Athletics_at_the_1948_Summer_Olympics_–_Women's_200_metres
| Women's 200 metres at the Games of the XIV Olympiad | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dates | August 5 (heats and semifinals) August 6 (final) | |||||||||
| Medalists | ||||||||||
| ||||||||||
@ 47:25
The women's 200 metres sprint event at the 1948 Olympic Games took place on August 5 and August 6. The final was won by Dutch athlete Fanny Blankers-Koen. It was the first time this event was included in the Summer Olympics.[1]
Prior to the competition, the existing World record was as follows.
| World Record |  Stanisława Walasiewicz (POL) |
23.6 | Warsaw, Poland | 4 August 1935 |
Since it was the first time this event took place, the following new Olympic record was set during this competition:
| Date | Event | Athlete | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 August | Final |  Fanny Blankers-Koen (NED) | 24.4 | OR |
All times are British Summer Time (UTC+1)
| Date | Time | Round |
|---|---|---|
| Thursday, 5 August 1948 | 15:30 17:00 | Round 1 Semifinals |
| Friday, 6 August 1948 | 16:30 | Final |
Round 1
Round 1 took place on 5 August. The first two runners from each heat advanced to the semifinals.
Heat 1
| Rank | Name | Nationality | Time (hand) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fanny Blankers-Koen | Netherlands | 25.7 | |
| 2 | Liliane Sprécher |  France | 26.0 | |
| 3 | Mae Faggs |  United States | 26.0 | |
| 4 | Melânia Luz |  Brazil | 26.6 | EST |
| 5 | Phyllis Edness |  Bermuda | 26.6 |
Heat 2
| Rank | Name | Nationality | Time (hand) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cynthia Thompson |  Jamaica | 25.6 | |
| 2 | Sylvia Cheeseman |  Great Britain | 25.7 | |
| 3 | Diane Foster |  Canada | 26.1 | |
| 4 | Helena de Menezes | Brazil | 27.7 |
Heat 3
| Rank | Name | Nationality | Time (hand) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Joyce King |  Australia | 25.9 | |
| 2 | Phyllis Lightbourne-Jones | Bermuda | 27.0 | |
| 3 | Lucila Pini | Brazil | 27.6 | |
| 4 | Maria-Therese Renard |  Belgium | 28.5 | |
| 5 | Olga Sicnerova |  Czechoslovakia | 28.5 |
Heat 4
| Rank | Name | Nationality | Time (hand) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Daphne Robb-Hasenjager |  South Africa | 24.4 | |
| 2 | Shirley Strickland | Australia | 25.1 | |
| 3 | Nell Jackson | United States | 25.8 | |
| 4 | Donna Gilmore | Canada | 25.8 | |
| 5 | Alma Butia |  Yugoslavia | 25.8 |
Heat 5
| Rank | Name | Nationality | Time (hand) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Audrey Patterson | United States | 25.5 | |
| 2 | Margaret Walker | Great Britain | 25.8 | |
| 3 | Kathleen Russell | Jamaica | 26.3 | |
| 4 | Ann-Britt Leyman |  Sweden | 26.3 | |
| 5 | Tilly Decker |  Luxembourg | 26.3 | |
| 6 | Betty Kretschmer |  Chile | 26.3 |
Heat 6
| Rank | Name | Nationality | Time (hand) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Betty McKinnon | Australia | 25.9 | |
| 2 | Rosine Faugouin | France | 25.9 | |
| 3 | Grietje de Jongh | Netherlands | 26.2 | |
| 4 | Grete Pavlousek |  Austria | 26.2 |
Heat 7
| Rank | Name | Nationality | Time (hand) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Audrey Williamson | Great Britain | 25.4 | |
| 2 | Neeltje Karelse | Netherlands | 26.0 | |
| 3 | Millie Cheater | Canada | 26.4 | |
| 4 | Annegret Weller-Schneider | Chile | 26.4 |
Semifinals
The semifinals took place on 5 August. The top three runners from each heat advanced to the final.
Heat 1
| Rank | Name | Nationality | Time (hand) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fanny Blankers-Koen | Netherlands | 24.3 | |
| 2 | Audrey Patterson | United States | 25.0 | |
| 3 | Margaret Walker | Great Britain | 25.3 | |
| 4 | Cynthia Thompson | Jamaica | 25.3 | |
| 5 | Rosine Faugouin | France | 25.3 | |
| 6 | Joyce King | Australia | 25.3 | |
| 7 | Phyllis Lightbourne-Jones | Bermuda | 25.3 |
Heat 2
| Rank | Name | Nationality | Time (hand) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Shirley Strickland | Australia | 24.9 | |
| 2 | Audrey Williamson | Great Britain | 24.9 | |
| 3 | Daphne Robb-Hasenjager | South Africa | 25.1 | |
| 4 | Sylvia Cheeseman | Great Britain | 25.1 | |
| 5 | Neeltje Karelse | Netherlands | 25.1 | |
| 6 | Liliane Sprécher | France | 25.1 | |
| 7 | Betty McKinnon | Australia | 25.1 |
Final
| Rank | Name | Nationality | Time (hand) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Fanny Blankers-Koen | Netherlands | 24.4 | OR |
 | Audrey Williamson | Great Britain | 25.1 | |
 | Audrey Patterson | United States | 25.2 | |
| 4 | Shirley Strickland | Australia | 25.3 | Est |
| 5 | Margaret Walker | Great Britain | 25.6 | Est |
| 6 | Daphne Robb-Hasenjäger | South Africa | 25.7 | Est |
Key: Est = Time is an estimate, OR = Olympic record
Despite Strickland's 4th placing in the final, a photo finish of the race (that was not consulted then but discovered in 1975) showed that she had beaten Patterson into 3rd place, a discrepancy that has been recognised by many reputable Olympic historians.[2]
- "Athletics at the 1948 London Summer Games: Women's 200 metres". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 9 July 2017.
- "Shirley Strickland". athletics.com.au. Athletics Australia. Retrieved 13 June 2015.
- Organising Committee for the XIV Olympiad, The (1948). The Official Report of the Organising Committee for the XIV Olympiad. LA84 Foundation. Retrieved 5 September 2016.