| | Event type

400 metres Freestyle, Women

Date	19 – 20 October 1968
Status	Olympic
Location	Alberca Olímpica Francisco Márquez, Ciudad de México
Participants	30 from 17 countries

At the US Olympic Trials Debbie Meyer had set world records in the 200, 400, and 800 metre freestyles. Better in the distances she had already set five world records in this event, five in the 800, and three in the non-Olympic 1,500 free. She was the class of the field, opening a two body length lead by 100 metres, and simply opening it up throughout the race, to win by almost four seconds over teammate Linda Gustavson, who the day before had won a bronze in the 100 freestyle. Australia’s Karen Moras, only 14-years-old, won the bronze medal, edging out American Pam Kruse.

Pos	Number	Competitor	NOC	R1	Final
1	15392	Debbie Meyer	USA	4:35.0 (1 h2)	4:31.8 (1)	Gold
2	15383	Linda Gustavson	USA	4:41.4 (1 h4)	4:35.5 (2)	Silver
3	13065	Karen Moras	AUS	4:39.6 (1 h5)	4:37.0 (3)	Bronze
4	15391	Pam Kruse	USA	4:45.2 (1 h3)	4:37.2 (4)
5	23078	Gabriele Wetzko	GDR	4:49.8 (2 h1)	4:40.2 (5)
6	18776	María Teresa Ramírez	MEX	4:43.9 (1 h1)	4:42.2 (6)
7	13888	Angela Coughlan	CAN	4:47.4 (1 h6)	4:51.9 (7)
8	20396	Elisabeth Morris	SWE	4:51.6 (2 h5)	4:53.8 (8)
9	13061	Denise Langford	AUS	4:52.2 (2 h6)	–
10	16006	Marjatta Hara	FIN	4:53.0 (2 h3)	–
11	18777	Laura Vaca	MEX	4:53.3 (3 h1)	–
12	16246	Marie-José Kersaudy	FRA	4:57.3 (2 h4)	–
13	22933	Kristina Moir	PUR	4:57.7 (3 h4)	–
14	–	Eva Sigg	FIN	4:58.5 (3 h6)	–
15	17963	Novella Calligaris	ITA	4:59.4 (3 h5)	–
16	15890	Helen Elliott	PHI	4:59.9 (4 h1)	–
=17	18780	Norma Amezcua	MEX	5:00.5 (2 h2)	–
=17	16251	Dominique Mollier	FRA	5:00.5 (3 h2)	–
19	13058	Christine Deakes	AUS	5:01.5 (4 h6)	–
20	13972	Patricia Olano	COL	5:01.8 (5 h6)	–
21	16691	Sue Williams	GBR	5:02.7 (4 h4)	–
22	21969	Consuelo Changanachi	PER	5:02.9 (4 h5)	–
23	16700	Sheila Clayton	GBR	5:08.0 (4 h2)	–
24	13974	Olga de Ángulo	COL	5:08.6 (3 h3)	–
25	16702	Sally Davison	GBR	5:11.2 (4 h3)	–
26	21524	Mónica E. Figueroa	URU	5:21.0 (5 h4)	–
27	16863	Silvana Asturias	GUA	5:25.6 (5 h5)	–
28	21522	Lylián Castillo	URU	5:30.2 (5 h3)	–
29	23710	Shen Bao-Ni	TPE	5:41.8 (5 h1)	–
30	–	Lorna Blake	PUR	5:54.7 (6 h3)	–
DNS	14927	Donatella Ferracuti	ESA	– (DNS h1)	–
DNS	–	Claude Mandonnaud	FRA	– (DNS h2)	–
DNS	20262	Pat Chan	SGP	– (DNS h2)	–
DNS	20391	Elisabeth Berglund	SWE	– (DNS h2)	–
DNS	21692	Mirjana Šegrt	YUG	– (DNS h3)	–
DNS	20394	Ingrid Gustavsson	SWE	– (DNS h4)	–
DNS	22935	Ana Marcial	PUR	– (DNS h5)	–
DNS	14609	Oľga Kozičová	TCH	– (DNS h5)	–
DNS	23709	Oei Liana	TPE	– (DNS h6)	–

Round One

Date	19 October 1968 — 10:00
Format	Fastest eight advanced to the final.

