| Date | 24 September 1988 |
|---|---|
| Status | Olympic |
| Location | Su-yeong-jang, Ol-lim-pik Gong-won, Seoul |
| Participants | 79 from 18 countries |
The world record was 4:03.69 set by East Germany in winning the 1984 Friendship Games, and they had held the record since 1973. They were the defending World and European Champions. While the United States had won the 1987 Pan Pacs, they were in a different league. The 100 strokes had all been decided in Seoul by the time this event started and the best East German times added up to 4:03.90, while the best American times came to only 4:07.77. The biggest problem for East Germany was where to put Kristin Otto, who had won the 100 free, 100 back, and 100 fly. They rested her in the prelims and then had her lead off on backstroke in the final. Her 1:01.03 split had her over 1½ seconds ahead of the USA’s Beth Barr and the race for gold was over. East Germany increased their margin on each leg, winning in 4:03.74, the second fastest time ever. The USA was well back for silver, finishing in 4:07.90, but that was also almost three seconds ahead of the Canadians, who finished third. The East German victory gave Kristin Otto her fifth gold medal in Seoul. She would later win a sixth in the 50 free.
| Pos | Number | Competitors | NOC | R1 | Final | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | – | East Germany |  GDR | 4:08.53 (1 h2) | 4:03.74 (1) | Gold | ||
| Backstroke | 177 | Kristin Otto | – | – | ||||
| Breaststroke | 172 | Silke Hörner | – | – | ||||
| Butterfly | 183 | Birte Weigang | – | – | ||||
| Freestyle | 174 | Katrin Meißner | – | – | ||||
| Backstroke | 180 | Cornelia Sirch | – | – | ||||
| Freestyle | 181 | Manuela Stellmach | – | – | ||||
| 2 | – | United States |  USA | 4:10.38 (1 h3) | 4:07.90 (2) | Silver | ||
| Backstroke | 316 | Beth Barr | – | – | ||||
| Breaststroke | 330 | Tracey McFarlane | – | – | ||||
| Butterfly | 324 | Janel Jorgensen | – | – | ||||
| Freestyle | 340 | Mary Wayte | – | – | ||||
| Backstroke | 332 | Betsy Mitchell | – | – | ||||
| Butterfly | 331 | Mary T. Meagher | – | – | ||||
| Freestyle | 338 | Dara Torres | – | – | ||||
| 3 | – | Canada |  CAN | 4:14.23 (2 h2) | 4:10.49 (3) | Bronze | ||
| Backstroke | 64 | Lori Melien | – | – | ||||
| Breaststroke | 60 | Allison Higson | – | – | ||||
| Butterfly | 61 | Jane Kerr | – | – | ||||
| Freestyle | 66 | Andrea Nugent | – | – | ||||
| Breaststroke | 57 | Keltie Duggan | – | – | ||||
| Freestyle | 65 | Patricia Noall | – | – | ||||
| 4 | – | Australia |  AUS | 4:14.32 (1 h1) | 4:11.57 (4) | |||
| Backstroke | 22 | Nicole Livingstone | – | – | ||||
| Breaststroke | 18 | Lara Hooiveld | – | – | ||||
| Butterfly | 12 | Fiona Alessandri | – | – | ||||
