| | Event type

200 metres Freestyle, Women

Date	20 – 21 September 1988
Status	Olympic
Location	Su-yeong-jang, Ol-lim-pik Gong-won, Seoul
Participants	44 from 29 countries

East German Heike Friedrich was the prohibitive favorite. She had won the 1986 World Championships in the current world record of 1:57.55, and was also 1987 European Champion. The only suspense seemed to be how big her margin would be and if she could better her record. The final was led early by the defending champion, American Mary Wayte, trailed by her teammate, Mitzi Kremer. But Friedrich took control on the third lap, winning in 1:57.65, just off her world mark, with Silvia Poll placing second, which was the first Olympic medal ever won by a Costa Rican athlete. In 1996, her sister, Claudia Poll, would win this event for the first gold medal ever for Costa Rica. The bronze medal went to Friedrich’s teammate, Manuela Stellmach. The Americans fell back on the final laps, with Wayte placing fourth and Kremer sixth.

Pos	Number	Competitor	NOC	R1	B Final	Final
1	171	Heike Friedrich	GDR	1:59.02 (1 h6)	–	1:57.65 (1)	Gold
2	93	Sylvia Poll	CRC	1:59.22 (1 h5)	–	1:58.67 (2)	Silver
3	181	Manuela Stellmach	GDR	2:00.30 (2 h5)	–	1:59.01 (3)	Bronze
4	340	Mary Wayte	USA	1:59.50 (2 h6)	–	1:59.04 (4)
5	314	Nataliya Trefilova	URS	2:00.54 (1 h4)	–	1:59.24 (5)
6	327	Mitzi Kremer	USA	2:01.45 (2 h4)	–	2:00.23 (6)
7	135	Stephanie Ortwig	FRG	2:00.66 (3 h5)	–	2:00.73 (7)
8	122	Cécile Prunier	FRA	2:01.60 (4 h5)	–	2:02.88 (8)
9	65	Patricia Noall	CAN	2:02.31 (4 h6)	2:00.77 (1)	–
10	154	Ruth Gilfillan	GBR	2:02.11 (4 h4)	2:01.66 (2)	–
11	94	Mette Jacobsen	DEN	2:01.80 (3 h4)	2:01.84 (3)	–
12	272	Luminița Dobrescu	ROU	2:01.93 (3 h6)	2:01.98 (4)	–
13	275	Stela Marian Pura	ROU	2:02.26 (5 h4)	2:02.30 (5)	–
14	231	Chikako Nakamori	JPN	2:01.76 (5 h5)	2:02.31 (6)	–
15	133	Birgit Lohberg-Schulz	FRG	2:02.77 (1 h1)	2:02.32 (7)	–
16	88	Zhuang Yong	CHN	2:02.40 (6 h5)	2:14.23 (8)	–
17	200	Diane van der Plaats	NED	2:03.02 (1 h3)	–	–
=18	31	Isabelle Arnould	BEL	2:03.32 (=5 h6)	–	–
=18	289	Suzanne Nilsson	SWE	2:03.32 (=5 h6)	–	–
20	14	Sheridan Burge-Lopez	AUS	2:03.42 (7 h5)	–	–
21	150	June Croft	GBR	2:03.63 (7 h6)	–	–
22	192	Karin Brienesse	NED	2:04.36 (6 h4)	–	–
23	218	Silvia Persi	ITA	2:04.40 (8 h5)	–	–
24	97	Annette Moldrup Jørgensen	DEN	2:04.71 (7 h4)	–	–
25	37	Patrícia Amorim	BRA	2:04.74 (2 h3)	–	–
26	13	Susie Baumer	AUS	2:04.82 (8 h4)	–	–
27	251	Nurul Huda Abdullah	MAS	2:04.85 (3 h3)	–	–
28	61	Jane Kerr	CAN	2:04.92 (8 h6)	–	–
29	235	Kaori Sasaki	JPN	2:06.18 (4 h3)	–	–
30	300	Senda Gharbi	TUN	2:06.60 (5 h3)	–	–
31	299	Karen Dieffenthaler	TTO	2:07.09 (6 h3)	–	–
32	210	Bryndís Ólafsdóttir	ISL	2:07.11 (1 h2)	–	–
33	270	Rita Garay	PUR	2:07.44 (7 h3)	–	–
34	89	Natasha Aguilar	CRC	2:10.22 (2 h2)	–	–
35	257	Patricia Kohlmann	MEX	2:10.36 (8 h3)	–	–
36	190	Fenella Ng	HKG	2:10.43 (3 h2)	–	–
37	243	Kim Eun-Jeong	KOR	2:10.85 (4 h2)	–	–
38	294	Chang Hui-Chien	TPE	2:11.50 (5 h2)	–	–
39	247	Park Ju-Ri	KOR	2:11.53 (6 h2)	–	–
40	79	Qian Hong	CHN	2:12.44 (7 h2)	–	–
41	347	Catherine Fogarty	ZIM	2:13.44 (2 h1)	–	–
42	188	Celeste Hung	HKG	2:13.61 (8 h2)	–	–
43	110	Angela Birch	FIJ	2:16.79 (3 h1)	–	–
44	111	Cina Munch	FIJ	2:18.45 (4 h1)	–	–
DNS	249	Nancy Khalaf	LBN	– (DNS h1)	–	–