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time
1	–	Debbie Meyer	USA	4:35.0	QOR
2	–	Karen Moras	AUS	4:39.6	Q
3	–	Linda Gustavson	USA	4:41.4	Q
4	–	María Teresa Ramírez	MEX	4:43.9	Q
5	–	Pam Kruse	USA	4:45.2	Q
6	–	Angela Coughlan	CAN	4:47.4	Q
7	–	Gabriele Wetzko	GDR	4:49.8	Q
8	–	Elisabeth Morris	SWE	4:51.6	Q
9	–	Denise Langford	AUS	4:52.2
10	–	Marjatta Hara	FIN	4:53.0
11	–	Laura Vaca	MEX	4:53.3
12	–	Marie-José Kersaudy	FRA	4:57.3
13	–	Kristina Moir	PUR	4:57.7
14	–	Eva Sigg	FIN	4:58.5
15	–	Novella Calligaris	ITA	4:59.4
16	–	Helen Elliott	PHI	4:59.9
=17	–	Norma Amezcua	MEX	5:00.5
=17	–	Dominique Mollier	FRA	5:00.5
19	–	Christine Deakes	AUS	5:01.5
20	–	Patricia Olano	COL	5:01.8
21	–	Sue Williams	GBR	5:02.7
22	–	Consuelo Changanachi	PER	5:02.9
23	–	Sheila Clayton	GBR	5:08.0
24	–	Olga de Ángulo	COL	5:08.6
25	–	Sally Davison	GBR	5:11.2
26	–	Mónica E. Figueroa	URU	5:21.0
27	–	Silvana Asturias	GUA	5:25.6
28	–	Lylián Castillo	URU	5:30.2
29	–	Shen Bao-Ni	TPE	5:41.8
30	–	Lorna Blake	PUR	5:54.7
DNS	–	Donatella Ferracuti	ESA	–
DNS	–	Claude Mandonnaud	FRA	–
DNS	–	Pat Chan	SGP	–
DNS	–	Elisabeth Berglund	SWE	–
DNS	–	Mirjana Šegrt	YUG	–
DNS	–	Ingrid Gustavsson	SWE	–
DNS	–	Ana Marcial	PUR	–
DNS	–	Oľga Kozičová	TCH	–
DNS	–	Oei Liana	TPE	–

Heat #1

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time	100 m	200 m	300 m	100-200 m Time (Rank)	200-300 m Time (Rank)	300-400 m Time (Rank)
1	–	María Teresa Ramírez	MEX	4:43.9	1:05.8 (1)	2:16.9 (1)	3:30.4 (1)	1:11.1 (1)	1:13.5 (1)	1:13.5 (1)	Q
2	–	Gabriele Wetzko	GDR	4:49.8	1:08.0 (3)	2:20.3 (2)	3:34.3 (2)	1:12.3 (2)	1:14.0 (2)	1:15.5 (3)	Q
3	–	Laura Vaca	MEX	4:53.3	1:07.5 (2)	2:21.4 (3)	3:37.5 (3)	1:13.9 (3)	1:16.1 (3)	1:15.8 (4)
4	–	Helen Elliott	PHI	4:59.9	1:11.9 (4)	2:27.9 (4)	3:44.5 (4)	1:16.0 (4)	1:16.6 (4)	1:15.4 (2)
5	–	Shen Bao-Ni	TPE	5:41.8	1:13.8 (5)	2:40.9 (5)	4:12.5 (5)	1:27.1 (5)	1:31.6 (5)	1:29.3 (5)
DNS	–	Donatella Ferracuti	ESA	–	– (–)	– (–)	– (–)	–	–	–

