| | Event type
Foil, Individual, Women
| Date | 31 July – 1 August 1928 | |
|---|---|---|
| Status | Olympic | |
| Location | Schermzaal, Amsterdam | |
| Participants | 27 from 11 countries | |
| Jury President | Carlo Anselmi |  ITA |
| Jury President | Giovanni Canova | ITA |
| Jury President | Luigi Cuomo | ITA |
| Jury President | Otto Herschmann |  AUT |
| Jury President | Adrien Lajoux |  FRA |
| Jury President | Adam Papée |  POL |
| Jury President | P. Peverelli | ITA |
Helene Mayer was the top German fencer and won the gold medal in this event with ease, with victories in 18 of her 20 bouts. She was undefeated in the final, besting Britain’s Muriel Freeman for the gold, as Freeman won all her other bouts for the silver medal. Mayer would compete at the Olympics again in 1932, when she placed fifth shortly after the death of her boyfriend, and in 1936, when she won a silver medal, after having been placed on the team as Germany’s “token Jew.” She eventually emigrated to the United States after she was unable to live in Nazi Germany. Freeman had also competed at the Paris Olympics, just missing the podium there with a fourth-place finish.
| Pos | Competitor(s) | NOC | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Helene Mayer |  GER | Gold | ||
| 2 | Muriel Freeman |  GBR | Silver | ||
| 3 | Olga Oelkers | GER | Bronze | ||
| 4 | Erna Sondheim | GER | |||
| 5 | Gladys Daniell | GBR | |||
| =6 | Jenny Addams |  BEL | |||
| =6 | Margit Danÿ |  HUN | |||
| 8 | Jo de Boer |  NED | |||
| 5 p1 r2/3 | Gizella Tary | HUN | |||
| 5 p2 r2/3 | Jeanne Morgenthaler |  SUI | |||
| 6 p1 r2/3 | Marion Lloyd |  USA | |||
| 6 p2 r2/3 | Peggy Butler | GBR | |||
| 7 p1 r2/3 | Lucie Prost | FRA | |||
| 7 p2 r2/3 | Jarmila Chalupová |  TCH | |||
| 8 p1 r2/3 | Adriana Admiraal-Meijerink | NED | |||
| 8 p2 r2/3 | Erna Bogen | HUN | |||
| 5 p1 r1/3 | Edith Addams | BEL | |||
| 5 p2 r1/3 | Hilda Deswarte | BEL | |||
| 5 p3 r1/3 | Ebba Gripenstedt |  SWE | |||
| 5 p4 r1/3 | Margot Bærentzen |  DEN | |||
| 6 p1 r1/3 | Marguerite Reuche | FRA | |||
| 6 p2 r1/3 | Inger Klint | DEN | |||
| 6 p3 r1/3 | Irma Hopper | USA | |||
| 6 p4 r1/3 | Friederike Koderitsch | NED | |||
| 7 p1 r1/3 | Hanna Olsen | SWE | |||
| 7 p2 r1/3 | Oda Mahaut | FRA | |||
| 7 p3 r1/3 | Else Ahlmann-Ohlsen | DEN |
Round One (31 July 1928)
Top four finishers in each pool advanced to semi-finals.
Pool 1
| Pos | Competitor(s) | NOC | Bouts Won | Bouts Lost | TD | TR | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Muriel Freeman | GBR | 5 | 1 | 29 | 17 | |||
| 2 | Helene Mayer | GER | 5 | 1 | 28 | 18 | |||
| 3 | Marion Lloyd | USA | 4 | 2 | 26 | 18 | |||
| 4 | Jeanne Morgenthaler | SUI | 3 | 3 | 22 | 21 | |||
| 5 | Edith Addams | BEL | 3 | 3 | 22 | 25 | |||
| 6 | Marguerite Reuche | FRA | 1 | 5 | 16 | 28 | |||
| 7 | Hanna Olsen | SWE | 0 | 6 | 14 | 30 |
Pool 2
| Pos | Competitor(s) | NOC | Bouts Won | Bouts Lost | TD | TR | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Erna Sondheim | GER | 5 | 1 | 29 | 17 | |||
| 2 | Margit Danÿ | HUN | 5 | 1 | 28 | 21 | |||
| 3 | Peggy Butler | GBR | 3 | 3 | 22 | 23 | |||
| 4 | Adriana Admiraal-Meijerink | NED | 3 | 3 | 22 | 26 | |||
| 5 | Hilda Deswarte | BEL | 2 | 4 | 21 | 24 | |||
| 6 | Inger Klint | DEN | 2 | 4 | 19 | 25 | |||
| 7 | Oda Mahaut | FRA | 1 | 5 | 22 | 27 |
Pool 3
| Pos | Competitor(s) | NOC | Bouts Won | Bouts Lost | TD | TR | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jo de Boer | NED | 5 | 1 | 27 | 18 | |||