Round One

Date	20 September 1988 — 9:00
Format	Fastest eight advanced to the final. Places 9-16 advanced to the B Final.

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time
1	–	Heike Friedrich	GDR	1:59.02	Q
2	–	Sylvia Poll	CRC	1:59.22	Q
3	–	Mary Wayte	USA	1:59.50	Q
4	–	Manuela Stellmach	GDR	2:00.30	Q
5	–	Nataliya Trefilova	URS	2:00.54	Q
6	–	Stephanie Ortwig	FRG	2:00.66	Q
7	–	Mitzi Kremer	USA	2:01.45	Q
8	–	Cécile Prunier	FRA	2:01.60	Q
9	–	Chikako Nakamori	JPN	2:01.76	q
10	–	Mette Jacobsen	DEN	2:01.80	q
11	–	Luminița Dobrescu	ROU	2:01.93	q
12	–	Ruth Gilfillan	GBR	2:02.11	q
13	–	Stela Marian Pura	ROU	2:02.26	q
14	–	Patricia Noall	CAN	2:02.31	q
15	–	Zhuang Yong	CHN	2:02.40	q
16	–	Birgit Lohberg-Schulz	FRG	2:02.77	q
17	–	Diane van der Plaats	NED	2:03.02
=18	–	Isabelle Arnould	BEL	2:03.32
=18	–	Suzanne Nilsson	SWE	2:03.32
20	–	Sheridan Burge-Lopez	AUS	2:03.42
21	–	June Croft	GBR	2:03.63
22	–	Karin Brienesse	NED	2:04.36
23	–	Silvia Persi	ITA	2:04.40
24	–	Annette Moldrup Jørgensen	DEN	2:04.71
25	–	Patrícia Amorim	BRA	2:04.74
26	–	Susie Baumer	AUS	2:04.82
27	–	Nurul Huda Abdullah	MAS	2:04.85
28	–	Jane Kerr	CAN	2:04.92
29	–	Kaori Sasaki	JPN	2:06.18
30	–	Senda Gharbi	TUN	2:06.60
31	–	Karen Dieffenthaler	TTO	2:07.09
32	–	Bryndís Ólafsdóttir	ISL	2:07.11
33	–	Rita Garay	PUR	2:07.44
34	–	Natasha Aguilar	CRC	2:10.22
35	–	Patricia Kohlmann	MEX	2:10.36
36	–	Fenella Ng	HKG	2:10.43
37	–	Kim Eun-Jeong	KOR	2:10.85
38	–	Chang Hui-Chien	TPE	2:11.50
39	–	Park Ju-Ri	KOR	2:11.53
40	–	Qian Hong	CHN	2:12.44
41	–	Catherine Fogarty	ZIM	2:13.44
42	–	Celeste Hung	HKG	2:13.61
43	–	Angela Birch	FIJ	2:16.79
44	–	Cina Munch	FIJ	2:18.45
DNS	–	Nancy Khalaf	LBN	–

