| | Event type

400 metres Freestyle, Women

Date	22 September 1988
Status	Olympic
Location	Su-yeong-jang, Ol-lim-pik Gong-won, Seoul
Participants	30 from 21 countries

Heike Friedrich (GDR) came into Seoul having won the last two European titles and was 1986 World Champion in the 400 free. The day before this final, she had won gold in the 200 free. But she had a big challenger in American Janet Evans, who at the US Open in December 1987 had set the world record of 4:05.45. Evans also had a gold medal in Seoul, winning the 400 IM on the opening day of the meet. In the final, Evans led at 100 in 59.99, which was expected as Friedrich was known more for her finish. At 300 metres it was very close, Evans still leading, but only by 0.16 seconds. But she then blazed home in 1:00.45, negative splitting the race to shatter her world record with 4:03.85, and defeating Friedrich by almost two seconds on the final laps. Two days later, Evans would add a third individual gold medal, winning the 800 freestyle. Her world record from this event would stand for 18 years, until it was bettered by Laure Manaudou at the 2006 French Championships, and the mark would not be bettered at the Olympics until Britain’s Becky Adlington won gold at the 2008 Olympics.

Pos	Number	Competitor	NOC	R1	B Final	Final
1	318	Janet Evans	USA	4:10.12 (1 h4)	–	4:03.85 (1)	Gold
2	171	Heike Friedrich	GDR	4:11.30 (1 h3)	–	4:05.94 (2)	Silver
3	175	Anke Möhring	GDR	4:10.64 (1 h2)	–	4:06.62 (3)	Bronze
4	317	Tami Bruce	USA	4:10.73 (2 h4)	–	4:08.16 (4)
5	17	Janelle Elford	AUS	4:11.07 (2 h2)	–	4:10.64 (5)
6	31	Isabelle Arnould	BEL	4:11.71 (3 h4)	–	4:11.73 (6)
7	135	Stephanie Ortwig	FRG	4:12.18 (4 h4)	–	4:13.05 (7)
8	314	Nataliya Trefilova	URS	4:12.20 (3 h2)	–	4:13.92 (8)
9	14	Sheridan Burge-Lopez	AUS	4:12.77 (3 h3)	4:10.21 (1)	–
10	273	Noëmi Lung	ROU	4:12.42 (2 h3)	4:11.68 (2)	–
11	275	Stela Marian Pura	ROU	4:15.78 (5 h4)	4:12.14 (3)	–
12	50	Antoaneta Strumenlieva	BUL	4:13.25 (4 h2)	4:13.43 (4)	–
13	65	Patricia Noall	CAN	4:15.90 (6 h4)	4:14.70 (5)	–
14	216	Manuela Melchiorri	ITA	4:15.40 (4 h3)	4:14.90 (6)	–
15	231	Chikako Nakamori	JPN	4:15.51 (1 h1)	4:15.59 (7)	–
16	122	Cécile Prunier	FRA	4:15.63 (5 h3)	4:21.03 (8)	–
17	261	Irene Dalby	NOR	4:16.22 (6 h3)	–	–
18	154	Ruth Gilfillan	GBR	4:16.66 (7 h4)	–	–
19	224	Tomomi Hosoda	JPN	4:17.30 (5 h2)	–	–
20	98	Eva Mortensen	DEN	4:18.06 (7 h3)	–	–
21	85	Yan Ming	CHN	4:18.58 (8 h3)	–	–
22	139	Alexandra Russ	FRG	4:18.67 (8 h4)	–	–
23	251	Nurul Huda Abdullah	MAS	4:19.33 (2 h1)	–	–
24	37	Patrícia Amorim	BRA	4:19.64 (3 h1)	–	–
25	33	Christelle Janssens	BEL	4:19.96 (6 h2)	–	–
26	96	Pernille Jensen	DEN	4:20.96 (4 h1)	–	–
27	150	June Croft	GBR	4:21.98 (7 h2)	–	–
28	270	Rita Garay	PUR	4:24.84 (5 h1)	–	–
29	202	Judit Csabai	HUN	4:25.52 (8 h2)	–	–
30	300	Senda Gharbi	TUN	4:34.67 (6 h1)	–	–

Round One

Date	22 September 1988 — 10:00
Format	Fastest eight advanced to the final. Places 9-16 advanced to the B Final.

