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Athletics at the 1988 Seoul Summer Games:
Women's 400 metres
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 23, 1988
Date Finished: September 26, 1988
| Gold: |  Olha Bryzhina |
| Silver: |  Petra Müller |
| Bronze: | Olga Nazarova |
Summary
The greatest 400 runner ever, Marita Koch, had retired and the favorites role fell to Soviet Olga Bryzgina, who had won the 1987 World Championship. The defending champion was back, now as Valerie Brisco. Also present was the runner-up at the 1987 Worlds, Petra Müller of the GDR. Brisco led the final for the first 200 metres, but by 300 Bryzgina had nearly closed the gap. Bryzgina pulled ahead on the final turn and won going away, by 8/10ths of a second. Müller had the strongest finish of the other runners and got up for second, with Brisco nipped for the bronze medal by Soviet Olga Nazarova.
Final Standings
| Rank | Athlete | Age | Team | NOC | Medal | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Olha Bryzhina | 25 | Soviet Union | URS | Gold | OR |
| 2 | Petra Müller | 23 | East Germany | GDR | Silver | |
| 3 | Olga Nazarova | 23 | Soviet Union | URS | Bronze | |
| 4 | Valerie Brisco-Hooks | 28 | United States | USA | ||
| 5 | Diane Dixon | 23 | United States | USA | ||
| 6 | Denean Howard-Hill | 23 | United States | USA | ||
| 7 | Helga Arendt | 23 | West Germany | FRG | ||
| 8 | Maree Holland | 25 | Australia | AUS | ||
| 5 h1 r3/4 | Jill Richardson-Briscoe | 23 | Canada | CAN | ||
| 5 h2 r3/4 | Kirsten Emmelmann | 27 | East Germany | GDR | ||
| 6 h1 r3/4 | Ute Thimm | 30 | West Germany | FRG | ||
| 6 h2 r3/4 | Cathy Rattray-Williams | 25 | Jamaica | JAM | ||
| 7 h1 r3/4 | Marita Payne Wiggins | 27 | Canada | CAN | ||
| 7 h2 r3/4 | Charmaine Crooks | 26 | Canada | CAN | ||
| 8 h1 r3/4 | Dagmar Neubauer | 26 | East Germany | GDR | ||
| 8 h2 r3/4 | Norfalia Carabalí | 24 | Colombia | COL | ||
| 5 h1 r2/4 | Maria Magnólia Figueiredo | 24 | Brazil | BRA | ||
| 5 h2 r2/4 | Sandie Richards | 19 | Jamaica | JAM | ||
| 5 h3 r2/4 | Linda Keough | 24 | Great Britain | GBR | ||
| 5 h4 r2/4 | Céléstine N'Drin | 25 | Cote d'Ivoire | CIV | ||
| 6 h1 r2/4 | Airat Bakare | 21 | Nigeria | NGR | ||
| 6 h2 r2/4 | Évelyne Élien | 24 | France | FRA | ||
| 6 h3 r2/4 | Yvonne van Dorp | 22 | Netherlands | NED | ||
| 6 h4 r2/4 | Aïssatou Tandian | 22 | Senegal | SEN | ||
| 7 h1 r2/4 | Loreen Hall | 20 | Great Britain | GBR | ||
| 7 h2 r2/4 | Sun Sumei | 19 | China | CHN | ||
| 7 h3 r2/4 | Liliana Chalá | 33 | Ecuador | ECU | ||
| 7 h4 r2/4 | Fabienne Ficher | 22 | France | FRA | ||
| 8 h2 r2/4 | Yolande Straughn | 20 | Barbados | BAR | ||
| 8 h3 r2/4 | Mercy Kuttan-Mathews | 27 | India | IND | ||
| 8 h4 r2/4 | Blanca Lacambra | 23 | Spain | ESP | ||
| 5 h1 r1/4 | Pat Beckford | 23 | Great Britain | GBR | ||
| 5 h2 r1/4 | Farida Kyakutewa | 26 | Uganda | UGA | ||
| 5 h4 r1/4 | Marilyn Dewarder | 28 | Guyana | GUY | ||
| 5 h5 r1/4 | Assumpta Achuo-Bei | 20 | Cameroon | CMR | ||
| 5 h7 r1/4 | Nathalie Simon | 26 | France | FRA | ||
| 6 h1 r1/4 | Yang Gyeong-Hui | 17 | South Korea | KOR | ||
| 6 h2 r1/4 | Christine Bakombo | 26 | Congo (Kinshasa) | COD | ||
| 6 h4 r1/4 | May Sardouk | 25 | Lebanon | LIB | ||
| 6 h5 r1/4 | Josephine Mary Singarayar | 21 | Malaysia | MAS | ||
| 6 h6 r1/4 | Ruth Morris | 25 | United States Virgin Islands | ISV | ||
| 6 h7 r1/4 | Chang Feng-Hua | 20 | Chinese Taipei | TPE | ||
| 7 h1 r1/4 | Juliana Obiong | 22 | Equatorial Guinea | GEQ | ||
| 7 h5 r1/4 | Lasnet Nkouka | 18 | Congo (Brazzaville) | CGO | ||
| 7 h6 r1/4 | Barbara Selkridge | 17 | Antigua and Barbuda | ANT | ||
| 7 h7 r1/4 | Agnes Griffith | 19 | Grenada | GRN |
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