| Freestyle | 27 | Karen Van Wirdum | – | – | ||||
| 5 | – | Netherlands |  NED | 4:11.82 (2 h3) | 4:12.19 (5) | |||
| Backstroke | 193 | Jolanda de Rover | – | – | ||||
| Breaststroke | 195 | Linda Moes | – | – | ||||
| Butterfly | 198 | Conny van Bentum | – | – | ||||
| Freestyle | 192 | Karin Brienesse | – | – | ||||
| 6 | – | Bulgaria |  BUL | 4:15.22 (3 h2) | 4:12.36 (6) | |||
| Backstroke | 47 | Bistra Gospodinova | – | – | ||||
| Breaststroke | 45 | Tanya Dangalakova | – | – | ||||
| Butterfly | 49 | Nevyana Miteva | – | – | ||||
| Freestyle | 48 | Natasha Hristova | – | – | ||||
| 7 | – | West Germany |  FRG | 4:13.19 (3 h3) | 4:12.89 (7) | |||
| Backstroke | 141 | Svenja Schlicht | – | – | ||||
| Breaststroke | 127 | Britta Dahm | – | – | ||||
| Butterfly | 138 | Gabi Reha | – | – | ||||
| Freestyle | 125 | Marion Aizpors | – | – | ||||
| 8 | – | Italy |  ITA | 4:14.68 (2 h1) | 4:13.85 (8) | |||
| Backstroke | 220 | Lorenza Vigarani | – | – | ||||
| Breaststroke | 214 | Manuela Dalla Valle | – | – | ||||
| Butterfly | 219 | Ilaria Tocchini | – | – | ||||
| Freestyle | 218 | Silvia Persi | – | – | ||||
| 9 | – | Great Britain |  GBR | 4:16.18 (4 h3) | – | |||
| Backstroke | 161 | Kathy Read | – | – | ||||
| Breaststroke | 147 | Suki Brownsdon | – | – | ||||
| Butterfly | 152 | Caroline Foot | – | – | ||||
| Freestyle | 148 | Joanna Coull | – | – | ||||
| 10 | – | France |  FRA | 4:16.21 (5 h3) | – | |||
| Backstroke | 117 | Laurence Guillou | – | – | ||||
| Breaststroke | 119 | Pascaline Louvrier | – | – | ||||
| Butterfly | 121 | Catherine Plewinski | – | – | ||||
| Freestyle | 115 | Jacqueline Delord | – | – | ||||
| 11 | – | Sweden |  SWE | 4:17.72 (4 h2) | – | |||
| Backstroke | 288 | Johanna Larsson | – | – | ||||
| Breaststroke | 291 | Anna-Karin Persson | – | – | ||||
| Butterfly | 285 | Agneta Eriksson | – | – | ||||
| Freestyle | 290 | Eva Nyberg | – | – | ||||
| 12 | – | Japan |  JPN | 4:18.88 (3 h1) | – | |||
| Backstroke | 228 | Satoko Morishita | – | – | ||||
| Breaststroke | 233 | Yoshie Nishioka | – | – | ||||
| Butterfly | 236 | Kiyomi Takahashi | – | – | ||||
| Freestyle | 232 | Ayako Nakano | – | – | ||||
| 13 | – | Spain |  ESP | 4:21.84 (4 h1) | – | |||
| Backstroke | 102 | Natalia Autric | – | – | ||||
| Breaststroke | 109 | Silvia Parera | – | – | ||||
| Butterfly | 106 | María Luisa Fernández | – | – | ||||
| Freestyle | 107 | Amaya Garbayo | – | – | ||||
| 14 | – | Republic of Korea |  KOR | 4:28.90 (6 h3) | – | |||
| Backstroke | 241 | Hong Ji-Hui | – | – | ||||
| Breaststroke | 248 | Park Seong-Won | – | – | ||||
| Butterfly | 246 | Lee Hong-Mi | – | – | ||||
| Freestyle | 240 | Han Yeong-Hui | – | – | ||||
