Athletics at the 1956 Summer Olympics – Women's 100 metres

Last updated

Contents

Women's 100 metres
at the Games of the XVI Olympiad
Venue Melbourne Cricket Ground
DateNovember 24th (heats & semifinals)
November 26th (final)
Competitors34 from 18 nations
Winning time11.5
Medalists
Gold medal icon.svg Betty Cuthbert Flag of Australia.svg  Australia
Silver medal icon.svg Christa Stubnick Flag of Germany.svg  United Team of Germany
Bronze medal icon.svg Marlene Mathews-Willard Flag of Australia.svg  Australia
  1952
1960  
Video on YouTube Official Video @16:22 TV-icon-2.svg
Video on YouTube Official Video @16:22

The women's 100 metres competition at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, Australia was held at the Olympic Stadium on November 29–30. [1]

In the final, Betty Cuthbert clearly beat her teammate Marlene Mathews-Willard out of the blocks, with Heather Armitage and Isabelle Daniels out quickly in close contention. Christa Stubnick had a burst of acceleration to quickly draw even with Daniels as Armitage was unable to hold her speed. Cuthbert expanded upon her slight advantage to pull away to a clear win. Stubnick was able to separate slightly from Daniels with Mathews-Willard steadily gaining from the back. Mathews-Willard caught Daniels and almost nipped Stubnick, clearly the fastest moving athlete at the finish.

Competition format

The women's 100 metres competition started with six heats, where the fastest two from each heat qualified to one of the two semifinals groups. The three fastest runners from each semifinals group advanced to the final.

Records

Prior to the competition, the existing World and Olympic records were as follows.

World record Flag of Australia (converted).svg  Shirley Strickland  (AUS)11.3 Warsaw, Poland August 4, 1955
Olympic recordFlag of the United States.svg  Helen Stephens  (USA)11.5 Berlin, Germany August 4, 1936

Results

Heats

Heat 1

RankAthleteCountryTimeNotes
1 Giuseppina Leone Flag of Italy.svg  Italy 11.8Q
2 Vira Kalashnykova-Krepkina Flag of the Soviet Union.svg  Soviet Union 11.9Q
3 Mae Faggs US flag 48 stars.svg  United States 12.2
4 Micheline Fluchot Flag of France.svg  France 12.4
5 Janet Jesudason Flag of Singapore (1946-1959).svg  Singapore 13.2
Mary Rao Flag of India.svg  India DNF

Heat 2

RankAthleteCountryTimeNotes
1 Marlene Mathews-Willard Flag of Australia.svg  Australia 11.5Q, OR
2 Galina Rezchikova Flag of the Soviet Union.svg  Soviet Union 11.8Q
3 Lucinda Williams US flag 48 stars.svg  United States 12.0
4 Maria Kusion-Bibro Flag of Poland (1928-1980).svg  Poland 12.2
5 Maureen Rever Flag of Canada (1921-1957).svg  Canada 12.2
6 Franca Peggion Flag of Italy.svg  Italy 12.4
7 Mary Klass Flag of Singapore (1946-1959).svg  Singapore 12.6

Heat 3

RankAthleteCountryTimeNotes
1 Betty Cuthbert Flag of Australia.svg  Australia 11.4Q, OR
2 Isabelle Daniels US flag 48 stars.svg  United States 11.6Q
3 Anne Pashley Flag of the United Kingdom (3-2).svg  Great Britain 11.7
4 Barbara Janiszewska Flag of Poland (1928-1980).svg  Poland 12.2
5 Maria Musso Flag of Italy.svg  Italy 12.2
6 Diane Matheson Flag of Canada (1921-1957).svg  Canada 12.4

Heat 4

RankAthleteCountryTimeNotes
1 Heather Armitage Flag of the United Kingdom (3-2).svg  Great Britain 11.5Q
2 Gisela Birkemeyer Flag of Germany.svg  United Team of Germany 11.7Q
3 Shirley Strickland Flag of Australia.svg  Australia 11.7
4 Eleanor Haslam Flag of Canada (1921-1957).svg  Canada 11.8
5 Halina Górecka Flag of Poland (1928-1980).svg  Poland 12.2
6 Maeve Kyle Flag of Ireland.svg  Ireland 12.3

