| | Event type

400 metres Hurdles, Women

Date	25 – 28 September 1988
Status	Olympic
Location	Ol-lim-pik Ju-gyeong-gi-jang, Seoul Sports Complex, Seoul
Participants	35 from 25 countries

In 1987 Sabine Busch (GDR) had won the World Championships, defeating Debbie Flintoff-King (AUS), who placed second. The world record holder and 1986 European Champion was Soviet Marina Stepanova, but she was injured and did not compete in Seoul. In the final, the early leader was East Germany’s Ellen Fiedler who led through the first four hurdles. The lead was then taken by Tatyana Ledovskaya (USSR). At the halfway mark, Flintoff-King was no better than fifth, but she began closing the gap and caught Ledovskaya only in the last few metres, winning the gold by 1/100th of a second. Fiedler held on for the bronze, edging out Busch.

Pos	Number	Competitor	NOC	R1	SF	Final
1	12	Debbie Flintoff-King	AUS	54.99 (1 h4)	54.00 (1 h1)	53.17 (1)	Gold	OR
2	532	Tatsiana Ledauskaya	URS	55.91 (2 h1)	54.01 (2 h1)	53.18 (2)	Silver
3	264	Ellen Fiedler	GDR	54.58 (1 h3)	54.28 (1 h2)	53.63 (3)	Bronze
4	259	Sabine Busch	GDR	55.96 (1 h2)	54.71 (4 h2)	53.69 (4)
5	219	Sally Gunnell	GBR	55.44 (3 h4)	54.48 (4 h1)	54.03 (5)
6	182	Gudrun Abt	FRG	55.72 (1 h5)	54.52 (3 h2)	54.04 (6)
7	530	Tatsiana Kurochkina	URS	55.04 (3 h3)	54.46 (2 h2)	54.39 (7)
8	595	LaTanya Sheffield	USA	55.61 (4 h3)	54.36 (3 h1)	55.32 (8)
5 h1 r2/3	481	Anita Protti	SUI	54.81 (2 h3)	54.56 (5 h1)	–
5 h2 r2/3	138	Cristina Pérez	ESP	55.29 (2 h4)	55.23 (5 h2)	–
6 h1 r2/3	276	Susanne Losch	GDR	55.90 (1 h1)	55.56 (6 h1)	–
6 h2 r2/3	233	Elaine McLaughlin	GBR	56.11 (3 h1)	55.91 (6 h2)	–
7 h1 r2/3	447	Genowefa Błaszak	POL	56.18 (3 h2)	56.76 (7 h1)	–
7 h2 r2/3	601	Schowonda Williams	USA	55.98 (2 h5)	56.71 (7 h2)	–
8 h1 r2/3	320	Gretha Tromp	NED	56.11 (2 h2)	57.57 (8 h1)	–
8 h2 r2/3	159	Chantal Beaugeant	FRA	56.03 (3 h5)	56.94 (8 h2)	–
4 h1 r1/3	384	Rose Tata-Muya	KEN	56.18 (4 h1)	–	–
4 h2 r1/3	16	Jenny Laurendet	AUS	56.44 (4 h2)	–	–
4 h4 r1/3	361	Irmgard Trojer	ITA	55.74 (4 h4)	–	–
4 h5 r1/3	13	Sally Hamilton-Fleming	AUS	56.08 (4 h5)	–	–
5 h1 r1/3	116	Marie Womplou	CIV	57.35 (5 h1)	–	–
5 h2 r1/3	69	Rosey Edeh	CAN	56.59 (5 h2)	–	–
5 h3 r1/3	430	Maria Usifo	NGR	55.99 (5 h3)	–	–
5 h4 r1/3	586	Leslie Maxie	USA	57.60 (5 h4)	–	–
5 h5 r1/3	131	Liliana Chalá	ECU	57.15 (5 h5)	–	–
6 h1 r1/3	84	Christine Wynn	CAN	58.00 (6 h1)	–	–
6 h2 r1/3	507	Ruth Kyalisima	UGA	59.62 (6 h2)	–	–
6 h3 r1/3	345	Helga Halldórsdóttir	ISL	58.99 (6 h3)	–	–
6 h4 r1/3	339	Barbara Johnson	IRL	58.61 (6 h4)	–	–
6 h5 r1/3	502	Semra Aksu	TUR	57.20 (6 h5)	–	–
7 h1 r1/3	336	P. T. Usha	IND	59.55 (7 h1)	–	–
7 h2 r1/3	443	Nenita Adan	PHI	1:01.92 (7 h2)	–	–
7 h3 r1/3	394	Kim Sun-Ja	KOR	59.78 (7 h3)	–	–
7 h4 r1/3	495	Chang Feng-Hua	TPE	1:00.16 (7 h4)	–	–
7 h5 r1/3	229	Simone Laidlaw	GBR	59.28 (7 h5)	–	–

