4 x 100 metres Relay, Women
| Date | 30 September – 1 October 1988 |
|---|---|
| Status | Olympic |
| Location | Ol-lim-pik Ju-gyeong-gi-jang, Seoul Sports Complex, Seoul |
| Participants | 81 from 19 countries |
The GDR had been the top 4×100 relay team since the late 70s, but the US had defeated them at the 1987 World Championships. And in Seoul, they were led by 100/200 champion Florence Griffith Joyner and 1984 100 gold medalist Evelyn Ashford. They had formidable speed but could not match the superior baton work of the East Germans. In the final, Alice Brown put the US into a slight lead on the opener. But the GDR and the Soviet Union pulled ahead on the second leg. Griffith Joyner was chosen to run the final turn and she got to the final exchange two metres in front. But she and Ashford botched the pass, and the US was in third starting the final 100. Ashford was opposed by her long-time East German rival, Marlies Göhr, and she ran her down for the gold medal. The Soviet anchor, Nataliya Pomoshchnikova, actually took the lead after the final exchange but cramped slightly at 60 metres and had to hold on to finish third.
Round One (30 September 1988)
Top four in each heat and next four fastest advanced to the semi-finals.
Heat One (13:50)
| Pos | Nr | Team | NOC | Time (A) | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | – | Soviet Union |  URS | 42.88 | |||||||||
| Marina Zhirova • Lyudmila Kondratyeva • Galina Malchugina • Nataliya Pomoshchnikova | |||||||||||||
| 2 | – | West Germany |  FRG | 42.99 | |||||||||
| Sabine Richter • Ulrike Sarvari • Ute Thimm • Andrea Thomas | |||||||||||||
| 3 | – | France |  FRA | 43.43 | |||||||||
| Laurence Bily • Marie-Christine Cazier-Balo • Françoise Leroux • Muriel Leroy | |||||||||||||
| 4 | – | Bulgaria |  BUL | 43.92 | |||||||||
| Valya Valova-Demireva • Yordanka Donkova • Nadezhda Georgieva • Tsvetanka Ilieva | |||||||||||||
| 5 | – | Colombia |  COL | 45.46 | |||||||||
| Amparo Caicedo • Norfalia Carabalí • Olga Escalante • Ximena Restrepo | |||||||||||||
| 6 | – | Chinese Taipei |  TPE | 46.21 | |||||||||
| Chang Feng-Hua • Chen Wen-Xing • Chen Ya-Li • Wang Shu-Hua | |||||||||||||
Heat Two (13:55)
| Pos | Nr | Team | NOC | Time (A) | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | – | East Germany |  GDR | 42.92 | |||||||||
| Kerstin Behrendt • Marlies Göhr • Ingrid Lange • Silke Möller | |||||||||||||
| 2 | – | Jamaica |  JAM | 43.50 | |||||||||
| Ethlyn Tate • Grace Jackson • Vivienne Spence • Laurel Johnson | |||||||||||||
| 3 | – | Canada |  CAN | 43.92 | |||||||||
| Angela Bailey • Angela Phipps • Angella Issajenko • Katie Anderson | |||||||||||||
| 4 | – | People's Republic of China |  CHN | 44.29 | |||||||||
| Zhang Xiaoqiong • Liu Shaomei • Xie Zhiling • Zhang Caihua | |||||||||||||
| 5 | – | Italy |  ITA | 44.33 | |||||||||
| Rita Angotzi • Daniela Ferrian • Marisa Masullo • Rossella Tarolo | |||||||||||||
| 6 | – | Greece |  GRE | 45.44 | |||||||||
| Maria Tsoni • Voula Patoulidou • Georgia Zouganeli • Marina Skordi | |||||||||||||
| 7 | – | Republic of Korea |  KOR | 45.83 | |||||||||
| Yun Mi-Gyeong • U Yang-Ja • Park Mi-Seon • Lee Yeong-Suk | |||||||||||||
Heat Three (14:00)
| Pos | Nr | Team | NOC | Time (A) | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | – | United States |  USA | 42.39 | |||||||||
| Alice Brown • Sheila Echols • Dannette Young • Evelyn Ashford | |||||||||||||
| 2 | – | Great Britain |  GBR | 43.91 | |||||||||
| Sallyanne Short • Bev Kinch • Simmone Jacobs • Paula Dunn | |||||||||||||
| 3 | – | Netherlands |  NED | 43.96 | |||||||||
| Nelli Cooman • Gretha Tromp • Marjan Olyslager • Els Vader | |||||||||||||
| 4 | – | Poland |  POL | 43.98 | |||||||||
| Jolanta Janota • Ewa Pisiewicz • Agnieszka Siwek • Joanna Smolarek | |||||||||||||
| 5 | – | Ghana |  GHA | 44.12 | |||||||||
| Veronica Bawuah • Dinah Yankey • Mercy Addy • Martha Appiah | |||||||||||||
| 6 | – | Uganda |  UGA | 46.55 | |||||||||
| Oliver Acii • Grace Buzu • Farida Kyakutema • Ruth Kyalisima | |||||||||||||
Semi-Finals (1 October 1988)
Top four in each heat advanced to the final.