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time
1	4	Janet Evans	USA	4:10.12	Q
2	4	Anke Möhring	GDR	4:10.64	Q
3	5	Tami Bruce	USA	4:10.73	Q
4	5	Janelle Elford	AUS	4:11.07	Q
5	4	Heike Friedrich	GDR	4:11.30	Q
6	1	Isabelle Arnould	BEL	4:11.71	Q
7	6	Stephanie Ortwig	FRG	4:12.18	Q
8	3	Nataliya Trefilova	URS	4:12.20	Q
9	3	Noëmi Lung	ROU	4:12.42	q
10	5	Sheridan Burge-Lopez	AUS	4:12.77	q
11	6	Antoaneta Strumenlieva	BUL	4:13.25	q
12	1	Manuela Melchiorri	ITA	4:15.40	q
13	5	Chikako Nakamori	JPN	4:15.51	q
14	6	Cécile Prunier	FRA	4:15.63	q
15	3	Stela Marian Pura	ROU	4:15.78	q
16	2	Patricia Noall	CAN	4:15.90	q
17	2	Irene Dalby	NOR	4:16.22
18	8	Ruth Gilfillan	GBR	4:16.66
19	2	Tomomi Hosoda	JPN	4:17.30
20	8	Eva Mortensen	DEN	4:18.06
21	7	Yan Ming	CHN	4:18.58
22	7	Alexandra Russ	FRG	4:18.67
23	4	Nurul Huda Abdullah	MAS	4:19.33
24	6	Patrícia Amorim	BRA	4:19.64
25	8	Christelle Janssens	BEL	4:19.96
26	3	Pernille Jensen	DEN	4:20.96
27	1	June Croft	GBR	4:21.98
28	2	Rita Garay	PUR	4:24.84
29	7	Judit Csabai	HUN	4:25.52
30	7	Senda Gharbi	TUN	4:34.67

Heat #1

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time	100 m	200 m	300 m	100-200 m	200-300 m	300-400 m
1	5	Chikako Nakamori	JPN	4:15.51	1:02.12 (1)	2:06.52 (1)	3:11.46 (1)	1:04.40 (1)	1:04.94 (1)	1:04.05 (1)	q
2	4	Nurul Huda Abdullah	MAS	4:19.33	1:03.36 (2)	2:08.32 (2)	3:13.67 (2)	1:04.96 (2)	1:05.35 (2)	1:05.66 (3)
3	6	Patrícia Amorim	BRA	4:19.64	1:03.53 (3)	2:08.90 (3)	3:14.35 (3)	1:05.37 (3)	1:05.45 (3)	1:05.29 (2)
4	3	Pernille Jensen	DEN	4:20.96	1:03.56 (4)	2:09.32 (4)	3:15.24 (4)	1:05.76 (4)	1:05.92 (4)	1:05.72 (4)
5	2	Rita Garay	PUR	4:24.84	1:03.70 (5)	2:10.63 (5)	3:17.89 (5)	1:06.93 (5)	1:07.26 (5)	1:06.95 (5)
6	7	Senda Gharbi	TUN	4:34.67	1:04.07 (6)	2:12.00 (6)	3:22.72 (6)	1:07.93 (6)	1:10.72 (6)	1:11.95 (6)

