| | Event type
Foil, Individual, Women
| Date | 31 July – 2 August 1948 |
|---|---|
| Status | Olympic |
| Location | Palace of Engineering, Wembley, London |
| Participants | 39 from 15 countries |
It might have been 12 years since the Berlin Olympics but Ilona Elek-Schacherer of Hungary was still the best female fencer in the world. After surviving a barrage in her quarter-final pool, she recovered to become the first woman to retain an Olympic title in fencing. Her attempt at a third straight title in 1952 was thwarted only by the narrowest of margins.
Karen Lachmann of Denmark improved from fifth in Berlin to place second in London with Ellen Müller-Preis of Austria winning a third successive medal behind her.
| Pos | Competitor(s) | NOC | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ilona Elek |  HUN | Gold | ||
| 2 | Karen Lachmann |  DEN | Silver | ||
| 3 | Ellen Müller-Preis |  AUT | Bronze | ||
| 4 | Maria Cerra |  USA | |||
| 5 | Fritzi Filz | AUT | |||
| 6 | Margit Elek | HUN | |||
| 7 | Velleda Cesari |  ITA | |||
| 8 | Mary Glen-Haig |  GBR | |||
| 5 p1 r3/4 | Irene Camber-Corno | ITA | |||
| 5 p2 r3/4 | Jenny Addams |  BEL | |||
| 6 p1 r3/4 | Éva Kun | HUN | |||
| 6 p2 r3/4 | Gytte Minton | GBR | |||
| 4 p1 r2/4 | Irma de Antequeda |  ARG | |||
| 4 p2 r2/4 | Renée Garilhe |  FRA | |||
| 4 p3 r2/4 | Grethe Olsen | DEN | |||
| 4 p4 r2/4 | Jan York | USA | |||
| 5 p1 r2/4 | Louisette Malherbaud | FRA | |||
| 5 p3 r2/4 | Françoise Gouny | FRA | |||
| 5 p4 r2/4 | Elsa Irigoyen | ARG | |||
| =5 p2 r2/4 | Elena Libera | ITA | |||
| =5 p2 r2/4 | Kate Mahaut | DEN | |||
| 6 p1 r2/4 | Gabriele Zeilinger | AUT | |||
| 6 p3 r2/4 | Helena Dow | USA | |||
| 6 p4 r2/4 | Anita Klüpfel |  SUI | |||
| 5 p1 r1/4 | Mary Meyer-van der Sluis |  NED | |||
| 5 p2 r1/4 | Anja Secrève | NED | |||
| 5 p3 r1/4 | Rhoda Martin |  CAN | |||
| 5 p4 r1/4 | Enriqueta Mayora |  MEX | |||
| 5 p5 r1/4 | Betty Arbuthnott | GBR | |||
| 5 p6 r1/4 | Hedwig Rieder | SUI | |||
| 6 p1 r1/4 | Irena Nawrocka |  POL | |||
| 6 p2 r1/4 | Nadia Boudesoque | MEX | |||
| 6 p3 r1/4 | Nélida Fullone | ARG | |||
| 6 p4 r1/4 | Betty Hamilton | CAN | |||
| 6 p5 r1/4 | Vera Hagemann | SUI | |||
| 6 p6 r1/4 | Adèle Christiaens | BEL | |||
| 7 p1 r1/4 | Tommy Dermody |  IRL | |||
| 7 p2 r1/4 | Emilie Schwind | BEL | |||
| 7 p6 r1/4 | Emma Ruiz | MEX | |||
 BRA | 1 | ||||
| BRA | 2 |
Round One (31 July 1948)
Top four finishers in each pool advanced to quarter-finals.
