Swimming at the 1912 Summer Olympics – Women's 100 metre freestyle

The women's 100 metre freestyle was a swimming event held as part of the swimming at the 1912 Summer Olympics programme.^[1] It was the first appearance of a women's event in Olympic swimming, followed closely by the 4×100 metre free relay. The competition was held from Monday to Friday, 8 to 12 July 1912.

Women's 100 metre freestyle at the Games of the V Olympiad
Fanny Durack, Mina Wylie and Jennie Fletcher at the 1912 Olympics
Venue	Djurgårdsbrunnsviken
Dates	8–12 July
Competitors	27 from 8 nations
Medalists
Fanny Durack  Australasia Mina Wylie  Australasia Jennie Fletcher  Great Britain
1920 →

Twenty-seven swimmers from eight nations competed.

Durack also won the gold medal, with compatriot Wylie close behind for silver.

Records

These were the standing world and Olympic records (in minutes) prior to the 1912 Summer Olympics.

World Record	1:20.6	Daisy Curwen	Birkenhead (GBR)	10 June 1912
Olympic Record		none

Belle Moore, swimming in the first heat, set the first Olympic record with 1 minute 29.8 seconds. In the second heat Daisy Curwen bettered the record with 1 minute 23.6 seconds, and in the fourth heat Fanny Durack set a new world record with 1 minute 19.8 seconds.

Results

Quarterfinals

The top two in each heat advanced along with the fastest loser overall.

Heat 1

Place	Swimmer	Time	Qual.
1	Belle Moore (GBR)	1:29.8	QS OR
2	Louise Otto (GER)	1:34.4	QS
3	Klara Milch (AUT)	1:37.2
4	Greta Johansson (SWE)	1:41.4
5	Tyyne Järvi (FIN)	1:42.4
—	Aagot Norman (NOR)	DNF

Heat 2

Place	Swimmer	Time	Qual.
1	Daisy Curwen (GBR)	1:23.6	QS OR
2	Jennie Fletcher (GBR)	1:26.2	QS
3	Berta Zahourek (AUT)	1:38.6
4	Josefa Kellner (AUT)	1:41.2
5	Karin Lundgren (SWE)	1:44.8
6	Sonja Johnsson (SWE)

Heat 3

Place	Swimmer	Time	Qual.
1	Mina Wylie (ANZ)	1:26.8	QS
2	Mary Langford (GBR)	1:28.0	QS
3	Hermine Stindt (GER)	1:29.2
4	Josephine Sticker (AUT)	1:31.8
5	Claire Guttenstein (BEL)
6	Elsa Björklund (SWE)

Heat 4

Place	Swimmer	Time	Qual.
1	Fanny Durack (ANZ)	1:19.8	QS WR
2	Irene Steer (GBR)	1:27.2	QS
3	Wally Dressel (GER)	1:28.6	qs
4	Margarete Adler (AUT)	1:34.4
5	Greta Carlsson (SWE)
6	Regina Kari (FIN)

Heat 5

Place	Swimmer	Time	Qual.
1	Grete Rosenberg (GER)	1:25.0	QS
2	Annie Speirs (GBR)	1:25.6	QS
3	Vera Thulin (SWE)	1:44.0

Semifinals

The top two from each heat and the faster of the two third place swimmers advanced.

Semifinal 1

Place	Swimmer	Time	Qual.
1	Fanny Durack (ANZ)	1:20.2	QF
2	Daisy Curwen (GBR)	1:26.8	QF
3	Annie Speirs (GBR)	1:27.0	qf
4	Belle Moore (GBR)	1:27.4
5	Mary Langford (GBR)	1:29.2
6	Louise Otto (GER)	1:32.0

Semifinal 2

Place	Swimmer	Time	Qual.
1	Mina Wylie (ANZ)	1:27.0	QF
2	Jennie Fletcher (GBR)	1:27.2	QF
3	Grete Rosenberg (GER)	1:29.2	*
4	Wally Dressel (GER)	1:33.4
—	Irene Steer (GBR)	DQ

Curwen had to undergo an operation for appendicitis and missed the final. Rosenberg advanced to the final to replace her.

Final

The final

Place	Swimmer	Time
1	Fanny Durack (ANZ)	1:22.2
2	Mina Wylie (ANZ)	1:25.4
3	Jennie Fletcher (GBR)	1:27.0
4	Grete Rosenberg (GER)	1:27.2
5	Annie Speirs (GBR)	1:27.4
—	Daisy Curwen (GBR)	DNS