Round One

Date	25 September 1988
Format	Top 3 in each heat and next fastest advanced to the semi-finals.

Pos	Number	Competitor	NOC	Time (automatic)
1	264	Ellen Fiedler	GDR	54.58	QOR
2	481	Anita Protti	SUI	54.81	Q
3	12	Debbie Flintoff-King	AUS	54.99	Q
4	530	Tatsiana Kurochkina	URS	55.04	Q
5	138	Cristina Pérez	ESP	55.29	Q
6	219	Sally Gunnell	GBR	55.44	Q
7	595	LaTanya Sheffield	USA	55.61	q
8	182	Gudrun Abt	FRG	55.72	Q
9	361	Irmgard Trojer	ITA	55.74
10	276	Susanne Losch	GDR	55.90	Q
11	532	Tatsiana Ledauskaya	URS	55.91	Q
12	259	Sabine Busch	GDR	55.96	Q
13	601	Schowonda Williams	USA	55.98	Q
14	430	Maria Usifo	NGR	55.99
15	159	Chantal Beaugeant	FRA	56.03	Q
16	13	Sally Hamilton-Fleming	AUS	56.08
=17	233	Elaine McLaughlin	GBR	56.11	Q
=17	320	Gretha Tromp	NED	56.11	Q
=19	384	Rose Tata-Muya	KEN	56.18
=19	447	Genowefa Błaszak	POL	56.18	Q
21	16	Jenny Laurendet	AUS	56.44
22	69	Rosey Edeh	CAN	56.59
23	131	Liliana Chalá	ECU	57.15
24	502	Semra Aksu	TUR	57.20
25	116	Marie Womplou	CIV	57.35
26	586	Leslie Maxie	USA	57.60
27	84	Christine Wynn	CAN	58.00
28	339	Barbara Johnson	IRL	58.61
29	345	Helga Halldórsdóttir	ISL	58.99
30	229	Simone Laidlaw	GBR	59.28
31	336	P. T. Usha	IND	59.55
32	507	Ruth Kyalisima	UGA	59.62
33	394	Kim Sun-Ja	KOR	59.78
34	495	Chang Feng-Hua	TPE	1:00.16
35	443	Nenita Adan	PHI	1:01.92

Heat #1

Time	10:30

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time (Automatic)
1	2	Susanne Losch	GDR	55.90	Q
2	3	Tatsiana Ledauskaya	URS	55.91	Q
3	4	Elaine McLaughlin	GBR	56.11	Q
4	8	Rose Tata-Muya	KEN	56.18
5	5	Marie Womplou	CIV	57.35
6	6	Christine Wynn	CAN	58.00
7	7	P. T. Usha	IND	59.55

Heat #2

Time	10:35

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time (Automatic)
1	4	Sabine Busch	GDR	55.96	Q
2	5	Gretha Tromp	NED	56.11	Q
3	6	Genowefa Błaszak	POL	56.18	Q
4	7	Jenny Laurendet	AUS	56.44
5	3	Rosey Edeh	CAN	56.59
6	2	Ruth Kyalisima	UGA	59.62
7	8	Nenita Adan	PHI	1:01.92

