Fencing at the 1936 Summer Olympics – Women's foil
The women's foil was one of seven fencing events on the fencing at the 1936 Summer Olympics programme. It was the fourth appearance of the event. The competition was held from 4 August 1936 to 5 August 1936. 41 fencers from 17 nations competed, with one additional fencer entered but withdrawing. Nations were limited to three fencers.
The competition format was pool play round-robin, with bouts to five touches. Not all bouts were played in some pools if not necessary to determine advancement. Two points were awarded for each bout won. Ties were broken through fence-off bouts in early rounds if necessary for determining advancement, but by touches received in final rounds.
Results
Round 1
The top 4 finishers in each pool advanced to round 2.Pool 1
| Rank | Fencer | Nation | Points | Wins | Losses | Notes | ||
| 1 | Ilona Elek-Schacherer | 8 | 4 | 0 | 20 | 5 | ||
| 2 | Elisabeth Grasser | 8 | 4 | 1 | 24 | 13 | ||
| 3 | Denise Kramer-Scholer | 8 | 4 | 1 | 21 | 15 | ||
| 4 | Toos van der Klaauw | 6 | 3 | 2 | 16 | 15 | ||
| 5 | Joanna de Tuscan | 2 | 1 | 4 | 15 | 21 | ||
| 6 | Carmen Raisová | 2 | 1 | 4 | 15 | 23 | ||
| 7 | Andrée Boisson | 0 | 0 | 5 | 6 | 25 |
Pool 2
| Rank | Fencer | Nation | Points | Wins | Losses | Notes | ||
| 1 | Helene Mayer | 12 | 6 | 0 | 30 | 6 | ||
| 2 | Erna Bogen-Bogáti | 10 | 5 | 1 | 27 | 18 | ||
| 3 | Margit Kristian | 8 | 4 | 2 | 25 | 21 | ||
| 4 | Hilda von Puttkammer | 6 | 3 | 3 | 19 | 20 | ||
| 5 | Berit Granquist | 4 | 2 | 4 | 20 | 26 | ||
| 6 | Betty Arbuthnott | 0 | 0 | 5 | 12 | 25 | ||
| 6 | Nancy Archibald | 0 | 0 | 5 | 8 | 25 |
Pool 3
| Rank | Fencer | Nation | Points | Wins | Losses | Notes | ||
| 1 | Karen Lachmann | 8 | 4 | 1 | 21 | 11 | ||
| 2 | Marion Lloyd | 6 | 3 | 2 | 19 | 15 | ||
| 3 | Adèle Christiaens | 6 | 3 | 2 | 19 | 17 | ||
| 4 | Olga Oelkers | 6 | 3 | 2 | 20 | 18 | ||
| 5 | Marie Šedivá | 4 | 2 | 3 | 14 | 20 | ||
| 6 | Marguerite Reuche | 0 | 0 | 5 | 13 | 25 |
Pool 4
Scheel won the play-off between herself, Aşani, and Thomas. It is unclear why Aşani did not face Vargha; in general, matches unnecessary to determine qualification were not played (and this reason is given in the official report, but Aşani would have advanced without the need for a play-off pool had she had the opportunity to, and successfully did, beat Vargha.| Rank | Fencer | Nation | Points | Wins | Losses | Notes | ||
| 1 | Hedwig Haß | 12 | 6 | 0 | 30 | 5 | ||
| 2 | Ulla Barding-Poulsen | 8 | 4 | 1 | 21 | 11 | ||
| 3 | Ilona Vargha | 6 | 3 | 1 | 17 | 9 | ||
| 4 | Ingeborg Scheel | 4 | 2 | 4 | 14 | 24 | ||
| 5 | Suat Aşani | 4 | 2 | 3 | 16 | 18 | ||
| 6 | Aileen Thomas | 4 | 2 | 4 | 20 | 28 | ||
| 7 | Thea Kellner | 0 | 0 | 6 | 7 | 30 |
Pool 5
| Rank | Fencer | Nation | Points | Wins | Losses | Notes | ||
| 1 | Ellen Müller-Preis | 10 | 5 | 0 | 25 | 7 | ||
| 2 | Agathe Turgis | 6 | 3 | 1 | 19 | 12 | ||
| 3 | Madeleine Scrève | 6 | 3 | 1 | 17 | 12 | ||
| 4 | Grete Olsen | 6 | 3 | 1 | 17 | 15 | ||
| 5 | Yvonne Bornand | 2 | 1 | 4 | 13 | 21 | ||
| 6 | Ebba Gripenstedt | 4 | 2 | 4 | 18 | 28 | ||
| 7 | Halet Çambel | 0 | 0 | 5 | 10 | 25 |
Pool 6
| Rank | Fencer | Nation | Points | Wins | Losses | Notes | ||
| 1 | Fritzi Wenisch-Filz | 10 | 5 | 0 | 25 | 9 | ||
| 2 | Jenny Addams | 8 | 4 | 1 | 24 | 14 | ||
| 3 | Judy Guinness Penn-Hughes | 6 | 3 | 3 | 22 | 23 | ||
| 4 | Dorothy Locke | 6 | 3 | 3 | 22 | 24 | ||
| 5 | Ivka Tavčar | 4 | 2 | 4 | 22 | 24 | ||
| 6 | Gerda Gantz | 4 | 2 | 4 | 15 | 24 | ||
