1956 Summer Olympics / Swimming - 4 × 100 m freestyle (women)
sport | swim |
competition | 4 x 100 meter freestyle relay |
gender | Women |
place | Swimming and Diving Stadium , Melbourne |
Attendees | 40 swimmers from 10 nations |
Competition phase | December 4th and 6th, 1956 |
Medals |
Australia United States South African Union |
The relay competition for women’s 4 x 100 meter freestyle at the 1956 Olympic Games in the Australian metropolis of Melbourne was held on December 4th and 6th in the Swimming and Diving Stadium .
Participating Nations
A total of 44 swimmers from 10 nations took part in the competition.
- Canada (4)
- South African Union (4)
- Sweden (4)
- Hungary (4)
- United States (7)
- United Kingdom (4)
Records
Existing records
World record |
Australia Lorraine Crapp , Dawn Fraser , Faith Leech and Margaret Gibson |
4: 19.7 min | Melbourne , Australia | October 25, 1956 |
Olympic record |
Hungary Ilona Novák , Judit Temes , Éva Novák and Katalin Szőke |
4: 24.4 min | Helsinki , Finland | August 1, 1952 |
New record
The following record was set during the competition:
date | run | Nation / name | time | record |
---|---|---|---|---|
6 Dec | final |
Australia Dawn Fraser , Faith Leech , Sandra Morgan and Lorraine Crapp |
4: 17.1 min | OR / WR |
Prelims
There were two preliminary runs on December 4th. The eight fastest seasons of both heats qualified for the final two days later.
Forward 1
rank | nation | Names | time |
---|---|---|---|
1 | South African Union |
Natalie Myburgh (1: 07.3 min) Susan Roberts (1: 06.5 min) Moira Abernethy (1: 08.2 min) Jeanette Myburgh (1: 04.8 min) |
4: 26.8 min |
2 | United States |
Betty Brey (1: 07.9 min) Nancy Simons (1: 05.5 min) Kay Knapp (1: 08.2 min) Marley Shriver (1: 05.7 min) |
4: 27.3 min |
3 | Germany |
Ingrid Künzel (1: 07.6 min) Hertha Haase (1: 05.5 min) Kati Jansen (1: 07.0 min) Birgit Klomp (1: 07.4 min) |
4: 27.5 min |
4th | United Kingdom |
Frances Hogben (1: 08.3 min) Judith Grinham (1: 08.6 min) Margaret Girvan (1: 09.3 min) Fearne Ewart (1: 07.4 min) |
4: 34.6 min |
5 | France |
Odile Vouaux (1: 08.4 min) Viviane Gouverneur (1: 10.4 min) Ginette Jany-Sendral (1: 10.6 min) Héda Frost (1: 07.2 min) |
4: 36.6 min |
Forward 2
rank | nation | Names | time |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Australia |
Margaret Gibson (1: 06.4 min) Sandra Morgan (1: 05.4 min) Dawn Fraser (1: 07.3 min) Faith Leech (1: 05.9 min) |
4: 25.0 min |
2 | Hungary |
Judit Temes (1: 07.1 min) Mária Littomeritzky (1: 07.1 min) Katalin Szőke (1: 07.0 min) Valéria Gyenge (1: 06.9 min) |
4: 28.1 min |
3 | Canada |
Virginia Grant (1: 06.7 min) Gladys Priestley (1: 07.7 min) Sara Barber (1: 08.1 min) Helen Stewart (1: 06.8 min) |
4: 29.3 min |
4th | Sweden |
Anita Hellström (1: 08.3 min) Birgitta Wängberg (1: 07.7 min) Karin Larsson (1: 07.4 min) Kate Jobson (1: 06.7 min) |
4: 30.1 min |
5 | Japan |
Hitomi Jinno (1: 07.8 min) Eiko Wada (1: 08.1 min) Yoshiko Sato (1: 08.8 min) Yukiko Otaka (1: 11.3 min) |
4: 35.8 min |
final
The final took place on December 6th. The Australian relay set a new world record as well as a new Olympic record with 4: 17.1 minutes : it improved the world record time by 2.6 seconds and the Olympic record by 7.3 seconds.
rank | nation | Names | time |
---|---|---|---|
Australia |
Dawn Fraser (1: 04.0 min) Faith Leech (1: 05.3 min) Sandra Morgan (1: 04.7 min) Lorraine Crapp (1: 03.1 min) |
4: 17.1 min world record |
|
United States |
Sylvia Ruuska (1: 06.3 min) Shelley Mann (1: 03.9 min) Nancy Simons (1: 04.6 min) Joan Rosazza (1: 04.4 min) |
4: 19.2 min | |
South African Union |
Natalie Myburgh (1: 07.7 min) Susan Roberts (1: 05.3 min) Moira Abernethy (1: 08.0 min) Jeanette Myburgh (1: 04.7 min) |
4: 25.7 min | |
4th | Germany |
Ingrid Künzel (1: 06.6 min) Hertha Haase (1: 06.7 min) Kati Jansen (1: 05.7 min) Birgit Klomp (1: 07.1 min) |
4: 26.1 min |
5 | Canada |
Helen Stewart (1: 07.1 min) Gladys Priestley (1: 07.1 min) Sara Barber (1: 07.5 min) Virginia Grant (1: 06.6 min) |
4: 28.3 min |
6th | Sweden |
Anita Hellström (1: 08.8 min) Birgitta Wängberg (1: 07.7 min) Karin Larsson (1: 07.4 min) Kate Jobson (1: 06.1 min) |
4: 30.0 min |
7th | Hungary |
Mária Littomeritzky (1: 09.9 min) Katalin Szőke (1: 06.7 min) Judit Temes (1: 06.7 min) Valéria Gyenge (1: 07.8 min) |
4: 31.1 min |
8th | United Kingdom |
Frances Hogben (1: 08.8 min) Judith Grinham (1: 09.0 min) Margaret Girvan (1: 09.4 min) Fearne Ewart (1: 08.6 min) |
4: 35.8 min |
Web links
- 1956 Summer Olympics / Swimming - 4 × 100 m freestyle in the Sports-Reference database (English; archived from the original )