Heat #2

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time	100 m	200 m	300 m	100-200 m	200-300 m	300-400 m
1	4	Anke Möhring	GDR	4:10.64	1:01.93 (4)	2:05.37 (3)	3:08.51 (1)	1:03.44 (1)	1:03.14 (1)	1:02.13 (1)	Q
2	5	Janelle Elford	AUS	4:11.07	1:01.89 (3)	2:05.53 (4)	3:08.82 (2)	1:03.64 (3)	1:03.29 (2)	1:02.25 (2)	Q
3	3	Nataliya Trefilova	URS	4:12.20	1:01.21 (1)	2:05.11 (2)	3:09.48 (3)	1:03.90 (4)	1:04.37 (3)	1:02.72 (3)	Q
4	6	Antoaneta Strumenlieva	BUL	4:13.25	1:01.31 (2)	2:04.93 (1)	3:09.57 (4)	1:03.62 (2)	1:04.64 (4)	1:03.68 (5)	q
5	2	Tomomi Hosoda	JPN	4:17.30	1:03.37 (6)	2:08.83 (5)	3:13.82 (5)	1:05.46 (5)	1:04.99 (5)	1:03.48 (4)
6	8	Christelle Janssens	BEL	4:19.96	1:03.84 (8)	2:09.68 (7)	3:15.19 (6)	1:05.84 (6)	1:05.51 (6)	1:04.77 (6)
7	1	June Croft	GBR	4:21.98	1:03.07 (5)	2:09.31 (6)	3:15.88 (7)	1:06.24 (7)	1:06.57 (7)	1:06.10 (7)
8	7	Judit Csabai	HUN	4:25.52	1:03.53 (7)	2:10.49 (8)	3:18.04 (8)	1:06.96 (8)	1:07.55 (8)	1:07.48 (8)

Heat #3

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time	100 m	200 m	300 m	100-200 m	200-300 m	300-400 m
1	4	Heike Friedrich	GDR	4:11.30	1:01.98 (3)	2:05.75 (2)	3:09.05 (1)	1:03.77 (2)	1:03.30 (1)	1:02.25 (1)	Q
2	3	Noëmi Lung	ROU	4:12.42	1:02.05 (4)	2:06.09 (3)	3:10.09 (3)	1:04.04 (3)	1:04.00 (=2)	1:02.33 (2)	q
3	5	Sheridan Burge-Lopez	AUS	4:12.77	1:01.77 (1)	2:05.45 (1)	3:09.45 (2)	1:03.68 (1)	1:04.00 (=2)	1:03.32 (3)	q
4	1	Manuela Melchiorri	ITA	4:15.40	1:02.86 (6)	2:07.29 (6)	3:11.40 (5)	1:04.43 (6)	1:04.11 (4)	1:04.00 (4)	q
5	6	Cécile Prunier	FRA	4:15.63	1:01.97 (2)	2:06.32 (4)	3:11.19 (4)	1:04.35 (4)	1:04.87 (=5)	1:04.44 (6)	q
6	2	Irene Dalby	NOR	4:16.22	1:02.27 (5)	2:06.63 (5)	3:11.50 (6)	1:04.36 (5)	1:04.87 (=5)	1:04.72 (7)
7	8	Eva Mortensen	DEN	4:18.06	1:02.89 (7)	2:07.56 (7)	3:13.32 (7)	1:04.67 (7)	1:05.76 (7)	1:04.74 (8)
8	7	Yan Ming	CHN	4:18.58	1:02.91 (8)	2:08.49 (8)	3:14.31 (8)	1:05.58 (8)	1:05.82 (8)	1:04.27 (5)

Heat #4

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time	100 m	200 m	300 m	100-200 m	200-300 m	300-400 m
1	4	Janet Evans	USA	4:10.12	1:01.32 (1)	2:04.82 (1)	3:07.83 (1)	1:03.50 (=2)	1:03.01 (1)	1:02.29 (1)	Q
2	5	Tami Bruce	USA	4:10.73	1:01.37 (2)	2:04.87 (2)	3:08.28 (2)	1:03.50 (=2)	1:03.41 (3)	1:02.45 (3)	Q
3	1	Isabelle Arnould	BEL	4:11.71	1:01.98 (4)	2:05.49 (5)	3:08.56 (3)	1:03.51 (4)	1:03.07 (2)	1:03.15 (4)	Q
4	6	Stephanie Ortwig	FRG	4:12.18	1:02.14 (5)	2:05.26 (3)	3:08.98 (4)	1:03.12 (1)	1:03.72 (4)	1:03.20 (5)	Q
5	3	Stela Marian Pura	ROU	4:15.78	1:01.64 (3)	2:05.45 (4)	3:10.67 (5)	1:03.81 (5)	1:05.22 (5)	1:05.11 (7)	q
6	2	Patricia Noall	CAN	4:15.90	1:02.70 (8)	2:07.88 (8)	3:13.49 (8)	1:05.18 (8)	1:05.61 (6)	1:02.41 (2)	q
7	8	Ruth Gilfillan	GBR	4:16.66	1:02.42 (6)	2:07.50 (7)	3:13.17 (6)	1:05.08 (7)	1:05.67 (7)	1:03.49 (6)
8	7	Alexandra Russ	FRG	4:18.67	1:02.55 (7)	2:07.13 (6)	3:13.47 (7)	1:04.58 (6)	1:06.34 (8)	1:05.20 (8)