Heat #1

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time	50 m	100 m	150 m	50-100 m Time (Rank)	100-150 m Time (Rank)	150-200 m Time (Rank)
1	–	Birgit Lohberg-Schulz	FRG	2:02.77	29.35 (1)	1:00.48 (1)	1:31.91 (1)	31.13 (1)	31.43 (1)	30.86 (1)	q
2	–	Catherine Fogarty	ZIM	2:13.44	31.04 (2)	1:04.49 (2)	1:39.21 (2)	33.45 (2)	34.72 (2)	34.23 (2)
3	–	Angela Birch	FIJ	2:16.79	31.16 (3)	1:05.72 (3)	1:41.68 (3)	34.56 (3)	35.96 (3)	35.11 (3)
4	–	Cina Munch	FIJ	2:18.45	31.68 (4)	1:06.40 (4)	1:42.51 (4)	34.72 (4)	36.11 (4)	35.94 (4)
DNS	–	Nancy Khalaf	LBN	–	– (–)	– (–)	– (–)	–	–	–

Heat #2

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time	50 m	100 m	150 m	50-100 m Time (Rank)	100-150 m Time (Rank)	150-200 m Time (Rank)
1	–	Bryndís Ólafsdóttir	ISL	2:07.11	30.19 (1)	1:02.76 (1)	1:35.47 (1)	32.57 (1)	32.71 (1)	31.64 (1)
2	–	Natasha Aguilar	CRC	2:10.22	30.32 (2)	1:03.17 (2)	1:36.55 (3)	32.85 (4)	33.38 (3)	33.67 (5)
3	–	Fenella Ng	HKG	2:10.43	30.51 (3)	1:03.23 (3)	1:36.35 (2)	32.72 (2)	33.12 (2)	34.08 (7)
4	–	Kim Eun-Jeong	KOR	2:10.85	30.71 (4)	1:03.80 (5)	1:37.49 (5)	33.09 (5)	33.69 (4)	33.36 (4)
5	–	Chang Hui-Chien	TPE	2:11.50	30.83 (5)	1:03.58 (4)	1:37.43 (4)	32.75 (3)	33.85 (=6)	34.07 (6)
6	–	Park Ju-Ri	KOR	2:11.53	31.10 (8)	1:04.69 (7)	1:38.47 (7)	33.59 (7)	33.78 (5)	33.06 (3)
7	–	Qian Hong	CHN	2:12.44	30.84 (6)	1:04.80 (8)	1:39.59 (8)	33.96 (8)	34.79 (8)	32.85 (2)
8	–	Celeste Hung	HKG	2:13.61	30.97 (7)	1:04.39 (6)	1:38.24 (6)	33.42 (6)	33.85 (=6)	35.37 (8)

Heat #3

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time	50 m	100 m	150 m	50-100 m Time (Rank)	100-150 m Time (Rank)	150-200 m Time (Rank)
1	–	Diane van der Plaats	NED	2:03.02	28.67 (2)	58.84 (1)	1:31.42 (1)	30.17 (1)	32.58 (4)	31.60 (2)
2	–	Patrícia Amorim	BRA	2:04.74	29.73 (6)	1:01.27 (5)	1:32.95 (3)	31.54 (5)	31.68 (1)	31.79 (3)
3	–	Nurul Huda Abdullah	MAS	2:04.85	29.89 (7)	1:01.58 (6)	1:33.36 (=5)	31.69 (6)	31.78 (2)	31.49 (1)
4	–	Kaori Sasaki	JPN	2:06.18	28.44 (1)	59.93 (2)	1:32.79 (2)	31.49 (4)	32.86 (6)	33.39 (6)
5	–	Senda Gharbi	TUN	2:06.60	29.58 (4)	1:00.93 (4)	1:33.36 (=5)	31.35 (3)	32.43 (3)	33.24 (5)
6	–	Karen Dieffenthaler	TTO	2:07.09	29.26 (3)	1:00.60 (3)	1:33.31 (4)	31.34 (2)	32.71 (5)	33.78 (7)
7	–	Rita Garay	PUR	2:07.44	30.09 (8)	1:01.91 (7)	1:34.80 (7)	31.82 (7)	32.89 (7)	32.64 (4)
8	–	Patricia Kohlmann	MEX	2:10.36	29.60 (5)	1:02.25 (8)	1:36.32 (8)	32.65 (8)	34.07 (8)	34.04 (8)