Heat #3

Time	10:40

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time (Automatic)
1	8	Ellen Fiedler	GDR	54.58	QOR
2	5	Anita Protti	SUI	54.81	Q
3	2	Tatsiana Kurochkina	URS	55.04	Q
4	3	LaTanya Sheffield	USA	55.61	q
5	6	Maria Usifo	NGR	55.99
6	4	Helga Halldórsdóttir	ISL	58.99
7	7	Kim Sun-Ja	KOR	59.78

Heat #4

Time	10:45

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time (Automatic)
1	3	Debbie Flintoff-King	AUS	54.99	Q
2	8	Cristina Pérez	ESP	55.29	Q
3	6	Sally Gunnell	GBR	55.44	Q
4	7	Irmgard Trojer	ITA	55.74
5	5	Leslie Maxie	USA	57.60
6	2	Barbara Johnson	IRL	58.61
7	4	Chang Feng-Hua	TPE	1:00.16

Heat #5

Time	10:50

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time (Automatic)
1	3	Gudrun Abt	FRG	55.72	Q
2	2	Schowonda Williams	USA	55.98	Q
3	4	Chantal Beaugeant	FRA	56.03	Q
4	5	Sally Hamilton-Fleming	AUS	56.08
5	6	Liliana Chalá	ECU	57.15
6	8	Semra Aksu	TUR	57.20
7	7	Simone Laidlaw	GBR	59.28

Semi-Finals

Date	26 September 1988
Format	Top 4 in each heat advanced to the final.

Pos	Number	Competitor	NOC	Time (automatic)
1	12	Debbie Flintoff-King	AUS	54.00	QOR
2	532	Tatsiana Ledauskaya	URS	54.01	Q
3	264	Ellen Fiedler	GDR	54.28	Q
4	595	LaTanya Sheffield	USA	54.36	Q
5	530	Tatsiana Kurochkina	URS	54.46	Q
6	219	Sally Gunnell	GBR	54.48	Q
7	182	Gudrun Abt	FRG	54.52	Q
8	481	Anita Protti	SUI	54.56
9	259	Sabine Busch	GDR	54.71	Q
10	138	Cristina Pérez	ESP	55.23
11	276	Susanne Losch	GDR	55.56
12	233	Elaine McLaughlin	GBR	55.91
13	601	Schowonda Williams	USA	56.71
14	447	Genowefa Błaszak	POL	56.76
15	159	Chantal Beaugeant	FRA	56.94
16	320	Gretha Tromp	NED	57.57

Heat #1

Time	12:30

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time (Automatic)
1	4	Debbie Flintoff-King	AUS	54.00	QOR
2	2	Tatsiana Ledauskaya	URS	54.01	Q
3	3	LaTanya Sheffield	USA	54.36	Q
4	6	Sally Gunnell	GBR	54.48	Q
5	5	Anita Protti	SUI	54.56
6	8	Susanne Losch	GDR	55.56
7	7	Genowefa Błaszak	POL	56.76
8	1	Gretha Tromp	NED	57.57

Heat #2

Time	12:35

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time (Automatic)
1	4	Ellen Fiedler	GDR	54.28	Q
2	3	Tatsiana Kurochkina	URS	54.46	Q
3	5	Gudrun Abt	FRG	54.52	Q
4	7	Sabine Busch	GDR	54.71	Q
5	6	Cristina Pérez	ESP	55.23
6	2	Elaine McLaughlin	GBR	55.91
7	8	Schowonda Williams	USA	56.71
8	1	Chantal Beaugeant	FRA	56.94

Final Round

Date	28 September 1988 — 12:35

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time (Automatic)	Reaction Time
1	5	Debbie Flintoff-King	AUS	53.17	0.251	OR
2	3	Tatsiana Ledauskaya	URS	53.18	0.245
3	6	Ellen Fiedler	GDR	53.63	0.172
4	7	Sabine Busch	GDR	53.69	0.283
5	2	Sally Gunnell	GBR	54.03	0.188
6	8	Gudrun Abt	FRG	54.04	0.316
7	1	Tatsiana Kurochkina	URS	54.39	0.231
8	4	LaTanya Sheffield	USA	55.32	0.201