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. 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.
Medalists
Results
Heats
Heat 1| Rank | Athlete | Country | Time | Notes |
| 1 | Lyudmila Porubayko | 1:17.14 | ||
| 2 | Renate Vogel | 1:17.33 | ||
| 3 | Beverley Whitfield | 1:17.59 | ||
| 4 | Tetiana Prudnikova | 1:18.11 | ||
| 5 | Yoko Yamamoto | 1:18.94 | ||
| 6 | Ann O'Connor | 1:19.13 | ||
| 7 | Judith Hudson | 1:19.78 | ||
| 8 | Shlomit Nir | 1:20.90 |
Heat 2
| Rank | Athlete | Country | Time | Notes |
| 1 | Judy Melick | 1:16.75 | ||
| 2 | Vreni Eberle | 1:17.67 | ||
| 3 | Lynn Vidali | 1:18.80 | ||
| 4 | Zuzana Marková | 1:18.88 | ||
| 5 | Jaroslava Slavíčková | 1:19.12 | ||
| 6 | Diana Harris | 1:19.19 | ||
| 7 | Winnie Nielsen | 1:23.00 | ||
| 8 | Leonor Urueta | 1:23.21 |
Heat 3
| Rank | Athlete | Country | Time | Notes |
| 1 | Dorothy Harrison | 1:16.99 | ||
| 2 | Christine Jarvis | 1:18.27 | ||
| 3 | Sylvia Langer | 1:18.29 | ||
| 4 | Brigitte Schuchardt | 1:18.62 | ||
| 5 | Dagmar Sierck | 1:18.80 | ||
| 6 | Jane Wright | 1:20.56 | ||
| 7 | Cristina Teixeira | 1:20.58 | ||
| 8 | Ani Jane Mugrditchian | 1:29.71 |
Heat 4
| Rank | Athlete | Country | Time | Notes |
| 1 | Halyna Prozumenshchykova-Stepanova | 1:17.18 | ||
| 2 | Jeanette Pettersson | 1:17.83 | ||
| 3 | Éva Kiss | 1:18.57 | ||
| 4 | Alie te Riet | 1:18.79 | ||
| 5 | Tineke Hofland | 1:19.38 | ||
| 6 | Patricia Siewert | 1:19.54 | ||
| 7 | Mairi Ioannidou | 1:21.705 | ||
| 8 | Lee Yue-hwan | 1:25.47 |
Heat 5
| Rank | Athlete | Country | Time | Notes |
| 1 | Cathy Carr | 1:16.01 | ||
| 2 | Ágnes Kaczander-Kiss | 1:16.52 | ||
| 3 | Britt-Marie Smedh | 1:17.21 | ||
| 4 | Erika Rüegg | 1:17.95 | ||
| 5 | Sylvia Dockerill | 1:18.64 | ||
| 6 | Marian Stuart | 1:18.69 | ||
| 7 | Béatrice Mottoulle | 1:20.79 | ||
| 8 | Ana Elena de la Portilla | 1:21.61 |