Heat #4

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time	50 m	100 m	150 m	50-100 m Time (Rank)	100-150 m Time (Rank)	150-200 m Time (Rank)
1	–	Nataliya Trefilova	URS	2:00.54	28.63 (3)	58.89 (=1)	1:30.28 (2)	30.26 (1)	31.39 (4)	30.26 (2)	Q
2	–	Mitzi Kremer	USA	2:01.45	28.57 (2)	58.89 (=1)	1:30.19 (1)	30.32 (3)	31.30 (2)	31.26 (4)	Q
3	–	Mette Jacobsen	DEN	2:01.80	29.26 (7)	1:00.40 (7)	1:31.73 (5)	31.14 (6)	31.33 (3)	30.07 (1)	q
4	–	Ruth Gilfillan	GBR	2:02.11	28.88 (4)	59.86 (5)	1:31.34 (4)	30.98 (4)	31.48 (5)	30.77 (3)	q
5	–	Stela Marian Pura	ROU	2:02.26	29.09 (6)	59.36 (3)	1:30.65 (3)	30.27 (2)	31.29 (1)	31.61 (5)	q
6	–	Karin Brienesse	NED	2:04.36	28.54 (1)	59.63 (4)	1:31.80 (6)	31.09 (5)	32.17 (7)	32.56 (8)
7	–	Annette Moldrup Jørgensen	DEN	2:04.71	29.57 (8)	1:00.75 (8)	1:32.55 (7)	31.18 (7)	31.80 (6)	32.16 (6)
8	–	Susie Baumer	AUS	2:04.82	28.99 (5)	1:00.21 (6)	1:32.64 (8)	31.22 (8)	32.43 (8)	32.18 (7)

Heat #5

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time	50 m	100 m	150 m	50-100 m Time (Rank)	100-150 m Time (Rank)	150-200 m Time (Rank)
1	–	Sylvia Poll	CRC	1:59.22	28.19 (1)	58.60 (1)	1:28.75 (1)	30.41 (4)	30.15 (1)	30.47 (1)	Q
2	–	Manuela Stellmach	GDR	2:00.30	28.24 (2)	58.61 (2)	1:29.49 (2)	30.37 (2)	30.88 (2)	30.81 (=3)	Q
3	–	Stephanie Ortwig	FRG	2:00.66	28.43 (3)	58.74 (3)	1:30.00 (3)	30.31 (1)	31.26 (5)	30.66 (2)	Q
4	–	Cécile Prunier	FRA	2:01.60	28.92 (6)	59.32 (4)	1:30.46 (4)	30.40 (3)	31.14 (3)	31.14 (=5)	Q
5	–	Chikako Nakamori	JPN	2:01.76	28.97 (7)	59.47 (5)	1:30.62 (5)	30.50 (5)	31.15 (4)	31.14 (=5)	q
6	–	Zhuang Yong	CHN	2:02.40	28.74 (4)	59.95 (7)	1:31.59 (7)	31.21 (8)	31.64 (8)	30.81 (=3)	q
7	–	Sheridan Burge-Lopez	AUS	2:03.42	29.52 (8)	1:00.59 (8)	1:32.12 (8)	31.07 (7)	31.53 (=6)	31.30 (7)
8	–	Silvia Persi	ITA	2:04.40	28.86 (5)	59.91 (6)	1:31.44 (6)	31.05 (6)	31.53 (=6)	32.96 (8)

Heat #6

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time	50 m	100 m	150 m	50-100 m Time (Rank)	100-150 m Time (Rank)	150-200 m Time (Rank)
1	–	Heike Friedrich	GDR	1:59.02	28.71 (3)	58.98 (2)	1:29.12 (1)	30.27 (1)	30.14 (1)	29.90 (2)	Q
2	–	Mary Wayte	USA	1:59.50	28.04 (1)	58.42 (1)	1:29.13 (2)	30.38 (2)	30.71 (2)	30.37 (3)	Q
3	–	Luminița Dobrescu	ROU	2:01.93	28.36 (2)	58.99 (3)	1:30.81 (3)	30.63 (3)	31.82 (7)	31.12 (5)	q
4	–	Patricia Noall	CAN	2:02.31	29.75 (8)	1:01.03 (8)	1:32.55 (8)	31.28 (6)	31.52 (=4)	29.76 (1)	q
=5	–	Isabelle Arnould	BEL	2:03.32	29.53 (7)	1:00.80 (6)	1:32.32 (7)	31.27 (5)	31.52 (=4)	31.00 (4)
=5	–	Suzanne Nilsson	SWE	2:03.32	29.35 (5)	1:00.23 (5)	1:31.76 (4)	30.88 (4)	31.53 (6)	31.56 (7)
7	–	June Croft	GBR	2:03.63	29.37 (6)	1:00.90 (7)	1:32.31 (6)	31.53 (8)	31.41 (3)	31.32 (6)
8	–	Jane Kerr	CAN	2:04.92	28.82 (4)	1:00.12 (4)	1:32.17 (5)	31.30 (7)	32.05 (8)	32.75 (8)

