# Swimming at the 1972 Summer Olympics – Women's 100 metre breaststroke

The women's 100 metre breaststroke event at the 1972 Olympic Games took place between September 1 and September 2 in the Schwimmhalle, Olympiapark, München. This swimming event used the breaststroke. Because an Olympic size swimming pool is 50 metres long, this race consisted of two lengths of the pool.

## Results
### Heats

Heat 1
| Rank | Athlete | Country | Time |
| 1 | Lyudmila Porubayko | Soviet Union | 1:17.14 |
| 2 | Renate Vogel | East Germany | 1:17.33 |
| 3 | Beverley Whitfield | Australia | 1:17.59 |
| 4 | Tetiana Prudnikova | Soviet Union | 1:18.11 |
| 5 | Yoko Yamamoto | Japan | 1:18.94 |
| 6 | Ann O'Connor | Ireland | 1:19.13 |
| 7 | Judith Hudson | Australia | 1:19.78 |
| 8 | Shlomit Nir | Israel | 1:20.90 |
Heat 2
| Rank | Athlete | Country | Time |
| 1 | Judy Melick | United States | 1:16.75 |
| 2 | Vreni Eberle | West Germany | 1:17.67 |
| 3 | Lynn Vidali | United States | 1:18.80 |
| 4 | Zuzana Marková | Czechoslovakia | 1:18.88 |
| 5 | Jaroslava Slavíčková | Czechoslovakia | 1:19.12 |
| 6 | Diana Harris | Great Britain | 1:19.19 |
| 7 | Winnie Nielsen | Denmark | 1:23.00 |
| 8 | Leonor Urueta | Mexico | 1:23.21 |
Heat 3
| Rank | Athlete | Country | Time |
| 1 | Dorothy Harrison | Great Britain | 1:16.99 |
| 2 | Christine Jarvis | Great Britain | 1:18.27 |
| 3 | Sylvia Langer | East Germany | 1:18.29 |
| 4 | Brigitte Schuchardt | East Germany | 1:18.62 |
| 5 | Dagmar Sierck | West Germany | 1:18.80 |
| 6 | Jane Wright | Canada | 1:20.56 |
| 7 | Cristina Teixeira | Brazil | 1:20.58 |
| 8 | Ani Jane Mugrditchian | Lebanon | 1:29.71 |
Heat 4
| Rank | Athlete | Country | Time |
| 1 | Halyna Prozumenshchykova-Stepanova | Soviet Union | 1:17.18 |
| 2 | Jeanette Pettersson | Sweden | 1:17.83 |
| 3 | Éva Kiss | Hungary | 1:18.57 |
| 4 | Alie te Riet | Netherlands | 1:18.79 |
| 5 | Tineke Hofland | Netherlands | 1:19.38 |
| 6 | Patricia Siewert | West Germany | 1:19.54 |
| 7 | Mairi Ioannidou | Greece | 1:21.70 |
| 8 | Lee Yue-hwan | Chinese Taipei | 1:25.47 |
Heat 5
| Rank | Athlete | Country | Time |
| 1 | Cathy Carr | United States | 1:16.01 |
| 2 | Ágnes Kaczander-Kiss | Hungary | 1:16.52 |
| 3 | Britt-Marie Smedh | Sweden | 1:17.21 |
| 4 | Erika Rüegg | Switzerland | 1:17.95 |
| 5 | Sylvia Dockerill | Canada | 1:18.64 |
| 6 | Marian Stuart | Canada | 1:18.69 |
| 7 | Béatrice Mottoulle | Belgium | 1:20.79 |
| 8 | Ana Elena de la Portilla | Mexico | 1:21.61 |

### Semifinals

Heat 1
| Rank | Athlete | Country | Time |
| 1 | Galina Prozumenshchikova | Soviet Union | 1:15.89 |
| 2 | Ágnes Kaczander-Kiss | Hungary | 1:16.34 |
| 3 | Dorothy Harrison | Great Britain | 1:16.53 |
| 4 | Vreni Eberle | West Germany | 1:16.76 |
| 5 | Renate Vogel | East Germany | 1:16.87 |
| 6 | Erika Rüegg | Switzerland | 1:17.50 |
| 7 | Christine Jarvis | Great Britain | 1:17.58 |
| 8 | Éva Kiss | Hungary | 1:17.59 |
Heat 2
| Rank | Athlete | Country | Time | Notes |
| 1 | Cathy Carr | United States | 1:15.00 | OR |
| 2 | Judy Melick | United States | 1:16.22 | |
| 3 | Beverley Whitfield | Australia | 1:16.26 | |
| 4 | Britt-Marie Smedh | Sweden | 1:16.67 | |
| 5 | Lyudmila Porubayko | Soviet Union | 1:16.85 | |
| 6 | Jeanette Pettersson | Sweden | 1:17.54 | |
| 7 | Tetiana Prudnikova | Soviet Union | 1:19.37 | |
| 8 | Sylvia Langer | East Germany | 1:20.03 | |
Key: OR = Olympic record

### Final

| Rank | Athlete | Country | Time | Notes |
| | Cathy Carr | United States | 1:13.58 | WR |
| | Galina Prozumenshchikova | Soviet Union | 1:14.99 | |
| | Beverley Whitfield | Australia | 1:15.73 | |
| 4 | Ágnes Kaczander-Kiss | Hungary | 1:16.26 | |
| 5 | Judy Melick | United States | 1:16.34 | |
| 6 | Vreni Eberle | West Germany | 1:17.16 | |
| 7 | Britt-Marie Smedh | Sweden | 1:17.19 | |
| 8 | Dorothy Harrison | Great Britain | 1:17.49 | |
Key: WR = World record