Heat #2

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time	100 m	200 m	300 m	100-200 m Time (Rank)	200-300 m Time (Rank)	300-400 m Time (Rank)
1	–	Debbie Meyer	USA	4:35.0	1:05.3 (1)	2:15.1 (1)	3:26.0 (1)	1:09.8 (1)	1:10.9 (1)	1:09.0 (1)	QOR
2	–	Norma Amezcua	MEX	5:00.5	1:11.2 (2)	2:27.4 (2)	3:44.9 (2)	1:16.2 (=2)	1:17.5 (=2)	1:15.6 (3)
3	–	Dominique Mollier	FRA	5:00.5	1:11.4 (3)	2:27.6 (3)	3:45.1 (3)	1:16.2 (=2)	1:17.5 (=2)	1:15.4 (2)
4	–	Sheila Clayton	GBR	5:08.0	1:12.0 (4)	2:29.8 (4)	3:49.3 (4)	1:17.8 (4)	1:19.5 (4)	1:18.7 (4)
DNS	–	Claude Mandonnaud	FRA	–	– (–)	– (–)	– (–)	–	–	–
DNS	–	Pat Chan	SGP	–	– (–)	– (–)	– (–)	–	–	–
DNS	–	Elisabeth Berglund	SWE	–	– (–)	– (–)	– (–)	–	–	–

Heat #3

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time	100 m	200 m	300 m	100-200 m Time (Rank)	200-300 m Time (Rank)	300-400 m Time (Rank)
1	–	Pam Kruse	USA	4:45.2	1:10.2 (1)	2:23.3 (1)	3:34.2 (1)	1:13.1 (1)	1:10.9 (1)	1:11.0 (1)	Q
2	–	Marjatta Hara	FIN	4:53.0	1:10.3 (2)	2:24.2 (2)	3:39.1 (2)	1:13.9 (2)	1:14.9 (2)	1:13.9 (2)
3	–	Olga de Ángulo	COL	5:08.6	1:12.3 (4)	2:30.8 (4)	3:50.6 (3)	1:18.5 (4)	1:19.8 (3)	1:18.0 (3)
4	–	Sally Davison	GBR	5:11.2	1:11.3 (3)	2:29.4 (3)	3:50.8 (4)	1:18.1 (3)	1:21.4 (4)	1:20.4 (4)
5	–	Lylián Castillo	URU	5:30.2	1:14.1 (5)	2:37.7 (5)	4:04.4 (5)	1:23.6 (5)	1:26.7 (5)	1:25.8 (5)
6	–	Lorna Blake	PUR	5:54.7	1:18.0 (6)	2:47.8 (6)	4:22.0 (6)	1:29.8 (6)	1:34.2 (6)	1:32.7 (6)
DNS	–	Mirjana Šegrt	YUG	–	– (–)	– (–)	– (–)	–	–	–

Heat #4

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time	100 m	200 m	300 m	100-200 m Time (Rank)	200-300 m Time (Rank)	300-400 m Time (Rank)
1	–	Linda Gustavson	USA	4:41.4	1:05.8 (1)	2:15.8 (1)	3:28.5 (1)	1:10.0 (1)	1:12.7 (1)	1:12.9 (1)	Q
2	–	Marie-José Kersaudy	FRA	4:57.3	1:08.4 (2)	2:22.1 (2)	3:40.1 (2)	1:13.7 (2)	1:18.0 (3)	1:17.2 (3)
3	–	Kristina Moir	PUR	4:57.7	1:11.2 (4)	2:26.7 (4)	3:42.7 (3)	1:15.5 (3)	1:16.0 (2)	1:15.0 (2)
4	–	Sue Williams	GBR	5:02.7	1:10.1 (3)	2:25.8 (3)	3:44.0 (4)	1:15.7 (4)	1:18.2 (4)	1:18.7 (4)
5	–	Mónica E. Figueroa	URU	5:21.0	1:13.1 (5)	2:32.9 (5)	3:57.2 (5)	1:19.8 (5)	1:24.3 (5)	1:23.8 (5)
DNS	–	Ingrid Gustavsson	SWE	–	– (–)	– (–)	– (–)	–	–	–

