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.
Records Prior to the competition, the existing World record was as follows.
World Record23.6Warsaw, Poland4 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 24.4 OR
Schedule All times are British Summer Time (UTC+1) Date Time RoundThursday, 5 August 1948 15:3017:00Round 1SemifinalsFriday, 6 August 1948 16:30Final
Results 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 25.7 2 Liliane Sprécher 26.0 3 Mae Faggs 26.0 4 Melânia Luz 26.6 EST 5 Phyllis Edness 26.6
Heat 2 Rank Name Nationality Time (hand) Notes 1 Cynthia Thompson 25.6 2 Sylvia Cheeseman 25.7 3 Diane Foster 26.1 4 Helena de Menezes 27.7
Heat 3 Rank Name Nationality Time (hand) Notes 1 Joyce King 25.9 2 Phyllis Lightbourne-Jones 27.0 3 Lucila Pini 27.6 4 Maria-Therese Renard 28.5 5 Olga Sicnerova 28.5
Heat 4 Rank Name Nationality Time (hand) Notes 1 Daphne Robb-Hasenjager 24.4 2 Shirley Strickland 25.1 3 Nell Jackson 25.8 4 Donna Gilmore 25.8 5 Alma Butia 25.8
Heat 5 Rank Name Nationality Time (hand) Notes 1 Audrey Patterson 25.5 2 Margaret Walker 25.8 3 Kathleen Russell 26.3 4 Ann-Britt Leyman 26.3 5 Tilly Decker 26.3 6 Betty Kretschmer 26.3
Heat 6 Rank Name Nationality Time (hand) Notes 1 Betty McKinnon 25.9 2 Rosine Faugouin 25.9 3 Grietje de Jongh 26.2 4 Grete Pavlousek 26.2
Heat 7 Rank Name Nationality Time (hand) Notes 1 Audrey Williamson 25.4 2 Neeltje Karelse 26.0 3 Millie Cheater 26.4 4 Annegret Weller-Schneider 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 24.3 2 Audrey Patterson 25.0 3 Margaret Walker 25.3 4 Cynthia Thompson 25.3 5 Rosine Faugouin 25.3 6 Joyce King 25.3 7 Phyllis Lightbourne-Jones 25.3
Heat 2
Rank Name Nationality Time (hand) Notes 1 Shirley Strickland 24.9 2 Audrey Williamson 24.9 3 Daphne Robb-Hasenjager 25.1 4 Sylvia Cheeseman 25.1 5 Neeltje Karelse 25.1 6 Liliane Sprécher 25.1 7 Betty McKinnon 25.1
Final Rank Name Nationality Time (hand) Notes Fanny Blankers-Koen 24.4 OR Audrey Williamson 25.1 Audrey Patterson 25.2 4 Shirley Strickland 25.3 Est 5 Margaret Walker 25.6 Est 6 Daphne Robb-Hasenjäger 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.
References
External links 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.