| Host City: London, Great Britain |
Format: Top three in each heat advanced to the final. |
| Date Started: August 5, 1948 |
Format: Top two in each heat advanced to the semi-finals. |
| Date Finished: August 6, 1948 |
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| (Competitors: 33; Countries: 17; Finalists: 6) |
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Venue(s): Empire Stadium, Wembley, London
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| Overview by IAAF |
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| Although Blankers-Koen had not bettered 25 seconds until 1947, she was the favourite after her 100m triumph, and two runs of 24.2 before London. Daphne Robb was the fastest in the heats with 25.3, but Blankers-Koen depleted the opposition’s hopes with 24.3 in the semifinals. Drawn in the tight inside lane in the final, Blankers-Koen overpowered the field, cruising past them on the bend to take a 3m lead at halfway and flowing away over the rain-soaked track to win by 7m from Williamson. Patterson was officially placed third, but ATFS President Bob Sparks later re-read the photo-finish which showed that Strickland had finished in the bronze medal position. To put Blankers- Koen’s effort in perspective, her winning margin was more than twice that of Griffith Joyner in her 1988 win, and easily the largest margin of victory in the history of the event within an Olympics. |
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| Summary by Sports-reference.com |
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| Just looking at the results, Fanny Blankers-Koen's victory in the 200 metres was the easiest. Her margin of victory over Audrey Williamson of 7 tenths is the largest ever in the event. But after the heats, Blankers-Koen had to combat a severe bout of home-sickness. She was sick of all the media attention and pressure, and wanted to go home to her two children. Only after a long talk with her coach and husband, 1928 Olympian Jan Blankers, she decided to start the semi-finals. Her eyes still red from the tears, she dominated her race. On a wet and muddy track, she paced to a third gold medal the next day. |
| Third placed Audrey Patterson is noted as the first Afro-American woman to win an Olympic medal; high jumper Alice Coachman won the first gold medal the next day. However, it was later revealed that Patterson actually had finished in fourth place, as the finish photo clearly showed Shirley Strickland crossing the line earlier. |
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Results |
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| 200 m |
Women |
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Final |
6 August |
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| 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 |
| Rank |
Mark |
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Athlete |
Country |
NOC |
Age |
Records |
Notes |
| 1 |
24,4 |
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Fanny Blankers-Koen |
Netherlands |
NED |
30 |
OR |
24.4 h |
| 2 |
25.1 |
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Audrey Williamson |
Great Britain |
GBR |
21 |
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at 0.80 |
| 4 |
25,2 |
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Mickey Patterson |
United States |
USA |
21 |
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at 0.86 |
| 3 |
25,3 |
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Shirley Strickland de la Hunty |
Australia |
AUS |
23 |
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25.3est / at 0.85 |
| 5 |
25,6 |
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Margaret Walker |
Great Britain |
GBR |
23 |
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25.6est / at 1.19 |
| 6 |
25,7 |
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Daphne Robb-Hasenjäger |
South Africa |
RSA |
19 |
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25.7est / at 1.25 |
| 200 m |
Women |
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Semi-Finals Heat One |
5 August |
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| Rank |
Mark |
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Athlete |
Country |
NOC |
Age |
Records |
Notes |
| 1 |
24,3 |
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Q |
Fanny Blankers-Koen |
Netherlands |
NED |
30 |
OR |
24.4 h |
| 2 |
25.0 |
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Q |
Mickey Patterson |
United States |
USA |
21 |
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at 0.62 |
| 3 |
25.3 |
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Q |
Margaret Walker |
Great Britain |
GBR |
23 |
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at 1.02 |
| 4 |
at 1.27 |
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Cynthia Thompson |
Jamaica |
JAM |
25 |
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| 5 |
at 1.33 |
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Rosine Faugouin |
France |
FRA |
18 |
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| 6 |
at 1.38 |
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Joyce King |
Australia |
AUS |
27 |
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| 7 |
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Phyllis Lightbourn-Jones |
Bermuda |
BER |
19 |
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| 200 m |
Women |
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Semi-Finals Heat Two |
5 August |
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| Rank |
Mark |
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Athlete |
Country |
NOC |
Age |
Records |
Notes |
| 1T |
25,1 |
w |
Q |
Shirley Strickland de la Hunty |
Australia |
AUS |
23 |
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24.9w h |
| 1T |
24.9w |
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Q |
Audrey Williamson |
Great Britain |
GBR |
21 |
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at 0.01 |
| 3 |
25.1w |
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Q |
Daphne Robb-Hasenjäger |
South Africa |
RSA |
19 |
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at 0.12 |
| 4 |
at 0.38 |
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Sylvia Cheeseman |
Great Britain |
GBR |
19 |
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| 5 |
at 0.58 |
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Nel Karelse |
Netherlands |
NED |
22 |
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| 6 |
at 0.62 |
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Liliane Sprécher |
France |
FRA |
22 |
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| 7 |
at 0.75 |
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Betty McKinnon |
Australia |
AUS |
23 |
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| 200 m |
Women |
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Round One Heat One |
5 August |
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| Rank |