| 15 | – | Costa Rica |  CRC | 4:31.75 (5 h2) | – | |||
| Backstroke | 93 | Sylvia Poll | – | – | ||||
| Breaststroke | 348 | Sigrid Niehaus | – | – | ||||
| Butterfly | 90 | Marcela Cuesta | – | – | ||||
| Freestyle | 92 | Carolina Mauri | – | – | ||||
| 16 | – | Chinese Taipei |  TPE | 4:39.49 (5 h1) | – | |||
| Backstroke | 298 | Wang Chi | – | – | ||||
| Breaststroke | 297 | Seto Car-Wai | – | – | ||||
| Butterfly | 294 | Chang Hui-Chien | – | – | ||||
| Freestyle | 295 | Kim Chen | – | – | ||||
| – | People's Republic of China |  CHN | – (DQ h1) | – | ||||
| Backstroke | 86 | Yang Wenyi | – | – | ||||
| Breaststroke | 73 | Huang Xiaomin | – | – | ||||
| Butterfly | 79 | Qian Hong | – | – | ||||
| Freestyle | 88 | Zhuang Yong | – | – | ||||
| – | Denmark |  DEN | – (DQ h2) | – | ||||
| Backstroke | 94 | Mette Jacobsen | – | – | ||||
| Breaststroke | 100 | Pia Sørensen | – | – | ||||
| Butterfly | 97 | Annette Moldrup Jørgensen | – | – | ||||
| Freestyle | 95 | Gitta Jensen | – | – |
| Date | 24 September 1988 — 10:00 |
|---|---|
| Format | Fastest 8 advanced to the final round. |
| Pos | Lane | Team | NOC | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | East Germany | GDR | 4:08.53 | ||
| 2 | 4 | United States | USA | 4:10.38 | ||
| 3 | 6 | Netherlands | NED | 4:11.82 | ||
| 4 | 5 | West Germany | FRG | 4:13.19 | ||
| 5 | 3 | Canada | CAN | 4:14.23 | ||
| 6 | 3 | Australia | AUS | 4:14.32 | ||
| 7 | 4 | Italy | ITA | 4:14.68 | ||
| 8 | 5 | Bulgaria | BUL | 4:15.22 | ||
| 9 | 2 | Great Britain | GBR | 4:16.18 | ||
| 10 | 3 | France | FRA | 4:16.21 | ||
| 11 | 6 | Sweden | SWE | 4:17.72 | ||
| 12 | 6 | Japan | JPN | 4:18.88 | ||
| 13 | 2 | Spain | ESP | 4:21.84 | ||
| 14 | 1 | Republic of Korea | KOR | 4:28.90 | ||
| 15 | 7 | Costa Rica | CRC | 4:31.75 | ||
| 16 | 7 | Chinese Taipei | TPE | 4:39.49 | ||
| 5 | People's Republic of China | CHN | – | |||
| 2 | Denmark | DEN | – |
| Pos | Lane | Competitors | NOC | Time | Split | Exchange | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | Australia | AUS | 4:14.32 | – (–) | – (–) | ||
| Backstroke | – | Nicole Livingstone | – | 1:04.07 (2) | – (–) | |||
| Breaststroke | – | Lara Hooiveld | – | 1:10.97 (1) | 2:15.04 (2) | |||
| Butterfly | – | Fiona Alessandri | – | 1:02.12 (2) | 3:17.16 (2) | |||
| Freestyle | – | Karen Van Wirdum | – | 57.16 (1) | – (–) | |||
| 2 | 4 | Italy | ITA | 4:14.68 | – (–) | – (–) | ||
| Backstroke | – | Lorenza Vigarani | – | 1:03.64 (1) | – (–) | |||
| Breaststroke | – | Manuela Dalla Valle | – | 1:11.17 (2) | 2:14.81 (1) | |||
| Butterfly | – | Ilaria Tocchini | – | 1:02.24 (3) | 3:17.05 (1) | |||
| Freestyle | – | Silvia Persi | – | 57.63 (2) | – (–) | |||
| 3 | 6 | Japan | JPN | 4:18.88 | – (–) | – (–) | ||