Pool 1 (09:00)
| Jury President | György Piller | HUN |
|---|
| Pos | Competitor(s) | NOC | Bouts Won | Bouts Lost | TD | TR | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Maria Cerra | USA | 5 | 1 | – | – | |||
| 2 | Anita Klüpfel | SUI | 4 | 2 | 16 | 14 | |||
| 3 | Éva Kun | HUN | 4 | 2 | 21 | 14 | |||
| 4 | Grethe Olsen | DEN | 3 | 2 | – | – | |||
| 5 | Mary Meyer-van der Sluis | NED | 2 | 4 | – | 17 | |||
| 6 | Irena Nawrocka | POL | 2 | 4 | – | 20 | |||
| 7 | Tommy Dermody | IRL | 0 | 6 | – | – |
Pool 2 (09:00)
| Jury President | Renato Anselmi | ITA |
|---|
| Pos | Competitor(s) | NOC | Bouts Won | Bouts Lost | TD | TR | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Karen Lachmann | DEN | 6 | 0 | – | – | |||
| 2 | Renée Garilhe | FRA | 5 | 1 | – | – | |||
| 3 | Irene Camber-Corno | ITA | 3 | 3 | – | 15 | |||
| 4 | Fritzi Filz | AUT | 3 | 3 | – | 17 | |||
| 5 | Anja Secrève | NED | 2 | 4 | – | 16 | |||
| 6 | Nadia Boudesoque | MEX | 2 | 4 | – | 21 | |||
| 7 | Emilie Schwind | BEL | 0 | 6 | – | – |
Pool 3 (09:00)
| Jury President | Julien Eggermont | BEL |
|---|
| Pos | Competitor(s) | NOC | Bouts Won | Bouts Lost | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ilona Elek | HUN | 5 | 0 | |||
| 2 | Jan York | USA | 4 | 1 | |||
| 3 | Jenny Addams | BEL | 3 | 2 | |||
| 4 | Gytte Minton | GBR | 1 | 4 | |||
| 5 | Rhoda Martin | CAN | 1 | 4 | |||
| 6 | Nélida Fullone | ARG | 1 | 4 | |||
| BRA | – | – | 3 |
Pool 4 (11:00)
| Jury President | György Piller | HUN |
|---|
| Pos | Competitor(s) | NOC | Bouts Won | Bouts Lost | TD | TR | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gabriele Zeilinger | AUT | 4 | 1 | – | – | |||
| 2 | Françoise Gouny | FRA | 3 | 2 | – | 10 | |||
| 3 | Kate Mahaut | DEN | 3 | 2 | – | 12 | |||
| 4 | Velleda Cesari | ITA | 3 | 2 | – | 13 | |||
| 5 | Enriqueta Mayora | MEX | 2 | 3 | – | – | |||
| 6 | Betty Hamilton | CAN | 0 | 5 | – | – | |||
| BRA | – | – | – | – | 4 |
Pool 5 (11:00)
| Jury President | Renato Anselmi | ITA |
|---|
| Pos | Competitor(s) | NOC | Bouts Won | Bouts Lost | TD | TR | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Margit Elek | HUN | 4 | 1 | – | – | |||
| 2 | Louisette Malherbaud | FRA | 3 | 1 | – | 7 | |||
| 3 | Elena Libera | ITA | 3 | 1 | – | 13 | |||
| 4 | Elsa Irigoyen | ARG | 2 | 3 | – | – | |||
| 5 | Betty Arbuthnott | GBR | 1 | 4 | – | 17 | |||
| 6 | Vera Hagemann | SUI | 1 | 4 | – | 18 |
Pool 6 (11:00)
| Jury President | Julien Eggermont | BEL |
|---|
| Pos | Competitor(s) | NOC | Bouts Won | Bouts Lost | TR | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ellen Müller-Preis | AUT | 5 | 1 | 9 | |||
| 2 | Mary Glen-Haig | GBR | 5 | 1 | 15 | |||
| 3 | Irma de Antequeda | ARG | 4 | 2 | – | |||
| 4 | Helena Dow | USA | 3 | 3 | – | |||
| 5 | Hedwig Rieder | SUI | 3 | 3 | – | |||
| 6 | Adèle Christiaens | BEL | 1 | 5 | – | |||
| 7 | Emma Ruiz | MEX | 0 | 6 | – |
Quarter-Finals (31 July 1948 — 15:00)
Top three finishers in each pool advanced to semi-finals.
