The discipline was on the Olympic program for the first time. That is why there was no Olympic record yet .
Conducting the competition
On July 30th, nine preliminary runs were completed. The first two runners qualified for the semi-finals on the same day. From these three preliminary decisions, the first two runners each made their way to the final, which took place on July 31st.
Note: The qualified runners are highlighted in light blue.
The Canadian Myrtle Cook came to Amsterdam as a world record holder and co-favorite . After two false starts caused by her, she was disqualified. Leni Schmidt got infected by Cook's nervousness and the same thing happened to her. Only four female sprinters fought for the first Olympic medals in the women's 100-meter run . Betty Robinson from the USA won the race in the Olympic record time of 12.2 seconds. Silver and bronze went to the two Canadians Fanny Rosenfeld and Ethel Smith. Fourth place remained for the German Erna Steinberg. It was a close race, Steinberg was only two tenths of a second behind the Olympic champion.
Picture gallery
Olympic Champion Betty Robinson (USA)
Fanny Rosenfeld (CAN), winner of the silver medal
Ethel Smith - bronze medal for the Canadian
literature
Ekkehard zur Megede , The History of Olympic Athletics, Volume 1: 1896-1936, Verlag Bartels & Wernitz KG, Berlin, 2nd edition 1970, pp. 213f