| Date | 14 – 16 October 1968 |
|---|---|
| Status | Olympic |
| Location | Estadio Olímpico Universitario, Ciudad de México |
| Participants | 29 from 21 countries |
Great Britain’s Lillian Board was favored based on fast times early in the year. The lead in the final was taken by Jarvis Scott (USA) but she faded at 300 metres and Board took over. In the last 20 metres, France’s Colette Besson pulled up to win the gold medal with Board second. Besson was completely unheralded prior to the competition, but would place second in the 400 at the 1969 European Championships. Britain’s press was somewhat critical of Board, but later had cause to regret that. Within 18 months of the 1968 Olympics, she was diagnosed with cancer and died in December 1970, when she was only 22.
Another story concerned Dutch athlete Lia Hinten-Louer. The former pentathlete had concentrated on the 400 m since the Tokyo Games and she flew to Mexico ranked fourth in the world having recently broken the national record. She felt unwell on arrival and, after visiting a doctor, discovered she was 10 weeks pregnant. Hinten-Louer withdrew from the Games and immediately retired from the sport.
| Pos | Number | Competitor | NOC | R1 | SF | Final | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 117 | Colette Besson |  FRA | 53.1 (1 h1) | 53.6 (2 h1) | 52.0 (1) | Gold | ||
| 2 | 126 | Lillian Board |  GBR | 52.9 (2 h2) | 52.5 (1 h2) | 52.1 (2) | Silver | ||
| 3 | 238 | Nataliya Pechenkina |  URS | 53.7 (1 h4) | 52.8 (3 h2) | 52.2 (3) | Bronze | ||
| 4 | 141 | Janet Simpson | GBR | 53.6 (3 h3) | 54.0 (3 h1) | 52.5 (4) | |||
| 5 | 69 | Aurelia Pentón |  CUB | 52.8 (1 h2) | 54.0 (4 h1) | 52.7 (5) | |||
| 6 | 102 | Jarvis Scott |  USA | 53.5 (2 h1) | 53.2 (4 h2) | 52.7 (6) | |||
| 7 | 5 | Helga Henning |  FRG | 53.5 (3 h1) | 53.3 (1 h1) | 52.8 (7) | |||
| 8 | 154 | Mirna van der Hoeven-Jansen |  NED | 53.1 (1 h3) | 52.6 (2 h2) | 53.0 (8) | |||
| 5 h1 r2/3 | 104 | Esther Stroy | USA | 53.5 (2 h3) | 54.3 (5 h1) | – | |||
| 5 h2 r2/3 | 127 | Mary Green | GBR | 53.9 (2 h4) | 53.6 (5 h2) | – | |||
| 6 h1 r2/3 | 180 | Una Morris |  JAM | 54.1 (4 h2) | 54.6 (6 h1) | – | |||
| 6 h2 r2/3 | 219 | Karin Wallgren |  SWE | 54.2 (3 h4) | 53.9 (6 h2) | – | |||
| 7 h1 r2/3 | 249 | Ingrīda Verbele | URS | 54.0 (3 h2) | 54.6 (7 h1) | – | |||
| 7 h2 r2/3 | 122 | Monique Noirot | FRA | 53.6 (4 h3) | 54.2 (7 h2) | – | |||
| 8 h1 r2/3 | 56 | Joan Fisher |  CAN | 54.6 (4 h1) | 55.2 (8 h1) | – | |||
| 8 h2 r2/3 | 91 | Lois Drinkwater | USA | 54.5 (4 h4) | 57.3 (8 h2) | – | |||
| 5 h1 r1/3 | 185 | Enriqueta Basilio |  MEX | 55.6 (5 h1) | – | – | |||
| 5 h2 r1/3 | 54 | Anne Covell | CAN | 54.3 (5 h2) | – | – | |||
| 5 h3 r1/3 | 183 | Tekla Chemabwai |  KEN | 54.0 (5 h3) | – | – | |||
| 5 h4 r1/3 | 172 | Donata Govoni |  ITA | 54.7 (5 h4) | – | – | |||
| 6 h1 r1/3 | 32 | Joyce Bennett |  AUS | 56.5 (6 h1) | – | – | |||
| 6 h2 r1/3 | 72 | Anna Chmelková |  TCH | 54.9 (6 h2) | – | – | |||
| 6 h3 r1/3 | 34 | Sandra Brown | AUS | 55.4 (6 h3) | – | – | |||
| 6 h4 r1/3 | 112 | Eeva Haimi |  FIN | 55.0 (6 h4) | – | – | |||
| 7 h2 r1/3 | 164 | Antónia Munkácsi |  HUN | 55.6 (7 h2) | – | – | |||
| 7 h3 r1/3 | 171 | Channa Shezifi |  ISR | 56.3 (7 h3) | – | – | |||
| 7 h4 r1/3 | 252 | Josefa Vicent |  URU | 56.3 (7 h4) | – | – | |||
