Athletics at the 1952 Summer Olympics – Women's 200 metres

The Women's 200 metres at the 1952 Summer Olympics took place on July 25 (heats) and July 26 (final) at the Helsinki Olympic Stadium. Australian athlete Marjorie Jackson, who had already won the final in the 100 metres event, earned a second gold medal while setting two world records along the way.[1]

Women's 200 metres
at the Games of the XV Olympiad
VenueHelsinki Olympic Stadium
DatesJuly 25 (heats)
July 26 (semifinal and final)
Competitors38 from 21 nations
Winning time23.7
Medalists
1st place, gold medalist(s) Marjorie Jackson  Australia
2nd place, silver medalist(s) Bertha Brouwer  Netherlands
3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Nadezhda Khnykina  Soviet Union
← 1948
1956 →
Video on YouTube amateur film

Summary

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Stanisława Walasiewicz (Stella Walsh)'s world record had stood through the war for almost 17 years. The 41 year old Walsh had won the US Championship the year before but did not compete in the Olympics. The defending champion Fanny Blankers-Koen was in Helsinki, but was suffering from skin boils. She did not finish in the 80 metres hurdles the day before after crashing a hurdle. That turned out to be her last competitive race.

In the second heat, Nadezhda Khnykina took down Blankers-Koen's Olympic record. In the next race on the track, Marjorie Jackson equalled the world record of 23.6, with experimental fully automatic timing giving her a 23.73.

The following day, in the first semi-final, Jackson took the world record outright with 23.4 (23.59 automatic). Later that day, in the final, Jackson was given lane 2, the inside lane. Five steps after the gun, she had already made up the stagger on Bertha "Puck" Brouwer in lane 3. From there Jackson continued to pull away, ultimately to a 4-metre victory. On the home stretch, Brouwer found herself in second place, with Khnykina closing ground down the final straight to make it close for the remaining medals. Brouwer, Khnykina and Jackson's Australian teammate Winsome Cripps all getting credited with the same finishing time but Brouwer getting silver and Khnykina bronze.

Results

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Heats

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The first round was held on July 25. The first two runners from each heat qualified for the semifinal.

Heat 1

Rank Name Nationality Result Notes
1 Sylvia Cheeseman   Great Britain 24.9
2 Ursula Knab   Germany 25.0
3 Tzvetana Berkovska   Bulgaria 25.2
4 Gladys Erbetta   Argentina 25.6
5 Flora Kazantseva   Soviet Union 25.7
6 Maria Arndt   Poland 25.9

Heat 2

Rank Name Nationality Result Notes
1 Nadezhda Khnykina   Soviet Union 24.3 OR
2 Helga Klein   Germany 24.6
3 Deyse de Castro   Brazil 25.0
4 Frances O'Halloran   Canada 25.2
5 Grietje de Jongh   Netherlands 25.2
6 Ema Konrad   Romania 25.8

Heat 3

Rank Name Nationality Result Notes
1 Marjorie Jackson   Australia 23.6 WR
2 Catherine Hardy   United States 24.8
3 Patricia Devine   Great Britain 25.1
4 Anne-Marie Lousteau   France 25.5
5 Olga Gyarmati   Hungary 25.5
6 Vera Martelli   Italy 26.1
7 Mary D'Souza   India 26.3

Heat 4

Rank Name Nationality Result Notes
1 Bertha Brouwer   Netherlands 24.6
2 Marcelle Gabarrus   France 25.3
3 Ann Johnson   Great Britain 25.3
4 Adriana Millard   Chile 25.4
5 Graviola Ewing   Guatemala 26.9

Heat 5

Rank Name Nationality Result Notes
1 Eulalia Szwajkowska   Poland 25.5
2 Eleanor McKenzie   Canada 25.5
3 Alexandria Sicoe   Romania 25.6
4 Lilian Heinz   Argentina 25.8
5 Pirkko Länsivuori   Finland 27.5
Dolores Dwyer   United States DNF

Heat 6

Rank Name Nationality Result Notes
1 Daphne Hasenjager   South Africa 24.4
2 Winsome Cripps   Australia 24.4
3 Mae Faggs   United States 24.5
4 Hyacinth Walters   Jamaica 25.4

Heat 7

Rank Name Nationality Result Notes
1 Yevgeniya Sechenova   Soviet Union 25.4
2 Luella Law   Canada 25.7
3 Klára Soós   Hungary 25.8
4 Genowefa Minicka   Poland 25.9

Semifinals

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The semifinals were held on July 26. The first three runners from each heat qualified to the final.

Heat 1

Rank Name Nationality Result Notes
1 Marjorie Jackson   Australia 23.4 WR
2 Bertha Brouwer   Netherlands 24.3
3 Daphne Hasenjager   South Africa 24.4
4 Sylvia Cheeseman   Great Britain 24.7
5 Yevgeniya Sechenova   Soviet Union 25.2
6 Luella Law   Canada 25.3
7 Ursula Knab   Germany 25.5

Heat 2

Rank Name Nationality Result Notes
1 Nadezhda Khnykina   Soviet Union 24.1
2 Winsome Cripps   Australia 24.3
3 Helga Klein   Germany 24.4
4 Catherine Hardy   United States 24.7
5 Eleanor McKenzie   Canada 25.1
6 Eulalia Szwajkowska   Poland 25.2
7 Marcelle Gabarrus   France 25.3

Final

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Rank Name Nationality Result Notes
  Marjorie Jackson   Australia 23.7
  Bertha Brouwer   Netherlands 24.2
  Nadezhda Khnykina   Soviet Union 24.2
4 Winsome Cripps   Australia 24.2
5 Helga Klein   Germany 24.6
6 Daphne Hasenjager   South Africa 24.6

References

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  1. ^ "Athletics at the 1952 Helsinki Summer Games: Women's 200 metres". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 9 July 2017.
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