Heat One (12:15)
| Pos | Nr | Team | NOC | Time (A) | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | – | Soviet Union | URS | 42.01 | |||||||||
| Lyudmila Kondratyeva • Galina Malchugina • Marina Zhirova • Nataliya Pomoshchnikova | |||||||||||||
| 2 | – | East Germany | GDR | 42.23 | |||||||||
| Silke Möller • Kerstin Behrendt • Ingrid Lange • Marlies Göhr | |||||||||||||
| 3 | – | Jamaica | JAM | 43.30 | |||||||||
| Ethlyn Tate • Grace Jackson • Juliet Cuthbert • Merlene Ottey | |||||||||||||
| 4 | – | Poland | POL | 43.44 | |||||||||
| Joanna Smolarek • Jolanta Janota • Ewa Pisiewicz • Agnieszka Siwek | |||||||||||||
| 5 | – | Netherlands | NED | 43.48 | |||||||||
| Nelli Cooman • Gretha Tromp • Marjan Olyslager • Els Vader | |||||||||||||
| 6 | – | Great Britain | GBR | 43.50 | |||||||||
| Sallyanne Short • Bev Kinch • Simmone Jacobs • Paula Dunn | |||||||||||||
| 7 | – | Italy | ITA | 43.97 | |||||||||
| Rita Angotzi • Rossella Tarolo • Daniela Ferrian • Marisa Masullo | |||||||||||||
| 8 | – | Greece | GRE | 45.74 | |||||||||
| Maria Tsoni • Voula Patoulidou • Katerina Koffa • Marina Skordi | |||||||||||||
Heat Two (12:20)
| Pos | Nr | Team | NOC | Time (A) | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | – | United States | USA | 42.12 | |||||||||
| Alice Brown • Sheila Echols • Florence Griffith Joyner • Evelyn Ashford | |||||||||||||
| 2 | – | West Germany | FRG | 42.69 | |||||||||
| Sabine Richter • Ulrike Sarvari • Andrea Thomas • Ute Thimm | |||||||||||||
| 3 | – | Bulgaria | BUL | 43.07 | |||||||||
| Tsvetanka Ilieva • Valya Valova-Demireva • Nadezhda Georgieva • Yordanka Donkova | |||||||||||||
| 4 | – | France | FRA | 43.66 | |||||||||
| Françoise Leroux • Muriel Leroy • Laurence Bily • Patricia Girard | |||||||||||||
| 5 | – | Canada | CAN | 43.82 | |||||||||
| Angela Bailey • Angela Phipps • Angella Issajenko • Katie Anderson | |||||||||||||
| 6 | – | Ghana | GHA | 44.30 | |||||||||
| Veronica Bawuah • Dinah Yankey • Mercy Addy • Martha Appiah | |||||||||||||
| 7 | – | People's Republic of China | CHN | 44.36 | |||||||||
| Zhang Xiaoqiong • Liu Shaomei • Xie Zhiling • Zhang Caihua | |||||||||||||
| – | Colombia | COL | – | ||||||||||
| Amparo Caicedo • Norfalia Carabalí • Olga Escalante • Ximena Restrepo | |||||||||||||
Final (1 October 1988 — 13:55)
| Pos | Nr | Team | NOC | Time (A) | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | – | United States | USA | 41.98 | |||||||||
| Alice Brown • Sheila Echols • Florence Griffith Joyner • Evelyn Ashford | |||||||||||||
| 2 | – | East Germany | GDR | 42.09 | |||||||||
| Silke Möller • Kerstin Behrendt • Ingrid Lange • Marlies Göhr | |||||||||||||
| 3 | – | Soviet Union | URS | 42.75 | |||||||||
| Lyudmila Kondratyeva • Galina Malchugina • Marina Zhirova • Nataliya Pomoshchnikova | |||||||||||||
| 4 | – | West Germany | FRG | 42.76 | |||||||||
| Sabine Richter • Ulrike Sarvari • Andrea Thomas • Ute Thimm | |||||||||||||
| 5 | – | Bulgaria | BUL | 43.02 | |||||||||
| Tsvetanka Ilieva • Valya Valova-Demireva • Nadezhda Georgieva • Yordanka Donkova | |||||||||||||
| 6 | – | Poland | POL | 43.93 | |||||||||
| Joanna Smolarek • Jolanta Janota • Ewa Pisiewicz • Agnieszka Siwek | |||||||||||||
| 7 | – | France | FRA | 44.02 | |||||||||
| Françoise Leroux • Muriel Leroy • Laurence Bily • Patricia Girard | |||||||||||||
| – | Jamaica | JAM | – | ||||||||||
| Juliet Cuthbert • Grace Jackson • Merlene Ottey • Ethlyn Tate | |||||||||||||