Wilhelmina von Bremen


Wilhelmina "Billie" von Bremen was an American sprint runner. At the 1932 Summer Olympics, she won an individual bronze medal in the 100 meters and a gold medal in the 4×100 meters relay.

Life

Von Bremen graduated from Western Women's College in Ohio and ran for the Western Women's Club in her home city. She came second in the AAU meet in 1932 to Ethel Harrington. However Harrington was not meant to run and therefore von Bremen was declared the winner.
In the first heat Marie Dollinger broke the 100 metres Olympic record with a time of 12.2 seconds. This time was immediately improved by Stanisława Walasiewicz, who also set a world record. However it was von Bremen who took the bronze.
Von Bremen soon joined with teammates Mary Carew, Evelyn Furtsch and Annette Rogers to win the gold medal in the 4×100 meters in a world record time.