Heat 5

RankAthleteCountryTimeNotes
1 Galina Popova Flag of the Soviet Union.svg  Soviet Union 11.6Q
2 Catherine Capdevielle Flag of France.svg  France 11.7Q
3 Inge Fuhrmann Flag of Germany.svg  United Team of Germany 12.2
4 Annie Choong Flag of Malaya.svg  Malaya 12.5

Heat 6

RankAthleteCountryTimeNotes
1 Christa Stubnick Flag of Germany.svg  United Team of Germany 11.7Q
2 June Foulds Flag of the United Kingdom (3-2).svg  Great Britain 11.9Q
3 Margaret Stuart Flag of New Zealand.svg  New Zealand 12.3
4 Elaine Winter Flag of South Africa (1928-1982).svg  South Africa 12.5
5 Claudette Masdammer Flag of British Guiana (1955-1966).svg  Guyana 12.7

Semifinals

Semifinal 1

RankAthleteCountryTimeNotes
1 Christa Stubnick Flag of Germany.svg  United Team of Germany 11.9Q
2 Betty Cuthbert Flag of Australia.svg  Australia 12.0Q
3 Giuseppina Leone Flag of Italy.svg  Italy 12.1Q
4 June Foulds Flag of the United Kingdom (3-2).svg  Great Britain 12.1
5 Galina Popova Flag of the Soviet Union.svg  Soviet Union 12.2
6 Catherine Capdevielle Flag of France.svg  France 12.4

Semifinal 2

RankAthleteCountryTimeNotes
1 Marlene Mathews-Willard Flag of Australia.svg  Australia 11.6Q
2 Heather Armitage Flag of the United Kingdom (3-2).svg  Great Britain 11.6Q
3 Isabelle Daniels US flag 48 stars.svg  United States 11.7Q
4 Gisela Birkemeyer Flag of Germany.svg  United Team of Germany 11.9
5 Vira Kalashnykova-Krepkina Flag of the Soviet Union.svg  Soviet Union 11.9
6 Galina Reshchikova Flag of the Soviet Union.svg  Soviet Union 12.1

Final

Left-right: Isabelle Daniels, Giuseppina Leone, Betty Cuthbert, Marlene Mathews, Heather Armitage, Christa Stubnick Women 100m final 1956 Olympics.jpg
Left-right: Isabelle Daniels, Giuseppina Leone, Betty Cuthbert, Marlene Mathews, Heather Armitage, Christa Stubnick
RankAthleteCountryTime
Gold medal icon.svg Betty Cuthbert Flag of Australia.svg  Australia 11.5
Silver medal icon.svg Christa Stubnick Flag of Germany.svg  United Team of Germany 11.7
Bronze medal icon.svg Marlene Mathews-Willard Flag of Australia.svg  Australia 11.7
4 Isabelle Daniels US flag 48 stars.svg  United States 11.8
5 Giuseppina Leone Flag of Italy.svg  Italy 11.9
6 Heather Armitage Flag of the United Kingdom (3-2).svg  Great Britain 12.0

Related Research Articles

The women's 100 metres at the 2004 Summer Olympics as part of the athletics program were held at the Athens Olympic Stadium from August 20 to 21.

The women's 100 metres hurdles at the 2004 Summer Olympics as part of the athletics program were held at the Athens Olympic Stadium from August 22 to 24.

The women's 200 metres at the 2004 Summer Olympics as part of the athletics program were held at the Athens Olympic Stadium from August 24 to 26. The winning margin was 0.13 seconds. The winner had the second slowest reaction time in the final.

The women's 400 metres at the 2004 Summer Olympics as part of the athletics program were held at the Athens Olympic Stadium from August 21 to 24. The winning margin was 0.14 seconds.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Athletics at the 2004 Summer Olympics – Women's 1500 metres</span>

The women's 1500 metres at the 2004 Summer Olympics as part of the athletics program were held at the Athens Olympic Stadium from August 24 to 28.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Faith Leech</span> Australian swimmer

Faith Yvonne Leech was an Australian freestyle swimmer who won a gold medal in the 4×100–metre freestyle relay and bronze in the 100-metre freestyle at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marlene Mathews</span> Australian sprinter

Marlene Judith Mathews AO is a retired Australian Olympic sprinter. She has been described as 'one of Australia's greatest and unluckiest' champions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Swimming at the 1908 Summer Olympics – Men's 100 metre freestyle</span>

