Between 1925 and 1927 Halina Konopacka had set five world records,
of which two were ratified. Her cast of 39.17 in the qualifying round
missed her record by one centimetre. The 27 year-old, throwing while
clad in her usual outfit of shorts, singlet and beret, improved in the final
with a world record of 39.62, to become the first-ever Olympic
women’s athletics gold medallist.