Mastenbroek, Rie (1919—)

Dutch swimmer . Name variations: Ria Mastenbroek or Mastenbroeck. Born Hendrika W. Mastenbroek in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, on February 26, 1919.

Won three gold medals in the Berlin Olympics, the 100-meter freestyle at 1:05.9, the 400-meter freestyle at 5:26.4, and the 4x100-meter freestyle relay, as well as a silver in the 100-meter backstroke (1936); inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame (1968).

Hendrika "Rie" Mastenbroek burst onto the international swimming scene at the 1936 Berlin Olympics. Until 1934, the year she won the European championship, she had competed only in regional contests. At the Berlin Olympics, the Dutch women swimmers were a powerhouse, winning four gold medals. (The U.S. team had lost the talent of Eleanor Holm , who had won the 100 meters in 1932, when she was dismissed from the team for disciplinary reasons.) Mastenbroek won two of these gold medals individually in the 100- and 400-meter freestyle (beating out Ragnhild Hveger ), and a third as a member of the 4x100-meter freestyle relay team where her finishing sprint gave the Dutch the gold over Germany; her teammates

were Johanna Selbach, Catherina Wagner , and Willemijntje den Ouden . Mastenbroek was only three-tenths of a second from winning a gold in the 100-meter backstroke, but in this event first place went to her teammate, Dina Senff . Mastenbroek held nine world records, six in backstroke and three in freestyle.

Karin Loewen Haag , Athens, Georgia