler |  SUI | 1:26.5 (7 h2) | – | |||
| 579 | Judit Temes | HUN | – (DNS h1) | – | ||||
| 187 | Dolly Nazir |  IND | – (DNS h1) | – | ||||
| 581 | Ilona Novák | HUN | – (DNS h2) | – | ||||
| 593 | Ragnhild Goetz |  VEN | – (DNS h3) | – |
Round One
| Date | 29 July 1952 — 10:00 |
|---|---|
| Format | Fastest eight advanced to the final. |
| Pos | Lane | Competitor | NOC | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | – | Geertje Wielema | NED | 1:13.8 | ||
| 2 | – | Joan Harrison | RSA | 1:14.7 | ||
| 3 | – | Joke de Korte | NED | 1:15.8 | ||
| 4 | – | Jean Stewart | NZL | 1:16.0 | ||
| 5 | – | Ria van der Horst | NED | 1:17.0 | ||
| 6 | – | Margaret McDowall | GBR | 1:17.5 | ||
| 7 | – | Gertrud Herrbruck | GER | 1:17.8 | ||
| 8 | – | Barbara Stark | USA | 1:17.9 | ||
| 9 | – | Mary Freeman | USA | 1:18.0 | ||
| =10 | – | Pauline Musgrove | GBR | 1:19.6 | ||
| =10 | – | Magdolna Hunyadfy | HUN | 1:19.6 | ||
| 12 | – | Coralie O'Connor | USA | 1:19.7 | ||
| 13 | – | Edith de Oliveira | BRA | 1:20.0 | ||
| 14 | – | Gerda Olsen | DEN | 1:20.1 | ||
| 15 | – | Anneli Haaranen | FIN | 1:21.7 | ||
| 16 | – | Margareta Westeson | SWE | 1:22.7 | ||
| 17 | – | Lenora Fisher | CAN | 1:22.9 | ||
| 18 | – | Erna Herbers | GER | 1:23.1 | ||
| 19 | – | Irena Milnikiel | POL | 1:25.5 | ||
| 20 | – | Doris Gontersweiler | SUI | 1:26.5 | ||
| – | Judit Temes | HUN | – | |||
| – | Dolly Nazir | IND | – | |||
| – | Ilona Novák | HUN | – | |||
| – | Ragnhild Goetz | VEN | – |
Heat #1
| Pos | Lane | Competitor | NOC | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | – | Geertje Wielema | NED | 1:13.8 | ||
| 2 | – | Jean Stewart | NZL | 1:16.0 | ||
| 3 | – | Margaret McDowall | GBR | 1:17.5 | ||
| 4 | – | Barbara Stark | USA | 1:17.9 | ||
| 5 | – | Gerda Olsen | DEN | 1:20.1 | ||
| 6 | – | Anneli Haaranen | FIN | 1:21.7 | ||
| – | Judit Temes | HUN | – | |||
| – | Dolly Nazir | IND | – |
Heat #2
| Pos | Lane | Competitor | NOC | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | – | Ria van der Horst | NED | 1:17.0 | ||
| 2 | – | Gertrud Herrbruck | GER | 1:17.8 | ||
| 3 | – | Mary Freeman | USA | 1:18.0 | ||
| 4 | – | Edith de Oliveira | BRA | 1:20.0 | ||
| 5 | – | Lenora Fisher | CAN | 1:22.9 | ||
| 6 | – | Irena Milnikiel | POL | 1:25.5 | ||
| 7 | – | Doris Gontersweiler | SUI | 1:26.5 | ||
| – | Ilona Novák | HUN | – |
Heat #3
| Pos | Lane | Competitor | NOC | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | – | Joan Harrison | RSA | 1:14.7 | ||
| 2 | – | Joke de Korte | NED | 1:15.8 | ||
| 3 | – | Pauline Musgrove | GBR | 1:19.6 | ||
| 4 | – | Magdolna Hunyadfy | HUN | 1:19.6 | ||
| 5 | – | Coralie O'Connor | USA | 1:19.7 | ||
| 6 | – | Margareta Westeson | SWE | 1:22.7 | ||
| 7 | – | Erna Herbers | GER | 1:23.1 | ||
| – | Ragnhild Goetz | VEN | – |
Final
| Date | 31 July 1952 — 17:00 |
|---|
| Pos | Competitor | NOC | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Joan Harrison | RSA | 1:14.3 | ||
| 2 | Geertje Wielema | NED | 1:14.5 | ||
| 3 | Jean Stewart | NZL | 1:15.8 | ||
| 4 | Joke de Korte | NED | 1:15.8 | ||
| 5 | Barbara Stark | USA | 1:16.2 | ||
| 6 | Gertrud Herrbruck | GER | 1:18.0 | ||
| 7 | Margaret McDowall | GBR | 1:18.4 | ||
| Ria van der Horst | NED | – |