The women's 4x100 metre freestyle

Freestyle swimming

Freestyle is an unregulated swimming style used in swimming competitions according to the rules of FINA. The front crawl stroke is almost universally used during a freestyle race, as this style is generally the fastest...

 relay was a swimming

Swimming (sport)

Swimming is a sport governed by the Fédération Internationale de Natation .-History: Competitive swimming in Europe began around 1800 BCE, mostly in the form of the freestyle. In 1873 Steve Bowyer introduced the trudgen to Western swimming competitions, after copying the front crawl used by Native...

 event held as part of the swimming at the 1936 Summer Olympics

Swimming at the 1936 Summer Olympics

At the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, eleven swimming events were contested, six for men and five for women. The competitions were held from Saturday August 8, 1936 to Saturday August 15, 1936. There was a total of 248 participants from 29 countries competing.-Medal table:-Men's events:-Women's...

 programme. It was the sixth appearance of the event, which was established in 1912. The competition was held on Wednesday, August 12, 1936 and on Friday, August 14, 1936.

The United States and Germany both replaced one swimmer between the semi-finals and the final. Thirty-eight swimmers from nine nations competed.

Medalists

Rie Mastenbroek Rie Mastenbroek Hendrika "Rie" Wilhelmina Mastenbroek was a Dutch swimmer and a triple Olympic champion.-Biography:... Willy den Ouden Willy den Ouden Willemijntje "Willy" den Ouden was a freestyle swimmer from the Netherlands, who held the world record for the 100 m freestyle swimming for nearly 23 years, from 1933 to 1956.... Jopie Selbach Jopie Selbach Johanna "Jopie" Katarina Selbach was a freestyle swimmer from the Netherlands. At the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, Germany she won the gold medal in the women's 4×100 m freestyle relay, alongside Willy den Ouden, Rie Mastenbroek and Tini Wagner.She was born in Haarlem and died in... Tini Wagner Tini Wagner Catharina "Tini" Wilhelmina Wagner was a freestyle swimmer from the Netherlands, who represented her native country at the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, Germany.She was born in Amsterdam, Noord-Holland....

Gisela Arendt Gisela Arendt Gisela Arendt was a German swimmer who competed in the 1936 Summer Olympics.In the 1936 Olympics she won a silver medal in the 4x100 m freestyle relay event and a bronze medal in the 100 m freestyle event.-External links:*... Ruth Halbsguth Ruth Halbsguth Ruth Halbsguth was a German swimmer who competed in the 1936 Summer Olympics.In the 1936 Olympics she won a silver medal in the 4×100 m freestyle relay event.-External links:*... Leni Lohmar Leni Lohmar Magdalena "Leni" Lohmar was a German swimmer who competed in the 1936 Summer Olympics.... Ingeborg Schmitz Ingeborg Schmitz Ingeborg "Inge" Schmitz is a former German swimmer who competed in the 1936 Summer Olympics.In the 1936 Olympics she won a silver medal in the 4x100 m freestyle relay event. She was also fifth in her first round heat of 100 m freestyle event and did not advance.-External links:*...

Mavis Freeman Mavis Freeman Mavis Ann Freeman was an American swimmer who competed in the 1936 Summer Olympics.In the 1936 Olympics Freeman won a bronze medal in the 4x100 m freestyle relay event.-External links:*... Bernice Lapp Bernice Lapp Bernice Ruth Lapp was an American swimmer who competed in the 1936 Summer Olympics.... Olive McKean Olive McKean Olive Mary McKean was an American swimmer who competed in the 1936 Summer Olympics.... Katherine Rawls Katherine Rawls Katherine Louise Rawls was a multiple United States national champion in swimming and diving in the 1930s.-Swimming career:...

Note: The International Olympic Committee medal database shows only these swimmers as medalists. Ursula Pollack

Ursula Pollack

Ursula Pollack is a German freestyle swimmer who competed in the 1936 Summer Olympics.She was born in Berlin.In 1936 she was a member of the German relay team that won the silver medal in the 4 x 100 metre freestyle relay event. Pollack swam in the semi-final and helped the team to qualify for the...

 swam for Germany in the semi-finals but is not credited with a silver medal. Also the American Elizabeth Ryan

Elizabeth Ryan (swimmer)

Elizabeth M. Ryan was an American freestyle swimmer who competed in the 1936 Summer Olympics.She was born in New York City and died in Brooklyn, New York....

 who swam in the semi-finals is not listed as bronze medalist.

Records

These were the standing world and Olympic records (in minutes) prior to the 1936 Summer Olympics.

World Record	4:32.8	Jopie Selbach Jopie Selbach Johanna "Jopie" Katarina Selbach was a freestyle swimmer from the Netherlands. At the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, Germany she won the gold medal in the women's 4×100 m freestyle relay, alongside Willy den Ouden, Rie Mastenbroek and Tini Wagner.She was born in Haarlem and died in...   Rie Mastenbroek Rie Mastenbroek Hendrika "Rie" Wilhelmina Mastenbroek was a Dutch swimmer and a triple Olympic champion.-Biography:...   Tini Wagner Tini Wagner Catharina "Tini" Wilhelmina Wagner was a freestyle swimmer from the Netherlands, who represented her native country at the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, Germany.She was born in Amsterdam, Noord-Holland....   Willy den Ouden Willy den Ouden Willemijntje "Willy" den Ouden was a freestyle swimmer from the Netherlands, who held the world record for the 100 m freestyle swimming for nearly 23 years, from 1933 to 1956....	Rotterdam Rotterdam Rotterdam is the second-largest city in the Netherlands and one of the largest ports in the world. Starting as a dam on the Rotte river, Rotterdam has grown into a major international commercial centre...  (NED Netherlands The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders... )	May 24, 1936
Olympic Record	4:38.0	Josephine McKim Josephine McKim Josephine Eveline McKim was a champion American swimmer who competed in the 1928 Summer Olympics and 1932 Summer Olympics....   Helen Johns Helen Johns (swimmer) Helen Eileen Johns was an American swimmer who competed in the 1932 Summer Olympics....   Eleanor Saville Eleanor Garatti Eleanor A. Garatti was an American swimmer who competed in the 1928 Summer Olympics and 1932 Summer Olympics.She died in Orinda, California....   Helene Madison Helene Madison Helene Madison was an American swimmer. She won three gold medals in freestyle at the 1932 Summer Olympic Games, becoming, along with Romeo Neri of Italy, the most successful athlete there. She was born in Madison, Wisconsin.In sixteen months in 1930 and 1931, she broke sixteen world records in...	Amsterdam Amsterdam Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...  (NED Netherlands The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders... )	August 12, 1932

In the final the Netherlands set a new Olympic record with 4:36.0 minutes.

Semifinals

Wednesday, August 12, 1936: The fastest three in each semi-final and the fastest fourth-placed advanced to the final.

Semifinal 1

Place	Swimmers	Time	Qual.
1		4:47.1	QQ
2		4:47.2	QQ
3		4:49.7	QQ
4		4:50.6	qq
5		5:16.6

Semifinal 2

Place	Swimmers	Time	Qual.
1		4:38.1	QQ
2		4:40.5	QQ
3		4:46.2	QQ
4		4:58.1

Final

Friday, August 14, 1936:

Place	Swimmers	Time
1		4:36.0 OR
2		4:36.8
3		4:40.2
4		4:48.0
		4:48.0
6		4:51.0
7		4:51.4