| Backstroke | – | Satoko Morishita | – | 1:05.23 (3) | – (–) | |||
| Breaststroke | – | Yoshie Nishioka | – | 1:13.63 (3) | 2:18.86 (3) | |||
| Butterfly | – | Kiyomi Takahashi | – | 1:01.95 (1) | 3:20.81 (3) | |||
| Freestyle | – | Ayako Nakano | – | 58.07 (4) | – (–) | |||
| 4 | 2 | Spain | ESP | 4:21.84 | – (–) | – (–) | ||
| Backstroke | – | Natalia Autric | – | 1:06.74 (4) | – (–) | |||
| Breaststroke | – | Silvia Parera | – | 1:14.87 (4) | 2:21.61 (4) | |||
| Butterfly | – | María Luisa Fernández | – | 1:02.45 (4) | 3:24.06 (4) | |||
| Freestyle | – | Amaya Garbayo | – | 57.78 (3) | – (–) | |||
| 5 | 7 | Chinese Taipei | TPE | 4:39.49 | – (–) | – (–) | ||
| Backstroke | – | Wang Chi | – | 1:10.75 (5) | – (–) | |||
| Breaststroke | – | Seto Car-Wai | – | 1:15.45 (5) | 2:26.20 (5) | |||
| Butterfly | – | Chang Hui-Chien | – | 1:07.95 (5) | 3:34.15 (5) | |||
| Freestyle | – | Kim Chen | – | 1:05.34 (5) | – (–) | |||
| 5 | People's Republic of China | CHN | – | – (–) | – (–) | |||
| Backstroke | – | Yang Wenyi | – | – (–) | – (–) | |||
| Breaststroke | – | Huang Xiaomin | – | – (–) | – (–) | |||
| Butterfly | – | Qian Hong | – | – (–) | – (–) | |||
| Freestyle | – | Zhuang Yong | – | – (–) | – (–) |
| Pos | Lane | Competitors | NOC | Time | Split | Exchange | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | East Germany | GDR | 4:08.53 | – (–) | – (–) | ||
| Backstroke | – | Cornelia Sirch | – | 1:02.34 (1) | – (–) | |||
| Breaststroke | – | Silke Hörner | – | 1:09.37 (2) | 2:11.71 (1) | |||
| Butterfly | – | Birte Weigang | – | 1:00.75 (1) | 3:12.46 (1) | |||
| Freestyle | – | Manuela Stellmach | – | 56.07 (1) | – (–) | |||
| 2 | 3 | Canada | CAN | 4:14.23 | – (–) | – (–) | ||
| Backstroke | – | Lori Melien | – | 1:03.80 (2) | – (–) | |||
| Breaststroke | – | Keltie Duggan | – | 1:11.58 (3) | 2:15.38 (3) | |||
| Butterfly | – | Jane Kerr | – | 1:02.42 (2) | 3:17.80 (3) | |||
| Freestyle | – | Patricia Noall | – | 56.43 (2) | – (–) | |||
| 3 | 5 | Bulgaria | BUL | 4:15.22 | – (–) | – (–) | ||
| Backstroke | – | Bistra Gospodinova | – | 1:05.23 (5) | – (–) | |||
| Breaststroke | – | Tanya Dangalakova | – | 1:09.31 (1) | 2:14.54 (2) | |||
| Butterfly | – | Nevyana Miteva | – | 1:02.82 (3) | 3:17.36 (2) | |||
| Freestyle | – | Natasha Hristova | – | 57.86 (4) | – (–) | |||
| 4 | 6 | Sweden | SWE | 4:17.72 | – (–) | – (–) | ||
| Backstroke | – | Johanna Larsson | – | 1:05.10 (4) | – (–) | |||
| Breaststroke | – | Anna-Karin Persson | – | 1:12.40 (4) | 2:17.50 (4) | |||
| Butterfly | – | Agneta Eriksson | – | 1:02.95 (4) | 3:20.45 (4) | |||
| Freestyle | – | Eva Nyberg | – | 57.27 (3) | – (–) | |||
| 5 | 7 | Costa Rica | CRC | 4:31.75 | – (–) | – (–) | ||