The men's 100 metre freestyle was one of six swimming events on the swimming at the 1908 Summer Olympics programme. It was the shortest of the three individual freestyle events, as the 50 yard freestyle had been dropped after its one appearance on the 1904 Summer Olympics programme. The 100 metre event was contested for the third time after it had been held at the 1896 and 1906 Olympics. The 1904 Olympics saw a 100-yard event. The competition was held on Friday 17 July 1908 and Monday 20 July 1908. Thirty-four swimmers from twelve nations competed. Each nation was limited to 12 swimmers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Swimming at the 1912 Summer Olympics – Men's 100 metre freestyle</span>

The men's 100 metre freestyle was a swimming event held as part of the swimming at the 1912 Summer Olympics programme. It was the fourth appearance of the event, which had not been featured at the 1900 Games. The competition was held from Saturday July 6, 1912, to Wednesday July 10, 1912. Thirty-four swimmers from twelve nations competed. The event was won by Duke Kahanamoku of the United States, the nation's second consecutive victory in the event. Cecil Healy took silver, the only medal in the event for Australasia, the short-lived joint team of Australia and New Zealand. Another American, Ken Huszagh, took bronze.

The men's 100 metres event at the 1956 Olympic Games in Melbourne, Australia, was held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on 23 and 24 November. Sixty-five athletes from 31 nations competed; each nation was limited to three athletes. The final was won by American Bobby Morrow, marking the fifth consecutive victory by a different American. Hec Hogan of Australia won that country's first medal in the event since 1900. The competition took place in strong winds, with the final run into a 2.5 m/s (5.6 mph) headwind.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Athletics at the 1956 Summer Olympics – Men's 200 metres</span> Olympic athletics event

The men's 200 metres was an event at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne. There were 67 competitors from 32 countries. The first and second rounds were held on Monday 26 November and the semifinals and final on Tuesday 27 November. The maximum number of athletes per nation had been set at 3 since the 1930 Olympic Congress.

The women's 100 metres was an event at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain. There were a total of 55 participating athletes, with seven qualifying heats. The top four in each heat qualified for the quarterfinals along with the four fastest remaining.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Athletics at the 2008 Summer Olympics – Women's 400 metres</span>

The Women's 400 metres at the 2008 Summer Olympics took place on 16–19 August at the Beijing National Stadium. The winning margin was 0.07 seconds.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Swimming at the 1956 Summer Olympics – Men's 100 metre freestyle</span>

The men's 100 metre freestyle event at the 1956 Olympic Games took place between 29 and 30 November. There were 34 competitors from 19 nations. Nations had been limited to three swimmers each since the 1924 Games. The event was won by Jon Henricks of Australia, the nation's first medal in the event. Australia would win a second 0.4 seconds later and a third 0.9 seconds after that, sweeping the podium—the first sweep in the men's 100 metre freestyle since the United States did it in 1920 and 1924, and the first sweep of any event by Australian competitors. This year, the Americans finished fourth through sixth. It was the first time since 1924 that Japan had competed but not medaled.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Athletics at the 2012 Summer Olympics – Women's 100 metres</span>

The women's 100 metres competition at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, United Kingdom was held at the Olympic Stadium on 3–4 August. The winning margin was 0.03 seconds.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Athletics at the 2012 Summer Olympics – Women's 400 metres hurdles</span>

The women's 400 metres hurdles competition at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, United Kingdom was held at the Olympic Stadium on 5–8 August.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Athletics at the 2012 Summer Olympics – Women's 800 metres</span>

The Women's 800 metres competition at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, United Kingdom. The event was held at the Olympic Stadium on 8–11 August. The race was won by Mariya Savinova, but she has since been stripped of the gold medal for doping.

The women's 200 metres competition at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, Australia was held at the Olympic Stadium on November 29–30. The winning margin was 0.3 seconds.

The women's 100 metres competition at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City, Mexico. The event was held at the University Olympic Stadium on October 14–15.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Athletics at the 2016 Summer Olympics – Women's 200 metres</span>

The women's 200 metres competition at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The event was held at the Olympic Stadium between 15–17 August. The winning margin was 0.10 seconds. The winner, Elaine Thompson from Jamaica, had the fifth fastest reaction time in the final.

References

  1. "Athletics at the 1956 Melbourne Summer Games: Women's 100 metres". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 12 June 2017.