B Final

Date	22 September 1988 — 20:00

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time	100 m	200 m	300 m	100-200 m	200-300 m	300-400 m
1	5	Sheridan Burge-Lopez	AUS	4:10.21	1:01.21 (3)	2:04.37 (1)	3:07.66 (1)	1:03.16 (1)	1:03.29 (1)	1:02.55 (2)
2	4	Noëmi Lung	ROU	4:11.68	1:01.16 (2)	2:04.69 (2)	3:08.70 (2)	1:03.53 (2)	1:04.01 (2)	1:02.98 (3)
3	1	Stela Marian Pura	ROU	4:12.14	1:01.04 (1)	2:04.75 (3)	3:09.06 (3)	1:03.71 (3)	1:04.31 (4)	1:03.08 (4)
4	3	Antoaneta Strumenlieva	BUL	4:13.43	1:01.25 (4)	2:05.28 (4)	3:09.93 (4)	1:04.03 (4)	1:04.65 (5)	1:03.50 (5)
5	8	Patricia Noall	CAN	4:14.70	1:02.07 (6)	2:07.06 (7)	3:12.24 (7)	1:04.99 (7)	1:05.18 (7)	1:02.46 (1)
6	6	Manuela Melchiorri	ITA	4:14.90	1:02.49 (8)	2:06.97 (6)	3:11.08 (5)	1:04.48 (6)	1:04.11 (3)	1:03.82 (6)
7	2	Chikako Nakamori	JPN	4:15.59	1:01.79 (5)	2:06.21 (5)	3:11.13 (6)	1:04.42 (5)	1:04.92 (6)	1:04.46 (7)
8	7	Cécile Prunier	FRA	4:21.03	1:02.16 (7)	2:07.65 (8)	3:14.24 (8)	1:05.49 (8)	1:06.59 (8)	1:06.79 (8)

Final Round

Date	22 September 1988 — 20:00

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time	100 m	200 m	300 m	100-200 m	200-300 m	300-400 m
1	4	Janet Evans	USA	4:03.85	59.99 (1)	2:02.14 (1)	3:03.40 (1)	1:02.15 (1)	1:01.26 (2)	1:00.45 (1)	WR
2	2	Heike Friedrich	GDR	4:05.94	1:00.23 (2)	2:02.49 (2)	3:03.56 (2)	1:02.26 (3)	1:01.07 (1)	1:02.38 (4)
3	5	Anke Möhring	GDR	4:06.62	1:00.27 (3)	2:02.51 (3)	3:05.27 (3)	1:02.24 (2)	1:02.76 (3)	1:01.35 (2)
4	3	Tami Bruce	USA	4:08.16	1:00.75 (4)	2:03.42 (4)	3:06.19 (4)	1:02.67 (4)	1:02.77 (4)	1:01.97 (3)
5	6	Janelle Elford	AUS	4:10.64	1:01.05 (6)	2:04.20 (6)	3:07.74 (5)	1:03.15 (6)	1:03.54 (5)	1:02.90 (5)
6	7	Isabelle Arnould	BEL	4:11.73	1:01.57 (8)	2:04.77 (8)	3:08.42 (6)	1:03.20 (8)	1:03.65 (6)	1:03.31 (6)
7	1	Stephanie Ortwig	FRG	4:13.05	1:01.25 (7)	2:04.31 (7)	3:08.56 (7)	1:03.06 (5)	1:04.25 (7)	1:04.49 (7)
8	8	Nataliya Trefilova	URS	4:13.92	1:00.87 (5)	2:04.04 (5)	3:08.75 (8)	1:03.17 (7)	1:04.71 (8)	1:05.17 (8)