| Backstroke | – | Sylvia Poll | – | 1:04.02 (3) | – (–) | |||
| Breaststroke | – | Sigrid Niehaus | – | 1:17.56 (5) | 2:21.58 (5) | |||
| Butterfly | – | Marcela Cuesta | – | 1:09.89 (5) | 3:31.47 (5) | |||
| Freestyle | – | Carolina Mauri | – | 1:00.28 (5) | – (–) | |||
| 2 | Denmark | DEN | – | – (–) | – (–) | |||
| Backstroke | – | Mette Jacobsen | – | – (–) | – (–) | |||
| Breaststroke | – | Pia Sørensen | – | – (–) | – (–) | |||
| Butterfly | – | Annette Moldrup Jørgensen | – | – (–) | – (–) | |||
| Freestyle | – | Gitta Jensen | – | – (–) | – (–) |
| Pos | Lane | Competitors | NOC | Time | Split | Exchange | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | United States | USA | 4:10.38 | – (–) | – (–) | ||
| Backstroke | – | Betsy Mitchell | – | 1:02.66 (1) | – (–) | |||
| Breaststroke | – | Tracey McFarlane | – | 1:10.33 (1) | 2:12.99 (1) | |||
| Butterfly | – | Mary T. Meagher | – | 1:01.64 (4) | 3:14.63 (1) | |||
| Freestyle | – | Dara Torres | – | 55.75 (2) | – (–) | |||
| 2 | 6 | Netherlands | NED | 4:11.82 | – (–) | – (–) | ||
| Backstroke | – | Jolanda de Rover | – | 1:04.03 (3) | – (–) | |||
| Breaststroke | – | Linda Moes | – | 1:10.74 (2) | 2:14.77 (2) | |||
| Butterfly | – | Conny van Bentum | – | 1:00.62 (2) | 3:15.39 (2) | |||
| Freestyle | – | Karin Brienesse | – | 56.43 (3) | – (–) | |||
| 3 | 5 | West Germany | FRG | 4:13.19 | – (–) | – (–) | ||
| Backstroke | – | Svenja Schlicht | – | 1:03.56 (2) | – (–) | |||
| Breaststroke | – | Britta Dahm | – | 1:12.56 (4) | 2:16.12 (3) | |||
| Butterfly | – | Gabi Reha | – | 1:01.54 (3) | 3:17.66 (3) | |||
| Freestyle | – | Marion Aizpors | – | 55.53 (1) | – (–) | |||
| 4 | 2 | Great Britain | GBR | 4:16.18 | – (–) | – (–) | ||
| Backstroke | – | Kathy Read | – | 1:04.86 (4) | – (–) | |||
| Breaststroke | – | Suki Brownsdon | – | 1:11.74 (3) | 2:16.60 (4) | |||
| Butterfly | – | Caroline Foot | – | 1:01.97 (5) | 3:18.57 (4) | |||
| Freestyle | – | Joanna Coull | – | 57.61 (5) | – (–) | |||
| 5 | 3 | France | FRA | 4:16.21 | – (–) | – (–) | ||
| Backstroke | – | Laurence Guillou | – | 1:05.28 (5) | – (–) | |||
| Breaststroke | – | Pascaline Louvrier | – | 1:13.72 (5) | 2:19.00 (5) | |||
| Butterfly | – | Catherine Plewinski | – | 59.86 (1) | 3:18.86 (5) | |||
| Freestyle | – | Jacqueline Delord | – | 57.35 (4) | – (–) | |||
| 6 | 1 | Republic of Korea | KOR | 4:28.90 | – (–) | – (–) | ||
| Backstroke | – | Hong Ji-Hui | – | 1:08.52 (6) | – (–) | |||
| Breaststroke | – | Park Seong-Won | – | 1:14.57 (6) | 2:23.09 (6) | |||
| Butterfly | – | Lee Hong-Mi | – | 1:05.73 (6) | 3:28.82 (6) | |||
| Freestyle | – | Han Yeong-Hui | – | 1:00.08 (6) | – (–) |
| Date | 24 September 1988 — 20:00 |
|---|