| 8 h2 r1/3 | 64 | Jean Robotham |  CRC | 58.2 (8 h2) | – | – | |||
| 8 h4 r1/3 | 193 | Olajumoke Bodunrin |  NGR | 57.0 (8 h4) | – | – | |||
| 47 | Irenice Maria Rodrigues |  BRA | – | – | – | ||||
| 151 | Lia Louer | NED | – | – | – | ||||
| 218 | Elisabeth Östberg | SWE | – | – | – |
| Date | 14 October 1968 — 10:40 |
|---|---|
| Format | Top 4 in each heat advanced to the semi-finals. |
| Pos | Number | Competitor | NOC | Time (automatic) | Time (hand) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 69 | Aurelia Pentón | CUB | 52.86 | 52.8 | ||
| 2 | 126 | Lillian Board | GBR | 53.00 | 52.9 | ||
| 3 | 117 | Colette Besson | FRA | 53.11 | 53.1 | ||
| 4 | 154 | Mirna van der Hoeven-Jansen | NED | 53.17 | 53.1 | ||
| 5 | 102 | Jarvis Scott | USA | 53.53 | 53.5 | ||
| =6 | 5 | Helga Henning | FRG | 53.58 | 53.5 | ||
| =6 | 104 | Esther Stroy | USA | 53.58 | 53.5 | ||
| 8 | 141 | Janet Simpson | GBR | 53.63 | 53.6 | ||
| 9 | 122 | Monique Noirot | FRA | 53.67 | 53.6 | ||
| 10 | 238 | Nataliya Pechenkina | URS | 53.73 | 53.7 | ||
| 11 | 127 | Mary Green | GBR | 54.00 | 53.9 | ||
| 12 | 183 | Tekla Chemabwai | KEN | 54.05 | 54.0 | ||
| 13 | 249 | Ingrīda Verbele | URS | 54.07 | 54.0 | ||
| 14 | 180 | Una Morris | JAM | 54.19 | 54.1 | ||
| 15 | 219 | Karin Wallgren | SWE | 54.30 | 54.2 | ||
| 16 | 54 | Anne Covell | CAN | 54.34 | 54.3 | ||
| 17 | 91 | Lois Drinkwater | USA | 54.56 | 54.5 | ||
| 18 | 56 | Joan Fisher | CAN | 54.62 | 54.6 | ||
| 19 | 172 | Donata Govoni | ITA | 54.77 | 54.7 | ||
| 20 | 72 | Anna Chmelková | TCH | 54.91 | 54.9 | ||
| 21 | 112 | Eeva Haimi | FIN | 55.01 | 55.0 | ||
| 22 | 34 | Sandra Brown | AUS | 55.43 | 55.4 | ||
| 23 | 185 | Enriqueta Basilio | MEX | 55.47 | 55.6 | ||
| 24 | 164 | Antónia Munkácsi | HUN | 55.61 | 55.6 | ||
| 25 | 252 | Josefa Vicent | URU | 56.34 | 56.3 | ||
| 26 | 171 | Channa Shezifi | ISR | 56.38 | 56.3 | ||
| 27 | 32 | Joyce Bennett | AUS | 56.56 | 56.5 | ||
| 28 | 193 | Olajumoke Bodunrin | NGR | 57.09 | 57.0 | ||
| 29 | 64 | Jean Robotham | CRC | 58.25 | 58.2 |
| Pos | Lane | Competitor | NOC | Time (Hand) | Time (Automatic) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | Colette Besson | FRA | 53.1 | 53.11 | ||
| 2 | 2 | Jarvis Scott | USA | 53.5 | 53.53 | ||
| 3 | 3 | Helga Henning | FRG | 53.5 | 53.58 | ||
| 4 | 6 | Joan Fisher | CAN | 54.6 | 54.62 | ||
| 5 | 5 | Enriqueta Basilio | MEX | 55.6 | 55.47 | ||
| 6 | 1 | Joyce Bennett | AUS | 56.5 | 56.56 |
| Pos | Lane | Competitor | NOC | Time (Hand) | Time (Automatic) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Aurelia Pentón | CUB | 52.8 | 52.86 | ||
| 2 | 8 | Lillian Board | GBR | 52.9 | 53.00 | ||
| 3 | 6 | Ingrīda Verbele | URS | 54.0 | 54.07 | ||
| 4 | 5 | Una Morris | JAM | 54.1 | 54.19 | ||
| 5 | 2 | Anne Covell | CAN | 54.3 | 54.34 | ||
| 6 | 3 | Anna Chmelková | TCH | 54.9 | 54.91 | ||
| 7 | 7 | Antónia Munkácsi | HUN | 55.6 | 55.61 | ||
| 8 | 4 | Jean Robotham | CRC | 58.2 | 58.25 |
| Pos | Lane | Competitor | NOC | Time (Hand) | Time (Automatic) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 7 | Mirna van der Hoeven-Jansen | NED | 53.1 | 53.17 | ||
| 2 | 5 | Esther Stroy | USA | 53.5 | 53.58 | ||
| 3 | 3 | Janet Simpson | GBR | 53.6 | 53.63 | ||
| 4 | 4 | Monique Noirot | FRA | 53.6 | 53.67 | ||
