| Final 17:10 | time | electr | L | | 1. Irina Press |  Soviet Union | 10.8s | 10.93s | 3 | | 2. Carole Quinton |  Great Britain | 10.9s | 10.99s | 6 | | 3. Gisela Birkemeyer |  UT Germany | 11.0s | 11.13s | 4 | | 4. Mary Bignal | Great Britain | 11.1s | 11.22s | 5 | | 5. Galina Bystrova | Soviet Union | 11.2s | 11.26s | 2 | | 6. Rimma Koschelyova | Soviet Union | 11.2s | 11.28s | 1 |
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| | | Venue: Stadio Olimpico, Roma. 65,000. 28 competitors from 18 nations. |
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| World Record: 10.5s Gisela Birkemeyer, East Germany Leipzig, East UT Germany 24 July 1960 | | Olympic Record: 10.7s Shirley Strickland, Australia Melbourne, Australia November 28 |
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Semi-Finals - Wednesday 31.08 17:10 | | First 3 from each Semi advanced to Final. |
| Semi 1 | time | electr | | 1. Galina Bystrova | Soviet Union | 11.0s | 11.16s | | 2. Mary Bignal | Great Britain | 11.0s | 11.16s | | 3. Rimma Koschelyova | Soviet Union | 11.1s | 11.22s | | 4. Karin Richert | UT Germany | 11.1s | 11.27s | | 5. Norma Thrower |  Australia | 11.3s | 11.46s | | 6. Barbara Sosgórnik |  Poland | 11.3s | 11.44s |
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| Semi 2 | time | electr | | 1. Irina Press | Soviet Union | 10.6s | 10.77s | | 2. Gisela Birkemeyer | UT Germany | 10.9s | 11.01s | | 3. Carole Quinton | Great Britain | 11.0s | 11.07s | | 4. Zenta Kopp | UT Germany | 11.0s | 11.09s | | 5. Teresa Ciepły | Poland | 11.2s | 11.40s | | 6. Denise Laborie-Guénard |  France | 11.4s | 11.51s |
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Birkemeyer set a world record of 10.5 in July, but tied with Zentl Kopp
at the German Olympic trials, so that these two were bracketed with
Thrower, Kosheleva and Press as possible gold medal winners. Neither
Thrower nor Kopp could make it through the semi-finals, though Kopp
- fourth in the second semi - was faster with 11.10 than Bystrova, the
winner of the first race in 11.0 (11.16). Press, the younger sister of Shot
winner Tamara, won the semi-final in an Olympic record 10.6 (10.77)
from Birkemeyer (10.9/11.01) and Quinton (11.0/11.08). The Russian
had been the only runner to break 11.00 in the heats with 10.7 (10.91).
Press’s start in the final was decisive, as she was a half metre clear
by the first hurdle. Her nearest challenger was not Birkemeyer, but, sur-
prisingly, the tall Briton Quinton, who closed slightly in the last 20m of
the race to finish half a metre behind Press.
| Heat 1 | time | electr | | 1. Irina Press | Soviet Union | 10.7s | 10.91s | | 2. Carole Quinton | Great Britain | 10.9s | 11.07s | | 3. Draga Stamejčič |  Yugoslavia | 11.3s | 11.47s | | 4. Ulla-Britt Wieslander |  Sweden | 11.5s | 11.60s | | 5. Irene Robertson |  United States | 11.6s | 11.69s |
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| Heat 2 | time | electr | | 1. Mary Bignal | Great Britain | 11.2s | 11.40s | | 2. Norma Thrower | Australia | 11.4s | 11.54s | | 3. Snezhana Kerkova |  Bulgarien | 11.6s | 11.73s | | 4. Wanda dos Santos |  Brazil | 11.7s | 11.84s | | 5. Bertha Díaz |  Cuba | 11.7s | 11.83s |
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| Heat 3 | time | electr | | 1. Rimma Koschelyova | Soviet Union | 11.1s | 11.26s | | 2. Denise Laborie-Guénard | France | 11.2s | 11.37s | | 3. Alena Stolzová |  Czechoslovakia | 11.4s | 11.59s | | 4. Jo Ann Terry-Grissom | United States | 11.4s | 11.58s | | -. M. Bacskai |  Hungary | DNS | |
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| Heat 4 | time | electr | | 1. Gisela Birkemeyer | UT Germany | 11.2s | 11.31s | | 2. Barbara Sosgórnik | Poland | 11.4s | 11.56s | | 3. Pat Nutting | Great Britain | 11.5s | 11.65s | | 4. Sally McCallum |  Canada | 11.7s | 11.90s | | 5. Friedl Murauer |  Austria | 11.9s | 12.08s |
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| Heat 5 | time | electr | | 1. Karin Richert | UT Germany | 11.2s | 11.40s | | 2. Teresa Ciepły | Poland | 11.3s | 11.46s | | 3. Simone Brièrre | France | 11.6s | 11.75s | | 4. Gloria Wigney | Australia | 11.7s | 11.89s |
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| Heat 6 | time | electr | | 1. Zenta Kopp | UT Germany | 10.9s | 11.10s | | 2. Galina Bystrova | Soviet Union | 11.1s | 11.26s | | 3. Letizia Bertoni |  Italy | 11.4s | 11.54s | | 4. Shirley Crowder | United States | 12.3s | 12.43s | | 5. Chi Cheng |  Taiwan | 12.6s | 12.71s |
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