# Swimming at the 1968 Summer Olympics – Women's 100 metre freestyle

The women's 100 metre freestyle event at the 1968 Olympic Games took place between 18 and 19 October. This swimming event used freestyle swimming, which means that the method of the stroke is not regulated (unlike backstroke, breaststroke, and butterfly events). Nearly all swimmers use the front crawl or a variant of that stroke. Because an Olympic-size swimming pool is 50 metres long, this race consisted of two lengths of the pool.

## Medalists

| Gold | Jan Henne United States |
| Silver | Susan Pedersen United States |
| Bronze | Linda Gustavson United States |

## Results
### Heats

Heat 1
| Rank | Athlete | Country | Time |
| 1 | Claude Mandonnaud | France | 1:03.2 |
| 2 | Elisabeth Berglund | Sweden | 1:03.6 |
| 3 | Jenny Steinbeck | Australia | 1:03.8 |
| 4 | Simone Hanner | France | 1:03.8 |
| 5 | Helen Elliott | Philippines | 1:05.1 |
| 6 | Patricia Olano | Colombia | 1:05.3 |
Heat 2
| Rank | Athlete | Country | Time |
| 1 | Alexandra Jackson | Great Britain | 1:00.5 |
| 2 | Nataliya Ustinova | Soviet Union | 1:03.8 |
| 3 | Miwako Kobayashi | Japan | 1:04.2 |
| 4 | Mariya Nikolova | Bulgaria | 1:05.1 |
| 5 | Shen Bao-ni | Taiwan | 1:06.7 |
| 6 | Ruth Apt | Uruguay | 1:07.0 |
Heat 3
| Rank | Athlete | Country | Time |
| 1 | Nel Bos | Netherlands | 1:03.0 |
| 2 | Mirjana Šegrt | Yugoslavia | 1:03.3 |
| 3 | Edit Kovács | Hungary | 1:03.7 |
| 4 | Catherine Grosjean | France | 1:04.9 |
| 5 | Fiona Kellock | Great Britain | 1:05.8 |
| 6 | Gillian Treers | Great Britain | 1:06.3 |
| 7 | Silvana Asturias | Guatemala | 1:10.3 |
Heat 4
| Rank | Athlete | Country | Time |
| 1 | Judit Turóczy | Hungary | 1:02.1 |
| 2 | Shigeko Kawanishi | Japan | 1:02.6 |
| 3 | Uta Schmuck | East Germany | 1:03.1 |
| 4 | Lotten Andersson | Sweden | 1:04.5 |
| 5 | Rosario de Vivanco | Peru | 1:04.7 |
| 6 | Ingeborg Renner | West Germany | 1:05.9 |
| 7 | Hedy García | Philippines | 1:06.1 |
| 8 | Lorna Blake | Puerto Rico | 1:13.2 |
Heat 5
| Rank | Athlete | Country | Time |
| 1 | Linda Gustavson | United States | 1:00.8 |
| 2 | Martina Grunert | East Germany | 1:03.2 |
| 3 | Maria Strumolo | Italy | 1:04.1 |
| 4 | Helmi Boxberger | West Germany | 1:05.1 |
| 5 | Vera Kock | Sweden | 1:05.1 |
| 6 | Vivian Ortíz | Mexico | 1:06.9 |
| 7 | Emilia Figueroa | Uruguay | 1:07.2 |
| 8 | Ana Marcial | Puerto Rico | 1:10.1 |
Heat 6
| Rank | Athlete | Country | Time |
| 1 | Sue Pedersen | United States | 1:01.5 |
| 2 | Roswitha Krause | East Germany | 1:03.3 |
| 3 | Lynne Watson | Australia | 1:03.5 |
| 4 | Magdolna Patóh | Hungary | 1:03.8 |
| 5 | Ana Boban | Yugoslavia | 1:05.4 |
| 6 | Toos Beumer | Netherlands | 1:06.1 |
| 7 | Lylian Castillo | Uruguay | 1:08.3 |
| 8 | Rosa Hasbún | El Salvador | 1:10.0 |
Heat 7
| Rank | Athlete | Country | Time |
| 1 | Marion Lay | Canada | 1:00.6 |
| 2 | Lidiya Hrebets | Soviet Union | 1:03.3 |
| 3 | Oľga Kozičová | Czechoslovakia | 1:03.3 |
| 4 | Zoya Dus | Soviet Union | 1:04.2 |
| 5 | Carmen Ferracuti | El Salvador | 1:08.5 |
| 6 | Nguyễn Minh Tam | Vietnam | 1:09.5 |
Heat 8
| Rank | Athlete | Country | Time |
| 1 | Jan Henne | United States | 1:00.1 |
| 2 | Lyn Bell | Australia | 1:01.9 |
| 3 | Oei Liana | Taiwan | 1:03.0 |
| 4 | Heidi Reineck | West Germany | 1:04.2 |
| 5 | Marcia Arriaga | Mexico | 1:05.4 |
| 6 | Mirjam van Hemert | Netherlands | 1:06.1 |
| 7 | Hrafnhildur Guðmundsdóttir | Iceland | 1:06.3 |
| 8 | Kristina Moir | Puerto Rico | 1:07.9 |