| Pos | Lane | Competitors | NOC | Time | Split | Exchange | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | East Germany | GDR | 4:03.74 | – (–) | – (–) | ||
| Backstroke | – | Kristin Otto | – | 1:01.03 (1) | – (–) | |||
| Breaststroke | – | Silke Hörner | – | 1:08.20 (3) | 2:09.23 (1) | |||
| Butterfly | – | Birte Weigang | – | 59.51 (1) | 3:08.74 (1) | |||
| Freestyle | – | Katrin Meißner | – | 55.00 (1) | – (–) | |||
| 2 | 5 | United States | USA | 4:07.90 | – (–) | – (–) | ||
| Backstroke | – | Beth Barr | – | 1:02.56 (2) | – (–) | |||
| Breaststroke | – | Tracey McFarlane | – | 1:10.22 (4) | 2:12.78 (3) | |||
| Butterfly | – | Janel Jorgensen | – | 59.84 (2) | 3:12.62 (2) | |||
| Freestyle | – | Mary Wayte | – | 55.28 (=2) | – (–) | |||
| 3 | 2 | Canada | CAN | 4:10.49 | – (–) | – (–) | ||
| Backstroke | – | Lori Melien | – | 1:04.25 (7) | – (–) | |||
| Breaststroke | – | Allison Higson | – | 1:08.15 (2) | 2:12.40 (2) | |||
| Butterfly | – | Jane Kerr | – | 1:01.78 (5) | 3:14.18 (3) | |||
| Freestyle | – | Andrea Nugent | – | 56.31 (4) | – (–) | |||
| 4 | 7 | Australia | AUS | 4:11.57 | – (–) | – (–) | ||
| Backstroke | – | Nicole Livingstone | – | 1:03.43 (3) | – (–) | |||
| Breaststroke | – | Lara Hooiveld | – | 1:10.49 (5) | 2:13.92 (5) | |||
| Butterfly | – | Fiona Alessandri | – | 1:00.87 (4) | 3:14.79 (4) | |||
| Freestyle | – | Karen Van Wirdum | – | 56.78 (=6) | – (–) | |||
| 5 | 3 | Netherlands | NED | 4:12.19 | – (–) | – (–) | ||
| Backstroke | – | Jolanda de Rover | – | 1:03.76 (5) | – (–) | |||
| Breaststroke | – | Linda Moes | – | 1:11.40 (7) | 2:15.16 (7) | |||
| Butterfly | – | Conny van Bentum | – | 1:00.30 (3) | 3:15.46 (5) | |||
| Freestyle | – | Karin Brienesse | – | 56.73 (5) | – (–) | |||
| 6 | 8 | Bulgaria | BUL | 4:12.36 | – (–) | – (–) | ||
| Backstroke | – | Bistra Gospodinova | – | 1:04.87 (8) | – (–) | |||
| Breaststroke | – | Tanya Dangalakova | – | 1:07.95 (1) | 2:12.82 (4) | |||
| Butterfly | – | Nevyana Miteva | – | 1:02.76 (8) | 3:15.58 (6) | |||
| Freestyle | – | Natasha Hristova | – | 56.78 (=6) | – (–) | |||
| 7 | 6 | West Germany | FRG | 4:12.89 | – (–) | – (–) | ||
| Backstroke | – | Svenja Schlicht | – | 1:03.46 (4) | – (–) | |||
| Breaststroke | – | Britta Dahm | – | 1:12.36 (8) | 2:15.82 (8) | |||
| Butterfly | – | Gabi Reha | – | 1:01.79 (6) | 3:17.61 (8) | |||
| Freestyle | – | Marion Aizpors | – | 55.28 (=2) | – (–) | |||
| 8 | 1 | Italy | ITA | 4:13.85 | – (–) | – (–) | ||
| Backstroke | – | Lorenza Vigarani | – | 1:03.96 (6) | – (–) | |||
| Breaststroke | – | Manuela Dalla Valle | – | 1:10.63 (6) | 2:14.59 (6) | |||
| Butterfly | – | Ilaria Tocchini | – | 1:01.93 (7) | 3:16.52 (7) | |||
| Freestyle | – | Silvia Persi | – | 57.33 (8) | – (–) |