| 2 | Jarmila Chalupová | TCH | 5 | 1 | 27 | 19 | |||
| 3 | Jenny Addams | BEL | 4 | 2 | 26 | 14 | |||
| 4 | Erna Bogen | HUN | 4 | 2 | 24 | 16 | |||
| 5 | Ebba Gripenstedt | SWE | 2 | 4 | 17 | 25 | |||
| 6 | Irma Hopper | USA | 1 | 5 | 16 | 29 | |||
| 7 | Else Ahlmann-Ohlsen | DEN | 0 | 6 | 14 | 30 |
Pool 4
| Pos | Competitor(s) | NOC | Bouts Won | Bouts Lost | TD | TR | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Olga Oelkers | GER | 4 | 1 | 24 | 12 | |||
| 2 | Lucie Prost | FRA | 4 | 1 | 23 | 13 | |||
| 3 | Gladys Daniell | GBR | 3 | 2 | 20 | 15 | |||
| 4 | Gizella Tary | HUN | 2 | 3 | 16 | 19 | |||
| 5 | Margot Bærentzen | DEN | 2 | 3 | 16 | 20 | |||
| 6 | Friederike Koderitsch | NED | 0 | 5 | 5 | 25 |
| Bout #1 | Olga Oelkers | GER | 5 – 2 | Gladys Daniell | GBR |
| Bout #2 | Olga Oelkers | GER | 5 – 2 | Gizella Tary | HUN |
| Bout #3 | Olga Oelkers | GER | 5 – 2 | Margot Bærentzen | DEN |
| Bout #4 | Olga Oelkers | GER | 5 – 1 | Friederike Koderitsch | NED |
| Bout #5 | Lucie Prost | FRA | 5 – 4 | Olga Oelkers | GER |
| Bout #6 | Lucie Prost | FRA | 5 – 2 | Gizella Tary | HUN |
| Bout #7 | Lucie Prost | FRA | 5 – 0 | Margot Bærentzen | DEN |
| Bout #8 | Lucie Prost | FRA | 5 – 2 | Friederike Koderitsch | NED |
| Bout #9 | Gladys Daniell | GBR | 5 – 3 | Lucie Prost | FRA |
| Bout #10 | Gladys Daniell | GBR | 5 – 2 | Gizella Tary | HUN |
| Bout #11 | Gladys Daniell | GBR | 5 – 0 | Friederike Koderitsch | NED |
| Bout #12 | Gizella Tary | HUN | 5 – 4 | Margot Bærentzen | DEN |
| Bout #13 | Gizella Tary | HUN | 5 – 0 | Friederike Koderitsch | NED |
| Bout #14 | Margot Bærentzen | DEN | 5 – 3 | Gladys Daniell | GBR |
| Bout #15 | Margot Bærentzen | DEN | 5 – 2 | Friederike Koderitsch | NED |
Semi-Finals (1 August 1928)
Top four finishers in each pool advanced to final.
Pool 1
| Pos | Competitor(s) | NOC | Bouts Won | Bouts Lost | TD | TR | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Helene Mayer | GER | 6 | 1 | 34 | 15 | |||
| 2 | Muriel Freeman | GBR | 4 | 3 | 26 | 22 | |||
| 3 | Olga Oelkers | GER | 4 | 3 | 28 | 22 | |||
| 4 | Gladys Daniell | GBR | 4 | 3 | 25 | 26 | |||
| 5 | Gizella Tary | HUN | 3 | 4 | 24 | 28 | |||
| 6 | Marion Lloyd | USA | 3 | 4 | 25 | 30 | |||
| 7 | Lucie Prost | FRA | 2 | 5 | 23 | 31 | |||
| 8 | Adriana Admiraal-Meijerink | NED | 2 | 5 | 21 | 32 |
Pool 2
| Pos | Competitor(s) | NOC | Bouts Won | Bouts Lost | TD | TR | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jo de Boer | NED | 7 | 0 | 35 | 12 | |||
| 2 | Margit Danÿ | HUN | 5 | 2 | 31 | 23 | |||
| 3 | Erna Sondheim | GER | 4 | 3 | 29 | 24 | |||
| 4 | Jenny Addams | BEL | 4 | 3 | 29 | 26 | |||
| 5 | Jeanne Morgenthaler | SUI | 3 | 4 | 24 | 26 | |||
| 6 | Peggy Butler | GBR | 3 | 4 | 24 | 30 | |||
| 7 | Jarmila Chalupová | TCH | 1 | 6 | 18 | 30 | |||
| 8 | Erna Bogen | HUN | 1 | 6 | 14 | 33 |
Final Pool (1 August 1928)
| Jury President | Adrien Lajoux | FRA |
|---|
| Pos | Competitor(s) | NOC | Bouts Won | Bouts Lost | TD | TR | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Helene Mayer | GER | 7 | 0 | 35 | 9 | |||
| 2 | Muriel Freeman | GBR | 6 | 1 | 32 | 19 | |||
| 3 | Olga Oelkers | GER | 4 | 3 | 25 | 27 | |||
| 4 | Erna Sondheim | GER | 3 | 4 | 22 | 29 | |||
| 5 | Gladys Daniell | GBR | 2 | 5 | 23 | 29 | |||
| =6 | Jenny Addams | BEL | 2 | 5 | 23 | 30 | |||
| =6 | Margit Danÿ | HUN | 2 | 5 | 23 | 30 | |||
| 8 | Jo de Boer | NED | 2 | 5 | 23 | 33 |