Who won the first Olympic women's 100 metres final at the 1928 Amsterdam Games?

Betty Robinson won the first Olympic women’s 100 metres final at the 1928 Amsterdam Games.

Robinson was only 16 when she won in 12.2 seconds, making her the inaugural Olympic champion in the event. Women’s athletics had previously appeared in a limited form at the 1928 Games, and the 100 metres was among the events introduced for female competitors.

Robinson’s career was interrupted by a serious plane crash in 1931. She recovered and returned to Olympic competition at Berlin in 1936, where she won a gold medal as part of the United States 4 × 100 metres relay team. She could not resume sprinting fully after the crash, so she competed in the relay instead.

A common mix-up is with Fanny Blankers-Koen, who won four athletics gold medals at the 1948 Olympics. Robinson’s victory came two decades earlier and established her as the first Olympic women’s 100-metre champion.