Athletics at the 1988 Summer Games: Previous Summer Games ▪ Next Summer Games
Host City: Seoul, South Korea
Venue(s): Olympic Stadium, Seoul Sports Complex, Seoul
Date Started: September 29, 1988
Date Finished: September 29, 1988
Format: Top four in each heat and next four fastest advanced to the final.
| Gold: | Paula Ivan |
| Silver: | Laimutė Baikauskaitė |
| Bronze: | Tetiana Samolenko-Dorovskykh |
| Rank | Athlete | Age | Team | NOC | T(A) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Doina Beşliu-Melinte | 31 | Romania | ROU | 4:06.87 | QU |
| 2 | Debbie Scott-Bowker | 29 | Canada | CAN | 4:07.06 | QU |
| 3 | Tetiana Samolenko-Dorovskykh | 27 | Soviet Union | URS | 4:07.11 | QU |
| 4 | Kim Gallagher | 24 | United States | USA | 4:07.22 | QU |
| 5 | Elly van Hulst | 29 | Netherlands | NED | 4:07.40 | |
| 6 | Kirsty Wade | 26 | Great Britain | GBR | 4:08.37 | |
| 7 | Lyubov Gurina | 31 | Soviet Union | URS | 4:08.59 | |
| 8 | Angela Chalmers | 25 | Canada | CAN | 4:08.64 | |
| 9 | Vera Michallek | 29 | West Germany | FRG | 4:10.05 | |
| 10 | Cornelia Bürki | 34 | Switzerland | SUI | 4:10.89 | |
| 11 | Khin Khin Htwe | 25 | Myanmar | MYA | 4:20.92 | |
| 12 | No Hye-Sun | 19 | South Korea | KOR | 4:26.05 | |
| 13 | Daphrose Nyiramutuzo | 16 | Rwanda | RWA | 4:32.31 | |
| 14 | Poloni Avek | 22 | Papua New Guinea | PNG | 4:46.49 |
| Rank | Athlete | Age | Team | NOC | T(A) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Paula Ivan | 25 | Romania | ROU | 4:03.33 | QU |
| 2 | Mary Decker-Slaney | 30 | United States | USA | 4:03.61 | QU |
| 3 | Andrea Hahmann | 22 | East Germany | GDR | 4:03.65 | QU |
| 4 | Lynn Williams | 28 | Canada | CAN | 4:04.20 | QU |
| 5 | Shireen Bailey | 28 | Great Britain | GBR | 4:04.65 | QC |
| 6 | Christina Boxer-Cahill | 31 | Great Britain | GBR | 4:05.33 | QC |
| 7 | Laimutė Baikauskaitė | 32 | Soviet Union | URS | 4:05.74 | QC |
| 8 | Fatima Aouam | 28 | Morocco | MAR | 4:06.87 | QC |
| 9 | Hassiba Boulmerka | 20 | Algeria | ALG | 4:08.33 | |
| 10 | Susan Sirma | 22 | Kenya | KEN | 4:10.13 | |
| 11 | Regina Jacobs | 25 | United States | USA | 4:18.09 | |
| 12 | Letitia Vriesde | 23 | Suriname | SUR | 4:19.58 | |
| 13 | Laverne Bryan | 23 | Antigua and Barbuda | ANT | 4:39.73 | |
| 14 | Rachel Thompson | 24 | Sierra Leone | SLE | 5:31.42 |