| 7 | Kathleen Hughes-Hallett | 2 | 1 | 5 | 16 | 27 |
Round 2
The top 3 finishers in each pool advanced to the semifinals.Pool 1
Locke defeated Bogen-Bogáti in the tie-breaker bout, repeating the result of the pool bout between the two.| Rank | Fencer | Nation | Points | Wins | Losses | Notes | ||
| 1 | Elisabeth Grasser | 10 | 5 | 0 | 25 | 15 | ||
| 2 | Jenny Addams | 8 | 4 | 1 | 24 | 14 | ||
| 3 | Dorothy Locke | 4 | 2 | 3 | 20 | 20 | ||
| 4 | Erna Bogen-Bogáti | 4 | 2 | 3 | 19 | 21 | ||
| 5 | Ulla Barding-Poulsen | 2 | 1 | 4 | 16 | 24 | ||
| 5 | Ingeborg Scheel | 2 | 1 | 4 | 14 | 24 |
Pool 2
| Rank | Fencer | Nation | Points | Wins | Losses | Notes | ||
| 1 | Ellen Müller-Preis | 10 | 5 | 0 | 25 | 11 | ||
| 2 | Judy Guinness Penn-Hughes | 8 | 4 | 1 | 24 | 19 | ||
| 3 | Olga Oelkers | 6 | 3 | 2 | 23 | 16 | ||
| 4 | Grete Olsen | 4 | 2 | 3 | 19 | 22 | ||
| 5 | Margit Kristian | 2 | 1 | 4 | 13 | 22 | ||
| 6 | Adèle Christiaens | 0 | 0 | 5 | 11 | 25 |
Pool 3
| Rank | Fencer | Nation | Points | Wins | Losses | Notes | ||
| 1 | Helene Mayer | 8 | 4 | 0 | 20 | 2 | ||
| 2 | Marion Lloyd | 6 | 3 | 1 | 16 | 12 | ||
| 3 | Ilona Vargha | 6 | 3 | 1 | 18 | 15 | ||
| 4 | Madeleine Scrève | 2 | 1 | 3 | 10 | 15 | ||
| 5 | Fritzi Wenisch-Filz | 2 | 1 | 3 | 13 | 16 | ||
| 6 | Hilda von Puttkammer | 0 | 0 | 5 | 11 | 25 |
Pool 4
Elek-Schacherer won the play-off against van der Klaauw. The bout between Elek-Schacherer and Kramer-Scholer is shown in the official report as a 5–5 bout with neither given credit for a win; this score is generally not possible under the competition format in use but the official report contains no explanation of the result.| Rank | Fencer | Nation | Points | Wins | Losses | Notes | ||
| 1 | Hedwig Haß | 10 | 5 | 0 | 25 | 6 | ||
| 2 | Karen Lachmann | 8 | 4 | 1 | 21 | 9 | ||
| 3 | Ilona Elek-Schacherer | 4 | 2 | 3 | 20 | 19 | ||
| 4 | Toos van der Klaauw | 4 | 2 | 3 | 15 | 23 | ||
| 5 | Denise Kramer-Scholer | 2 | 1 | 4 | 15 | 21 | ||
| 6 | Agathe Turgis | 0 | 0 | 5 | 7 | 25 |
Semifinals
The top 4 finishers in each pool advanced to the final.Semifinal 1
Locke defeated Bogen-Bogáti in the tie-breaker bout, repeating the result of the pool bout between the two.| Rank | Fencer | Nation | Points | Wins | Losses | Notes | ||
| 1 | Jenny Addams | 6 | 3 | 1 | 18 | 10 | ||
| 2 | Ellen Müller-Preis | 6 | 3 | 1 | 19 | 13 | ||
| 2 | Ilona Vargha | 6 | 3 | 1 | 17 | 13 | ||
| 4 | Hedwig Haß | 4 | 2 | 2 | 16 | 16 | ||
| 5 | Marion Lloyd | 2 | 1 | 4 | 19 | 20 | ||
| 6 | Olga Oelkers | 2 | 1 | 4 | 7 | 24 |
Semifinal 2
| Rank | Fencer | Nation | Points | Wins | Losses | Notes | ||
| 1 | Ilona Elek-Schacherer | 10 | 5 | 0 | 25 | 10 | ||
| 2 | Helene Mayer | 8 | 4 | 1 | 21 | 11 | ||
| 3 | Elisabeth Grasser | 4 | 2 | 3 | 19 | 17 | ||
| 3 | Karen Lachmann | 4 | 2 | 3 | 17 | 17 | ||
| 5 | Dorothy Locke | 2 | 1 | 4 | 8 | 21 | ||
| 6 | Judy Guinness Penn-Hughes | 2 | 1 | 4 | 10 | 24 |
Final
The final eight fencers competed in a round-robin. Ties, including the three-way tie for second, were broken by touches received in this round rather than play-off bouts as in previous rounds.| Rank | Fencer | Nation | Points | Wins | Losses | ||
| Ilona Elek-Schacherer | 12 | 6 | 1 | 33 | 17 | ||
| Helene Mayer | 10 | 5 | 2 | 33 | 19 | ||
| Ellen Müller-Preis | 10 | 5 | 2 | 32 | 20 | ||
| 4 | Hedwig Haß | 10 | 5 | 2 | 30 | 23 | |
| 5 | Karen Lachmann | 6 | 3 | 4 | 23 | 24 | |
| 6 | Jenny Addams | 4 | 2 | 5 | 18 | 28 | |
| 7 | Ilona Vargha | 4 | 2 | 5 | 17 | 31 | |
| 8 | Elisabeth Grasser | 0 | 0 | 7 | 11 | 35 |