Swimming at the 1928 Summer Games: Previous Summer Games ▪ Next Summer Games
Host City: Amsterdam, Netherlands
Venue(s): Swimming Stadium, Amsterdam
Date Started: August 10, 1928
Date Finished: August 11, 1928
| Gold: | Albina Osipowich |
| Silver: | Eleanor Garatti-Saville |
| Bronze: | Joyce Cooper |
The American women’s freestyle team arrived in the Netherlands with the expectation of matching their efforts of Antwerp and Paris and sweeping the medal positions. [Eleanor Garatti] assumed the mantle of favourite when she broke the Olympic record in the semi-final but the final belonged to another American. [Albina Osipowich] had only finished third in the national trials but in Amsterdam she held off the challenge of Garatti and touched .4 of a second in front of her rival to take the victory. Osipowich’s career was brief and meteoric, after the Olympics she went to college and swimming was relegated to nothing more than a hobby. Two British swimmers, [Joyce King] and [Jean McDowell], recorded identical times as they fought for the bronze medal. King received the medal when three of the five judges voted for her.
| Rank | Athlete | Age | Team | NOC | Medal | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Albina Osipowich | 17 | United States | USA | Gold | WR |
| 2 | Eleanor Garatti-Saville | 18 | United States | USA | Silver | |
| 3 | Joyce Cooper | 19 | Great Britain | GBR | Bronze | |
| 4 | Jean McDowell | 19 | Great Britain | GBR | ||
| 5 | Susan Laird | 19 | United States | USA | ||
| 6 | Lotte Lehmann | 21 | Germany | GER | ||
| 4 h1 r2/3 | Vera Tanner | 21 | Great Britain | GBR | ||
| 4 h2 r2/3 | Kathleen Russell | 15 | South Africa | RSA | ||
| 5 h1 r2/3 | Ena Stockley | 21 | New Zealand | NZL | ||
| 5 h2 r2/3 | Rie Vierdag | 22 | Netherlands | NED | ||
| 6 h1 r2/3 | Agnete Olsen | 18 | Denmark | DEN | ||
| 6 h2 r2/3 | Kathleen Miller | 19 | New Zealand | NZL | ||
| AC h1 r2/3 | Sarolta Stieber | 22 | Hungary | HUN | DNF | |
| 3 h2 r1/3 | Zus Engelenberg | South Africa | RSA | |||
| 3 h4 r1/3 | Margit Sipos | 19 | Hungary | HUN | ||
| 3 h5 r1/3 | Marguerite Dockrell | 16 | Ireland | IRL | ||
| 3 h6 r1/3 | Bonnie Mealing | 15 | Australia | AUS | ||
| 4 h1 r1/3 | Reni Erkens | 18 | Germany | GER | ||
| 4 h2 r1/3 | Edna Davey | Australia | AUS | |||
| 4 h6 r1/3 | Gerda Bredgaard | 20 | Denmark | DEN | ||
| 5 h1 r1/3 | Rhoda Rennie | South Africa | RSA | |||
| 5 h2 r1/3 | Marguerite Ledoux | France | FRA | |||
| 5 h6 r1/3 | Anne Dupire | France | FRA | |||
| 6 h1 r1/3 | Claire Horrent | France | FRA |