| | Event type

400 metres, Women

Date	2 – 7 September 1972
Status	Olympic
Location	Olympiastadion, Olympiapark, München
Participants	49 from 29 countries

Monika Zehrt (GDR) had equaled the world record of 51.0 in July and was favored. The other world record holder was Jamaica’s Marilyn Neufville but she was injured and did not compete. The 1971 Europeans had been won by Helga Seidler of East Germany. Zehrt and Seidler both made it to the final easily. The final was led by Hungary’s Györygi Balogh but she faded badly and would finish last. Zehrt took the lead at 200 metres and was never headed, holding off Rita Wilden of the FRG who took the silver medal. Seidler finished fourth, trailing the United States’ Kathy Hammond.

Pos	Nr	Athlete	NOC	R1	QF	SF	Final
1	153	Monika Zehrt	GDR	52.49 (1 h3)	52.33 (2 h2)	51.47 (1 h2)	51.08 (1)	Gold	OR
2	181	Rita Wilden	FRG	51.97 (2 h1)	51.91 (2 h3)	51.76 (2 h2)	51.21 (2)	Silver
3	380	Kathy Hammond	USA	53.45 (1 h2)	52.44 (4 h3)	51.92 (4 h1)	51.64 (3)	Bronze
4	146	Helga Seidler	GDR	52.79 (2 h5)	51.97 (2 h1)	51.68 (1 h1)	51.86 (4)
5	372	Mable Fergerson	USA	52.05 (3 h1)	52.93 (3 h4)	51.91 (4 h2)	51.96 (5)
6	10	Charlene Rendina	AUS	51.94 (1 h1)	51.96 (1 h1)	51.90 (3 h2)	51.99 (6)
7	133	Dagmar Käsling	GDR	52.99 (2 h6)	52.33 (1 h4)	51.73 (2 h1)	52.19 (7)
8	192	Györgyi Balogh-Szomov	HUN	52.75 (2 h4)	51.71 (1 h3)	51.90 (3 h1)	52.39 (8)
5 h1 r3/4	69	Aurelia Pentón	CUB	53.25 (3 h6)	52.02 (3 h3)	52.15 (5 h1)	–
5 h2 r3/4	229	Yvonne Saunders	JAM	52.38 (1 h5)	52.13 (1 h2)	51.93 (5 h2)	–
6 h1 r3/4	81	Mona-Lisa Strandvall	FIN	52.85 (2 h3)	52.53 (2 h4)	52.23 (6 h1)	–
6 h2 r3/4	89	Nicole Duclos	FRA	52.69 (1 h4)	52.96 (4 h4)	52.18 (6 h2)	–
7 h1 r3/4	332	Judith Ayaa	UGA	52.85 (4 h1)	52.68 (3 h2)	52.91 (7 h1)	–
7 h2 r3/4	347	Nadezhda Kolesnikova	URS	53.20 (3 h4)	52.30 (3 h1)	52.29 (7 h2)	–
8 h2 r3/4	190	Trudy Ruth	NED	53.16 (3 h3)	52.45 (4 h1)	53.02 (8 h2)	–
AC h1 r3/4	160	Christel Frese	FRG	52.89 (1 h6)	53.01 (4 h2)	– (DNF h1)	–
5 h1 r2/4	17	Karoline Käfer	AUT	53.60 (5 h1)	52.82 (5 h1)	–	–
5 h2 r2/4	86	Colette Besson	FRA	53.41 (3 h5)	53.39 (5 h2)	–	–
5 h3 r2/4	281	Danuta Piecyk	POL	53.08 (3 h7)	52.62 (5 h3)	–	–
5 h4 r2/4	95	Verona Bernard	GBR	53.31 (4 h7)	53.29 (5 h4)	–	–
6 h1 r2/4	112	Janette Roscoe	GBR	53.67 (2 h2)	53.01 (6 h1)	–	–
6 h2 r2/4	77	Marika Eklund	FIN	53.81 (3 h2)	53.50 (6 h2)	–	–
6 h3 r2/4	258	Penny Hunt	NZL	52.82 (2 h7)	52.66 (6 h3)	–	–
6 h4 r2/4	11	Allison Ross-Edwards	AUS	53.48 (4 h5)	53.60 (6 h4)	–	–
7 h1 r2/4	174	Anette Rückes	FRG	53.92 (5 h7)	53.22 (7 h1)	–	–
7 h2 r2/4	235	Tekla Chemabwai	KEN	53.38 (4 h3)	53.54 (7 h2)	–	–
7 h3 r2/4	360	Olga Syrovatskaya	URS	53.62 (4 h6)	53.42 (7 h3)	–	–
7 h4 r2/4	316	Karin Lundgren	SWE	53.70 (4 h4)	53.87 (7 h4)	–	–
8 h2 r2/4	338	Nataliya Pechonkina-Chistyakova	URS	53.81 (4 h2)	54.58 (8 h2)	–	–
8 h3 r2/4	213	Donata Govoni	ITA	53.98 (5 h5)	53.78 (8 h3)	–	–
8 h4 r2/4	272	Krystyna Kacperczyk	POL	53.85 (5 h2)	54.39 (8 h4)	–	–
1 h7 r1/4	72	Carmen Trustée	CUB	52.80 (1 h7)	– (DNS h1)	–	–
5 h3 r1/4	371	Debra Edwards	USA	54.43 (5 h3)	–	–	–
5 h4 r1/4	286	Bożena Zientarska	POL	54.20 (5 h4)	–	–	–
5 h6 r1/4	114	Janet Simpson	GBR	54.13 (5 h6)	–	–	–
6 h1 r1/4	63	Asunción Acosta	CUB	54.52 (6 h1)	–	–	–
6 h2 r1/4	239	Junaidah Aman	MAS	57.36 (6 h2)	–	–	–
6 h3 r1/4	21	Maria Sykora	AUT	54.46 (6 h3)	–	–	–
6 h4 r1/4	231	Ruth Williams	JAM	55.72 (6 h4)	–	–	–
6 h5 r1/4	200	Irén Orosz-Árva	HUN	54.83 (6 h5)	–	–	–
6 h6 r1/4	55	Joyce Sadowick	CAN	54.59 (6 h6)	–	–	–
6 h7 r1/4	308	Vreni Leiser	SUI	54.65 (6 h7)	–	–	–
7 h1 r1/4	23	Barbara Bishop	BAR	56.35 (7 h1)	–	–	–
7 h3 r1/4	364	Josefa Vicent	URU	55.33 (7 h3)	–	–	–
7 h4 r1/4	264	Aida Mantawel	PHI	57.91 (7 h4)	–	–	–
7 h5 r1/4	238	Arda Kalpakian	LBN	1:05.18 (7 h5)	–	–	–
7 h6 r1/4	61	Elsy Rivas	COL	56.33 (7 h6)	–	–	–
7 h7 r1/4	408	Grace Muneene	ZAM	57.71 (7 h7)	–	–	–
8 h6 r1/4	206	Kamaljit Sandhu	IND	57.74 (8 h6)	–	–	–
DNS	14	Christiane Casapicola	AUT	– (DNS h2)	–	–	–