| 5 | 6 | Tekla Chemabwai | KEN | 54.0 | 54.05 | ||
| 6 | 2 | Sandra Brown | AUS | 55.4 | 55.43 | ||
| 7 | 1 | Channa Shezifi | ISR | 56.3 | 56.38 |
| Pos | Lane | Competitor | NOC | Time (Hand) | Time (Automatic) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | Nataliya Pechenkina | URS | 53.7 | 53.73 | ||
| 2 | 2 | Mary Green | GBR | 53.9 | 54.00 | ||
| 3 | 8 | Karin Wallgren | SWE | 54.2 | 54.30 | ||
| 4 | 6 | Lois Drinkwater | USA | 54.5 | 54.56 | ||
| 5 | 7 | Donata Govoni | ITA | 54.7 | 54.77 | ||
| 6 | 4 | Eeva Haimi | FIN | 55.0 | 55.01 | ||
| 7 | 5 | Josefa Vicent | URU | 56.3 | 56.34 | ||
| 8 | 1 | Olajumoke Bodunrin | NGR | 57.0 | 57.09 |
| Date | 15 October 1968 — 15:20 |
|---|---|
| Format | Top 4 in each heat advanced to the final. |
| Pos | Number | Competitor | NOC | Time (automatic) | Time (hand) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 126 | Lillian Board | GBR | 52.56 | 52.5 | ||
| 2 | 154 | Mirna van der Hoeven-Jansen | NED | 52.69 | 52.6 | ||
| 3 | 238 | Nataliya Pechenkina | URS | 52.83 | 52.8 | ||
| 4 | 102 | Jarvis Scott | USA | 53.22 | 53.2 | ||
| 5 | 5 | Helga Henning | FRG | 53.33 | 53.3 | ||
| 6 | 117 | Colette Besson | FRA | 53.62 | 53.6 | ||
| 7 | 127 | Mary Green | GBR | 53.64 | 53.6 | ||
| 8 | 219 | Karin Wallgren | SWE | 53.93 | 53.9 | ||
| 9 | 141 | Janet Simpson | GBR | 54.01 | 54.0 | ||
| 10 | 69 | Aurelia Pentón | CUB | 54.08 | 54.0 | ||
| 11 | 122 | Monique Noirot | FRA | 54.30 | 54.2 | ||
| 12 | 104 | Esther Stroy | USA | 54.35 | 54.3 | ||
| 13 | 180 | Una Morris | JAM | 54.63 | 54.6 | ||
| 14 | 249 | Ingrīda Verbele | URS | 54.67 | 54.6 | ||
| 15 | 56 | Joan Fisher | CAN | 55.37 | 55.2 | ||
| 16 | 91 | Lois Drinkwater | USA | 57.39 | 57.3 |
| Pos | Lane | Competitor | NOC | Time (Hand) | Time (Automatic) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | Helga Henning | FRG | 53.3 | 53.33 | ||
| 2 | 4 | Colette Besson | FRA | 53.6 | 53.62 | ||
| 3 | 3 | Janet Simpson | GBR | 54.0 | 54.01 | ||
| 4 | 7 | Aurelia Pentón | CUB | 54.0 | 54.08 | ||
| 5 | 8 | Esther Stroy | USA | 54.3 | 54.35 | ||
| 6 | 6 | Una Morris | JAM | 54.6 | 54.63 | ||
| 7 | 5 | Ingrīda Verbele | URS | 54.6 | 54.67 | ||
| 8 | 1 | Joan Fisher | CAN | 55.2 | 55.37 |
| Pos | Lane | Competitor | NOC | Time (Hand) | Time (Automatic) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6 | Lillian Board | GBR | 52.5 | 52.56 | ||
| 2 | 7 | Mirna van der Hoeven-Jansen | NED | 52.6 | 52.69 | ||
| 3 | 5 | Nataliya Pechenkina | URS | 52.8 | 52.83 | ||
| 4 | 2 | Jarvis Scott | USA | 53.2 | 53.22 | ||
| 5 | 4 | Mary Green | GBR | 53.6 | 53.64 | ||
| 6 | 8 | Karin Wallgren | SWE | 53.9 | 53.93 | ||
| 7 | 3 | Monique Noirot | FRA | 54.2 | 54.30 | ||
| 8 | 1 | Lois Drinkwater | USA | 57.3 | 57.39 |
| Date | 16 October 1968 — 17:00 |
|---|
| Pos | Lane | Competitor | NOC | Time (Hand) | Time (Automatic) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | Colette Besson | FRA | 52.0 | 52.03 | ||
| 2 | 1 | Lillian Board | GBR | 52.1 | 52.12 | ||
| 3 | 8 | Nataliya Pechenkina | URS | 52.2 | 52.25 | ||
| 4 | 7 | Janet Simpson | GBR | 52.5 | 52.57 | ||
| 5 | 2 | Aurelia Pentón | CUB | 52.7 | 52.75 | ||
| 6 | 4 | Jarvis Scott | USA | 52.7 | 52.79 | ||
| 7 | 3 | Helga Henning | FRG | 52.8 | 52.89 | ||
| 8 | 6 | Mirna van der Hoeven-Jansen | NED | 53.0 | 53.02 |