Pool 1
| Jury President | Ivan Osiier | DEN |
|---|
| Pos | Competitor(s) | NOC | Bouts Won | Bouts Lost | TR | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Maria Cerra | USA | 4 | 1 | 10 | |||
| 2 | Jenny Addams | BEL | 4 | 1 | 13 | |||
| 3 | Gytte Minton | GBR | 3 | 2 | – | |||
| 4 | Irma de Antequeda | ARG | 2 | 3 | 15 | |||
| 5 | Louisette Malherbaud | FRA | 2 | 3 | 17 | |||
| 6 | Gabriele Zeilinger | AUT | 0 | 5 | – |
Pool 2
| Jury President | Julien Eggermont | BEL |
|---|
| Pos | Competitor(s) | NOC | Bouts Won | Bouts Lost | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mary Glen-Haig | GBR | 5 | 0 | |||
| 2 | Ilona Elek | HUN | 3 | 2 | |||
| 3 | Fritzi Filz | AUT | 3 | 2 | |||
| 4 | Renée Garilhe | FRA | 3 | 2 | |||
| =5 | Elena Libera | ITA | 0 | 4 | |||
| =5 | Kate Mahaut | DEN | 0 | 4 |
Pool 3
| Jury President | Carlo Filogamo | ITA |
|---|
| Pos | Competitor(s) | NOC | Bouts Won | Bouts Lost | TD | TR | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ellen Müller-Preis | AUT | 4 | 1 | 19 | 10 | |||
| 2 | Margit Elek | HUN | 4 | 1 | 18 | 10 | |||
| 3 | Irene Camber-Corno | ITA | 3 | 2 | – | – | |||
| 4 | Grethe Olsen | DEN | 2 | 3 | – | – | |||
| 5 | Françoise Gouny | FRA | 1 | 4 | – | 18 | |||
| 6 | Helena Dow | USA | 1 | 4 | – | 19 |
Pool 4
| Jury President | József Hátszeghy | HUN |
|---|
| Pos | Competitor(s) | NOC | Bouts Won | Bouts Lost | TR | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Karen Lachmann | DEN | 4 | 1 | 7 | |||
| 2 | Éva Kun | HUN | 4 | 1 | 12 | |||
| 3 | Velleda Cesari | ITA | 3 | 2 | – | |||
| 4 | Jan York | USA | 3 | 2 | – | |||
| 5 | Elsa Irigoyen | ARG | 1 | 4 | – | |||
| 6 | Anita Klüpfel | SUI | 0 | 5 | – |
Semi-Finals (2 August 1948 — 09:00)
Top four finishers in each pool advanced to final.
Pool 1
| Jury President | György Rozgonyi | HUN |
|---|
| Pos | Competitor(s) | NOC | Bouts Won | Bouts Lost | TD | TR | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ilona Elek | HUN | 5 | 0 | – | – | |||
| 2 | Karen Lachmann | DEN | 3 | 2 | – | 12 | |||
| 3 | Mary Glen-Haig | GBR | 3 | 2 | – | 13 | |||
| 4 | Fritzi Filz | AUT | 2 | 3 | – | – | |||
| 5 | Irene Camber-Corno | ITA | 2 | 3 | – | – | |||
| 6 | Éva Kun | HUN | 0 | 5 | – | – |
Pool 2
| Jury President | Carlo Filogamo | ITA |
|---|
| Pos | Competitor(s) | NOC | Bouts Won | Bouts Lost | TD | TR | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ellen Müller-Preis | AUT | 4 | 1 | – | – | |||
| =2 | Maria Cerra | USA | 3 | 2 | 15 | 13 | |||
| =2 | Velleda Cesari | ITA | 3 | 2 | 15 | 13 | |||
| 4 | Margit Elek | HUN | 3 | 2 | – | 14 | |||
| 5 | Jenny Addams | BEL | 2 | 3 | – | – | |||
| 6 | Gytte Minton | GBR | 0 | 5 | – | – |
Final Pool (2 August 1948 — 15:00)
| Jury President | Georges Heyvaert | BEL |
|---|
| Pos | Competitor(s) | NOC | Bouts Won | Bouts Lost | TD | TR | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ilona Elek | HUN | 6 | 1 | 27 | 15 | |||
| 2 | Karen Lachmann | DEN | 5 | 2 | 24 | 11 | |||
| 3 | Ellen Müller-Preis | AUT | 5 | 2 | 24 | 16 | |||
| 4 | Maria Cerra | USA | 5 | 2 | 23 | 16 | |||
| 5 | Fritzi Filz | AUT | 4 | 3 | 20 | 21 | |||
| 6 | Margit Elek | HUN | 1 | 6 | 16 | 26 | |||
| 7 | Velleda Cesari | ITA | 1 | 6 | 15 | 27 | |||
| 8 | Mary Glen-Haig | GBR | 1 | 6 | 10 | 27 |