Round One (2 September 1972 — 15:30)

Top four in each heat and next four fastest advanced to the final.

Heat One

Pos	Lane	Athlete	NOC	Time (A)
1	7	Charlene Rendina	AUS	51.94	QOR
2	4	Rita Wilden	FRG	51.97	Q
3	1	Mable Fergerson	USA	52.05	Q
4	2	Judith Ayaa	UGA	52.85	Q
5	3	Karoline Käfer	AUT	53.60	q
6	5	Asunción Acosta	CUB	54.52
7	6	Barbara Bishop	BAR	56.35

Heat Two

Pos	Lane	Athlete	NOC	Time (A)
1	1	Kathy Hammond	USA	53.45	Q
2	7	Janette Roscoe	GBR	53.67	Q
3	3	Marika Eklund	FIN	53.81	Q
4	2	Nataliya Pechonkina-Chistyakova	URS	53.81	Q
5	4	Krystyna Kacperczyk	POL	53.85	q
6	5	Junaidah Aman	MAS	57.36
DNS	6	Christiane Casapicola	AUT	–

Heat Three

Pos	Lane	Athlete	NOC	Time (A)
1	3	Monika Zehrt	GDR	52.49	Q
2	5	Mona-Lisa Strandvall	FIN	52.85	Q
3	2	Trudy Ruth	NED	53.16	Q
4	4	Tekla Chemabwai	KEN	53.38	Q
5	1	Debra Edwards	USA	54.43
6	7	Maria Sykora	AUT	54.46
7	6	Josefa Vicent	URU	55.33

Heat Four

Pos	Lane	Athlete	NOC	Time (A)
1	4	Nicole Duclos	FRA	52.69	Q
2	7	Györgyi Balogh-Szomov	HUN	52.75	Q
3	2	Nadezhda Kolesnikova	URS	53.20	Q
4	5	Karin Lundgren	SWE	53.70	Q
5	3	Bożena Zientarska	POL	54.20
6	6	Ruth Williams	JAM	55.72
7	1	Aida Mantawel	PHI	57.91

Heat Five

Pos	Lane	Athlete	NOC	Time (A)
1	1	Yvonne Saunders	JAM	52.38	Q
2	6	Helga Seidler	GDR	52.79	Q
3	5	Colette Besson	FRA	53.41	Q
4	4	Allison Ross-Edwards	AUS	53.48	Q
5	2	Donata Govoni	ITA	53.98	q
6	3	Irén Orosz-Árva	HUN	54.83
7	7	Arda Kalpakian	LBN	1:05.18