### Semifinals

Heat 1
| Rank | Athlete | Country | Time | Notes |
| 1 | Marion Lay | Canada | 1:00.7 | Q |
| 2 | Mirjana Segtr | Yugoslavia | 1:01.9 | Q |
| 3 | Martina Grunert | East Germany | 1:02.2 | Q |
| 4 | Lynette Bell | Australia | 1:02.4 | |
| 5 | Janet Steinbeck | Australia | 1:02.6 | |
| 6 | Liana Oei | Taiwan | 1:02.8 | |
| 7 | Lynette Watson | Australia | 1:02.9 | |
| 8 | Magdolna Patoh | Hungary | 1:03.8 | |
Heat 2
| Rank | Athlete | Country | Time | Notes |
| 1 | Susan Pedersen | United States | 1:00.2 | Q |
| 2 | Alexandra Jackson | Great Britain | 1:00.6 | Q |
| 3 | Roswitha Krause | East Germany | 1:02.4 | |
| 4 | Uta Schmuck | East Germany | 1:02.8 | |
| 5 | Shigeko Kawanishi | Japan | 1:03.0 | |
| 6 | Lidiya Hrebets | Soviet Union | 1:03.3 | |
| 7 | Edit Kovac | Hungary | 1:03.5 | |
| 8 | Natalya Ustinova | Soviet Union | 1:05.0 | |
Heat 3
| Rank | Athlete | Country | Time | Notes |
| 1 | Jan Henne | United States | 1:00.5 | Q |
| 2 | Linda Gustavson | United States | 1:00.6 | Q |
| 3 | Judit Turoczy | Hungary | 1:01.8 | Q |
| 4 | Olga Kozikova | Czechoslovakia | 1:02.6 | |
| 5 | Petronella Bos | Netherlands | 1:02.8 | |
| 5 | Claude Mandonnaud | France | 1:02.8 | |
| 7 | Elisabeth Berglund | Sweden | 1:03.5 | |
| 8 | Simone Hanner | France | 1:04.8 | |

### Final

| Rank | Athlete | Country | Time |
| | Jan Henne | United States | 1:00.0 |
| | Susan Pedersen | United States | 1:00.3 |
| | Linda Gustavson | United States | 1:00.3 |
| 4 | Marion Lay | Canada | 1:00.5 |
| 5 | Martina Grunert | East Germany | 1:01.0 |
| 6 | Alexandra Jackson | Great Britain | 1:01.0 |
| 7 | Mirjana Šegrt | Yugoslavia | 1:01.5 |
| 8 | Judit Turóczy | Hungary | 1:01.6 |