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 25, 1988
Date Finished: September 25, 1988
Format: Top three in each heat and next fastest advanced to the semi-finals.
| Gold: | Debbie Flintoff-King |
| Silver: | Tatyana Ledovskaya |
| Bronze: | Ellen Fiedler |
| Rank | Athlete | Age | Team | NOC | T(A) | L | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Susanne Losch | 22 | East Germany | GDR | 55.90 | 2 | QU |
| 2 | Tatyana Ledovskaya | 22 | Soviet Union | URS | 55.91 | 3 | QU |
| 3 | Elaine McLaughlin | 24 | Great Britain | GBR | 56.11 | 4 | QU |
| 4 | Rose Tata-Muya | 28 | Kenya | KEN | 56.18 | 8 | |
| 5 | Marie Womplou | 18 | Cote d'Ivoire | CIV | 57.35 | 5 | |
| 6 | Chris Slythe-Wynn | 27 | Canada | CAN | 58.00 | 6 | |
| 7 | P. T. Usha | 24 | India | IND | 59.55 | 7 |
| Rank | Athlete | Age | Team | NOC | T(A) | L | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sabine Busch | 25 | East Germany | GDR | 55.96 | 4 | QU |
| 2 | Gretha Tromp | 24 | Netherlands | NED | 56.11 | 5 | QU |
| 3 | Genowefa Błaszak | 31 | Poland | POL | 56.18 | 6 | QU |
| 4 | Jenny Laurendet | 26 | Australia | AUS | 56.44 | 7 | |
| 5 | Rosey Edeh | 22 | Canada | CAN | 56.59 | 3 | |
| 6 | Ruth Kyalisima | 32 | Uganda | UGA | 59.62 | 2 | |
| 7 | Nenita Adan | 23 | Philippines | PHI | 1:01.92 | 8 |
| Rank | Athlete | Age | Team | NOC | T(A) | L | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ellen Fiedler | 29 | East Germany | GDR | 54.58 | 8 | QU/OR |
| 2 | Anita Protti | 24 | Switzerland | SUI | 54.81 | 5 | QU |
| 3 | Tatyana Kurochkina | 21 | Soviet Union | URS | 55.04 | 2 | QU |
| 4 | LaTanya Sheffield | 24 | United States | USA | 55.61 | 3 | QC |
| 5 | Maria Usifo | 24 | Nigeria | NGR | 55.99 | 6 | |
| 6 | Helga Halldórsdóttir | 25 | Iceland | ISL | 58.99 | 4 | |
| 7 | Kim Sun-Ja | 22 | South Korea | KOR | 59.78 | 7 |
| Rank | Athlete | Age | Team | NOC | T(A) | L | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Debbie Flintoff-King | 28 | Australia | AUS | 54.99 | 3 | QU |
| 2 | Cristina Pérez | 22 | Spain | ESP | 55.29 | 8 | QU |
| 3 | Sally Gunnell | 22 | Great Britain | GBR | 55.44 | 6 | QU |
| 4 | Irmgard Trojer | 24 | Italy | ITA | 55.74 | 7 | |
| 5 | Leslie Maxie | 21 | United States | USA | 57.60 | 5 | |
| 6 | Barbara Johnson | 25 | Ireland | IRL | 58.61 | 2 | |
| 7 | Chang Feng-Hua | 20 | Chinese Taipei | TPE | 1:00.16 | 4 |
| Rank | Athlete | Age | Team | NOC | T(A) | L | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gudrun Abt | 26 | West Germany | FRG | 55.72 | 3 | QU |
| 2 | Schowonda Williams | 21 | United States | USA | 55.98 | 2 | QU |
| 3 | Chantal Beaugeant | 27 | France | FRA | 56.03 | 4 | QU |
| 4 | Sally Hamilton-Fleming | 23 | Australia | AUS | 56.08 | 5 | |
| 5 | Liliana Chalá | 33 | Ecuador | ECU | 57.15 | 6 | |
| 6 | Semra Aksu | 26 | Turkey | TUR | 57.20 | 8 | |
| 7 | Simone Laidlaw | 23 | Great Britain | GBR | 59.28 | 7 |