Heat #5

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time	100 m	200 m	300 m	100-200 m Time (Rank)	200-300 m Time (Rank)	300-400 m Time (Rank)
1	–	Karen Moras	AUS	4:39.6	1:07.2 (1)	2:17.7 (1)	3:29.1 (1)	1:10.5 (1)	1:11.4 (1)	1:10.5 (1)	Q
2	–	Elisabeth Morris	SWE	4:51.6	1:10.6 (3)	2:24.4 (2)	3:38.7 (2)	1:13.8 (2)	1:14.3 (2)	1:12.9 (2)	Q
3	–	Novella Calligaris	ITA	4:59.4	1:09.5 (2)	2:25.9 (3)	3:43.5 (3)	1:16.4 (3)	1:17.6 (4)	1:15.9 (3)
4	–	Consuelo Changanachi	PER	5:02.9	1:13.5 (4)	2:30.4 (4)	3:46.8 (4)	1:16.9 (4)	1:16.4 (3)	1:16.1 (4)
5	–	Silvana Asturias	GUA	5:25.6	1:15.2 (5)	2:36.2 (5)	4:01.4 (5)	1:21.0 (5)	1:25.2 (5)	1:24.2 (5)
DNS	–	Ana Marcial	PUR	–	– (–)	– (–)	– (–)	–	–	–
DNS	–	Oľga Kozičová	TCH	–	– (–)	– (–)	– (–)	–	–	–

Heat #6

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time	100 m	200 m	300 m	100-200 m Time (Rank)	200-300 m Time (Rank)	300-400 m Time (Rank)
1	–	Angela Coughlan	CAN	4:47.4	1:08.0 (1)	2:19.4 (1)	3:33.6 (1)	1:11.4 (1)	1:14.2 (1)	1:13.8 (1)	Q
2	–	Denise Langford	AUS	4:52.2	1:08.6 (2)	2:21.9 (2)	3:36.8 (2)	1:13.3 (2)	1:14.9 (2)	1:15.4 (3)
3	–	Eva Sigg	FIN	4:58.5	1:11.1 (4)	2:27.3 (4)	3:43.3 (4)	1:16.2 (4)	1:16.0 (3)	1:15.2 (2)
4	–	Christine Deakes	AUS	5:01.5	1:10.3 (3)	2:25.6 (3)	3:42.9 (3)	1:15.3 (3)	1:17.3 (5)	1:18.6 (5)
5	–	Patricia Olano	COL	5:01.8	1:12.5 (5)	2:29.0 (5)	3:45.3 (5)	1:16.5 (5)	1:16.3 (4)	1:16.5 (4)
DNS	–	Oei Liana	TPE	–	– (–)	– (–)	– (–)	–	–	–

Final Round

Date	20 October 1968 — 17:00

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time	100 m	200 m	300 m	100-200 m Time (Rank)	200-300 m Time (Rank)	300-400 m Time (Rank)
1	–	Debbie Meyer	USA	4:31.8	1:04.1 (1)	2:13.6 (1)	3:23.5 (1)	1:09.5 (1)	1:09.9 (1)	1:08.3 (1)	OR
2	–	Linda Gustavson	USA	4:35.5	1:06.3 (2)	2:16.3 (2)	3:26.4 (2)	1:10.0 (2)	1:10.1 (2)	1:09.1 (2)
3	–	Karen Moras	AUS	4:37.0	1:06.9 (4)	2:17.3 (4)	3:27.8 (4)	1:10.4 (=4)	1:10.5 (3)	1:09.2 (3)
4	–	Pam Kruse	USA	4:37.2	1:06.6 (3)	2:16.7 (3)	3:27.7 (3)	1:10.1 (3)	1:11.0 (5)	1:09.5 (4)
5	–	Gabriele Wetzko	GDR	4:40.2	1:08.2 (7)	2:18.6 (6)	3:29.5 (=5)	1:10.4 (=4)	1:10.9 (4)	1:10.7 (5)
6	–	María Teresa Ramírez	MEX	4:42.2	1:07.1 (5)	2:17.5 (5)	3:29.5 (=5)	1:10.4 (=4)	1:12.0 (6)	1:12.7 (6)
7	–	Angela Coughlan	CAN	4:51.9	1:08.1 (6)	2:20.3 (7)	3:35.4 (7)	1:12.2 (7)	1:15.1 (8)	1:16.5 (8)
8	–	Elisabeth Morris	SWE	4:53.8	1:11.0 (8)	2:25.6 (8)	3:40.2 (8)	1:14.6 (8)	1:14.6 (7)	1:13.6 (7)