Heat Six

Pos	Lane	Athlete	NOC	Time (A)
1	5	Christel Frese	FRG	52.89	Q
2	6	Dagmar Käsling	GDR	52.99	Q
3	2	Aurelia Pentón	CUB	53.25	Q
4	7	Olga Syrovatskaya	URS	53.62	Q
5	8	Janet Simpson	GBR	54.13
6	3	Joyce Sadowick	CAN	54.59
7	1	Elsy Rivas	COL	56.33
8	4	Kamaljit Sandhu	IND	57.74

Heat Seven

Pos	Lane	Athlete	NOC	Time (A)
1	7	Carmen Trustée	CUB	52.80	Q
2	5	Penny Hunt	NZL	52.82	Q
3	6	Danuta Piecyk	POL	53.08	Q
4	4	Verona Bernard	GBR	53.31	Q
5	3	Anette Rückes	FRG	53.92	q
6	1	Vreni Leiser	SUI	54.65
7	2	Grace Muneene	ZAM	57.71

Quarter-Finals (3 September 1972 — 15:00)

Top four in each heat advanced to the final.

Heat One

Pos	Lane	Athlete	NOC	Time (A)
1	5	Charlene Rendina	AUS	51.96	Q
2	3	Helga Seidler	GDR	51.97	Q
3	1	Nadezhda Kolesnikova	URS	52.30	Q
4	8	Trudy Ruth	NED	52.45	Q
5	6	Karoline Käfer	AUT	52.82
6	7	Janette Roscoe	GBR	53.01
7	2	Anette Rückes	FRG	53.22
DNS	4	Carmen Trustée	CUB	–

Heat Two

Pos	Lane	Athlete	NOC	Time (A)
1	8	Yvonne Saunders	JAM	52.13	Q
2	2	Monika Zehrt	GDR	52.33	Q
3	7	Judith Ayaa	UGA	52.68	Q
4	1	Christel Frese	FRG	53.01	Q
5	3	Colette Besson	FRA	53.39
6	6	Marika Eklund	FIN	53.50
7	5	Tekla Chemabwai	KEN	53.54
8	4	Nataliya Pechonkina-Chistyakova	URS	54.58

Heat Three

Pos	Lane	Athlete	NOC	Time (A)
1	2	Györgyi Balogh-Szomov	HUN	51.71	QOR
2	8	Rita Wilden	FRG	51.91	Q
3	6	Aurelia Pentón	CUB	52.02	Q
4	5	Kathy Hammond	USA	52.44	Q
5	4	Danuta Piecyk	POL	52.62
6	1	Penny Hunt	NZL	52.66
7	7	Olga Syrovatskaya	URS	53.42
8	3	Donata Govoni	ITA	53.78

Heat Four

Pos	Lane	Athlete	NOC	Time (A)
1	1	Dagmar Käsling	GDR	52.33	Q
2	3	Mona-Lisa Strandvall	FIN	52.53	Q
3	7	Mable Fergerson	USA	52.93	Q
4	8	Nicole Duclos	FRA	52.96	Q
5	2	Verona Bernard	GBR	53.29
6	5	Allison Ross-Edwards	AUS	53.60
7	6	Karin Lundgren	SWE	53.87
8	4	Krystyna Kacperczyk	POL	54.39

Semi-Finals (4 September 1972 — 17:15)

Top four in each heat advanced to the final.

Heat One

Pos	Lane	Athlete	NOC	Time (A)
1	4	Helga Seidler	GDR	51.68	QOR
2	8	Dagmar Käsling	GDR	51.73	Q
3	5	Györgyi Balogh-Szomov	HUN	51.90	Q
4	1	Kathy Hammond	USA	51.92	Q
5	6	Aurelia Pentón	CUB	52.15
6	7	Mona-Lisa Strandvall	FIN	52.23
7	2	Judith Ayaa	UGA	52.91
DNF	3	Christel Frese	FRG	–

Heat Two

Pos	Lane	Athlete	NOC	Time (A)
1	5	Monika Zehrt	GDR	51.47	QOR
2	3	Rita Wilden	FRG	51.76	Q
3	8	Charlene Rendina	AUS	51.90	Q
4	6	Mable Fergerson	USA	51.91	Q
5	2	Yvonne Saunders	JAM	51.93
6	4	Nicole Duclos	FRA	52.18
7	7	Nadezhda Kolesnikova	URS	52.29
8	1	Trudy Ruth	NED	53.02

Final (7 September 1972 — 18:00)

Pos	Lane	Athlete	NOC	Time (A)
1	7	Monika Zehrt	GDR	51.08	OR
2	4	Rita Wilden	FRG	51.21
3	5	Kathy Hammond	USA	51.64
4	6	Helga Seidler	GDR	51.86
5	3	Mable Fergerson	USA	51.96
6	8	Charlene Rendina	AUS	51.99
7	1	Dagmar Käsling	GDR	52.19
8	2	Györgyi Balogh-Szomov	HUN	52.39