Swimming at the 1920 Summer Olympics – Women's 100 metre freestyle
| Women's 100 metre freestyle at the Games of the VII Olympiad | ||||||||||
 100 m finalists, left-right: Ethelda Bleibtrey, Violet Walrond, Jane Gylling, Irene Guest, Frances Schroth and Constance Jeans | ||||||||||
| Venue | Stade Nautique d'Antwerp | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dates | August 23–25 | |||||||||
| Competitors | 19 from 9 nations | |||||||||
| Medalists | ||||||||||
| ||||||||||
| Swimming at the 1920 Summer Olympics  | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Freestyle | ||||
| 100 m | men | women | ||
| 300 m | women | |||
| 400 m | men | |||
| 1500 m | men | |||
| Backstroke | ||||
| 100 m | men | |||
| Breaststroke | ||||
| 200 m | men | |||
| 400 m | men | |||
| Freestyle relay | ||||
| 4×100 m | women | |||
| 4×200 m | men | |||
The women's 100 metre freestyle was a swimming event held as part of the swimming at the 1920 Summer Olympics programme. It was the second appearance of the event, which was one of the two women's events held in 1912.
A total of 19 swimmers from nine nations competed in the event, which was held on Monday, August 23 and on Wednesday, August 25, 1920.
Records
These were the standing world and Olympic records (in minutes) prior to the 1920 Summer Olympics.
| World Record | 1:16.2 |  Fanny Durack |
Sydney (AUS) | February 6, 1915 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Olympic Record | 1:19.8 | Fanny Durack |
Stockholm (SWE) | July 11, 1912 |
Frances Schroth broke the Olympic record in the first semifinal with a time of 1:18.0 minutes. Ethelda Bleibtrey broke world record in the third semifinal with 1:14.4 and lowered her own new record in the final to 1:13.6.
Results
Semifinals
Monday, August 23, 1920: The fastest two in each semi-final and the fastest third-placed from across the semi-finals advanced.
Semifinal 1
| Place | Swimmer | Time | Qual. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Frances Schroth (USA) | 1:18.0 | Q OR |
| 2 | Charlotte Boyle (USA) | 1:20.4 | Q |
| 3 |  Rie Beisenherz (NED) | 1:22.6 | |
| 4 |  Yvonne Degraine (FRA) | ||
| 5 |  Aina Berg (SWE) | ||
| 6 |  Lillian Birkenhead (GBR) |
Semifinal 2
| Place | Swimmer | Time | Qual. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Irene Guest (USA) | 1:18.8 | Q |
| 2 | Constance Jeans (GBR) | 1:20.8 | Q |
| 3 |  Violet Walrond (NZL) | 1:21.4 | q |
| 4 | .svg.png){kind=small} Germaine Van Dievoet (BEL) | ||
| 5 | Suzanne Wurtz (FRA) | ||
| 6 | Carin Nilsson (SWE) | ||
| 7 | Charlotte Radcliffe (GBR) |
Semifinal 3
| Place | Swimmer | Time | Qual. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ethelda Bleibtrey (USA) | 1:14.4 | Q WR |
| 2 | Jane Gylling (SWE) | 1:25.6 | Q |
| 3 | Grace McKenzie (GBR) | 1:27.4 | |
| 4 | Ernestine Lebrun (FRA) | ||
| 5 |  Barbara Nash (RSA) | ||
| 6 | Lily Beaurepaire (AUS) |
Final
Wednesday, August 25, 1920:
| Place | Swimmer | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ethelda Bleibtrey (USA) | 1:13.6 WR |
| 2 | Irene Guest (USA) | 1:17.0 |
| 3 | Frances Schroth (USA) | 1:17.2 |
| 4 | Constance Jeans (GBR) | 1:22.8 |
| 5 | Violet Walrond (NZL) | |
| 6 | Jane Gylling (SWE) | |
| — | Charlotte Boyle (USA) | DNF |
References
- Swimming at the 1920 Antwerpen Summer Games: Women's 100 metres Freestyle. sports-reference.com
- Belgium Olympic Committee (1957). Olympic Games Antwerp 1920: Official Report (in French).
- Wudarski, Pawel (1999). "Wyniki Igrzysk Olimpijskich" (in Polish). Retrieved 2 May 2008.