B Final

Date	21 September 1988 — 12:00

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time	50 m	100 m	150 m	50-100 m Time (Rank)	100-150 m Time (Rank)	150-200 m Time (Rank)
1	–	Patricia Noall	CAN	2:00.77	29.32 (5)	1:00.23 (5)	1:31.28 (4)	30.91 (=4)	31.05 (1)	29.49 (1)
2	–	Ruth Gilfillan	GBR	2:01.66	29.12 (=2)	1:00.03 (4)	1:31.33 (5)	30.91 (=4)	31.30 (4)	30.33 (2)
3	–	Mette Jacobsen	DEN	2:01.84	29.44 (7)	1:00.32 (7)	1:31.40 (6)	30.88 (3)	31.08 (2)	30.44 (3)
4	–	Luminița Dobrescu	ROU	2:01.98	28.26 (1)	59.31 (1)	1:31.14 (1)	31.05 (7)	31.83 (7)	30.84 (4)
5	–	Stela Marian Pura	ROU	2:02.30	29.12 (=2)	59.81 (3)	1:31.20 (2)	30.69 (2)	31.39 (5)	31.10 (7)
6	–	Chikako Nakamori	JPN	2:02.31	29.19 (4)	59.72 (2)	1:31.27 (3)	30.53 (1)	31.55 (6)	31.04 (6)
7	–	Birgit Lohberg-Schulz	FRG	2:02.32	29.37 (6)	1:00.29 (6)	1:31.41 (7)	30.92 (6)	31.12 (3)	30.91 (5)
8	–	Zhuang Yong	CHN	2:14.23	29.59 (8)	1:03.37 (8)	1:39.30 (8)	33.78 (8)	35.93 (8)	34.93 (8)

Final Round

Date	21 September 1988 — 12:00

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time	50 m	100 m	150 m	50-100 m Time (Rank)	100-150 m Time (Rank)	150-200 m Time (Rank)
1	–	Heike Friedrich	GDR	1:57.65	28.55 (6)	58.50 (3)	1:28.03 (1)	29.95 (2)	29.53 (1)	29.62 (1)	OR
2	–	Sylvia Poll	CRC	1:58.67	28.47 (=3)	58.78 (6)	1:28.46 (3)	30.31 (5)	29.68 (2)	30.21 (4)
3	–	Manuela Stellmach	GDR	1:59.01	28.51 (5)	58.60 (4)	1:28.96 (5)	30.09 (3)	30.36 (4)	30.05 (3)
4	–	Mary Wayte	USA	1:59.04	28.07 (1)	58.43 (2)	1:28.68 (4)	30.36 (7)	30.25 (3)	30.36 (5)
5	–	Nataliya Trefilova	URS	1:59.24	28.47 (=3)	58.61 (5)	1:29.51 (6)	30.14 (4)	30.90 (7)	29.73 (2)
6	–	Mitzi Kremer	USA	2:00.23	28.26 (2)	57.89 (1)	1:28.38 (2)	29.63 (1)	30.49 (5)	31.85 (8)
7	–	Stephanie Ortwig	FRG	2:00.73	28.94 (7)	59.27 (7)	1:29.98 (7)	30.33 (6)	30.71 (6)	30.75 (6)
8	–	Cécile Prunier	FRA	2:02.88	29.35 (8)	1:00.26 (8)	1:31.70 (8)	30.91 (8)	31.44 (8)	31.18 (7)