Mark |
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Athlete |
Country |
NOC |
Age |
Records |
Notes |
| 1 |
25,9 |
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Q |
Fanny Blankers-Koen |
Netherlands |
NED |
30 |
OR |
25.7 h |
| 2 |
26.0 |
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Q |
Liliane Sprécher |
France |
FRA |
22 |
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| 3 |
26.0 |
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Mae Faggs |
United States |
USA |
16 |
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| 4 |
26,6 |
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Melânia Luz |
Brazil |
BRA |
20 |
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26.6est |
| 5 |
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Phyllis Edness |
Bermuda |
BER |
18 |
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| 200 m |
Women |
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Round One Heat Two |
5 August |
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| Rank |
Mark |
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Athlete |
Country |
NOC |
Age |
Records |
Notes |
| 1 |
25,7 |
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Q |
Cynthia Thompson |
Jamaica |
JAM |
25 |
OR |
25.6 h |
| 2 |
25.7 |
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Q |
Sylvia Cheeseman |
Great Britain |
GBR |
19 |
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| 3 |
26.1 |
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Diane Foster |
Canada |
CAN |
19 |
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| 4 |
27,7 |
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Helena de Menezes |
Brazil |
BRA |
21 |
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27.7est |
| 200 m |
Women |
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Round One Heat Three |
5 August |
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| Rank |
Mark |
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Athlete |
Country |
NOC |
Age |
Records |
Notes |
| 1 |
26,1 |
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Q |
Joyce King |
Australia |
AUS |
27 |
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25.9 h |
| 2 |
27.0 |
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Q |
Phyllis Lightbourn-Jones |
Bermuda |
BER |
19 |
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| 3 |
27.6 |
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Lucila Pini |
Brazil |
BRA |
17 |
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| 4 |
28,5 |
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Marie-Thérèse Renard |
Belgium |
BEL |
23 |
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28.5est |
| AC |
DNF |
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Olga Šicnerová |
Czechoslovakia |
TCH |
20 |
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| 200 m |
Women |
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Round One Heat Four |
5 August |
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| Rank |
Mark |
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Athlete |
Country |
NOC |
Age |
Records |
Notes |
| 1 |
25,5 |
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Q |
Daphne Robb-Hasenjäger |
South Africa |
RSA |
19 |
OR |
25.3 h |
| 2 |
25.8 |
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Q |
Shirley Strickland de la Hunty |
Australia |
AUS |
23 |
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| 3 |
25.8 |
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Nell Jackson |
United States |
USA |
19 |
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| 4 |
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Donna Gilmore |
Canada |
CAN |
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| 5 |
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Alma Butia |
Yugoslavia |
YUG |
19 |
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| 200 m |
Women |
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Round One Heat Five |
5 August |
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| Rank |
Mark |
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Athlete |
Country |
NOC |
Age |
Records |
Notes |
| 1 |
25,9 |
w |
Q |
Mickey Patterson |
United States |
USA |
21 |
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25.5w h |
| 2 |
25.8w |
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Q |
Margaret Walker |
Great Britain |
GBR |
23 |
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| 3 |
26.3w |
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Kathleen Russell |
Jamaica |
JAM |
20 |
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| 4 |
26,3 |
w |
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Ann-Britt Leyman |
Sweden |
SWE |
26 |
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26.3west |
| 5 |
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Tilly Decker |
Luxembourg |
LUX |
18 |
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| 6 |
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Betty Kretschmer |
Chile |
CHI |
20 |
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| 200 m |
Women |
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Round One Heat Six |
5 August |
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| Rank |
Mark |
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Athlete |
Country |
NOC |
Age |
Records |
Notes |
| 1 |
26,1 |
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Q |
Betty McKinnon |
Australia |
AUS |
23 |
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25.9 h |
| 2 |
25.9 |
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Q |
Rosine Faugouin |
France |
FRA |
18 |
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| 3 |
26.2 |
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Gré de Jongh |
Netherlands |
NED |
23 |
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| 4 |
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Grete Pavlousek |
Austria |
AUT |
24 |
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| 200 m |
Women |
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Round One Heat Seven |
5 August |
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| Rank |
Mark |
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Athlete |
Country |
NOC |
Age |
Records |
Notes |
| 1 |
25,6 |
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Q |
Audrey Williamson |
Great Britain |
GBR |
21 |
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25.4 h |
| 2 |
26.0 |
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Q |
Nel Karelse |
Netherlands |
NED |
22 |
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| 3 |
26.4 |
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Millie Cheater |
Canada |
CAN |
20 |
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| AC |
DQ |
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Annegret Weller-Schneider |
Chile |
CHI |
18 |
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