| Final | time | | 1. Sabine Busch |  GDR | 53.62s | | 2. Debbie Flintoff-King |  AUS | 54.19s | | 3. Cornelia Feuerbach-Ullrich | GDR | 54.31s | | 4. Sandra Farmer-Patrick |  JAM | 54.38s | | 5. Tuija Helander-Kuusisto |  FIN | 54.62s | | 6. Anna Ambraziene |  URS | 55.68s | | 7. Schowonda Williams |  USA | 55.86s | | 8. Judi Brown-King | USA | 56.10s |
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| Semi 1 | time | | 1. Sabine Busch | GDR | 54.41s | | 2. Sandra Farmer-Patrick | JAM | 54.68s | | 3. Tuija Helander-Kuusisto | FIN | 54.76s | | 4. Schowonda Williams | USA | 54.82s | | 5. Margarita Khromova-Ponomaryova | URS | 54.86s | | 6. LaTanya Sheffield | USA | 56.65s | | 7. Rose Tata-Muya |  KEN | 57.65s | | -. Usifo Maria |  NGR | DNS |
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| Semi 2 | time | | 1. Cornelia Feuerbach-Ullrich | GDR | 54.72s | | 2. Debbie Flintoff-King | AUS | 55.08s | | 3. Anna Ambraziene | URS | 55.47s | | 4. Judi Brown-King | USA | 55.55s | | 5. Gudrun Abt |  FRG | 55.59s | | 6. P.T. Usha |  IND | 55.89s | | 7. Christina Wennberg |  SWE | 56.56s | | 8. Irmgard Trojer |  ITA | 57.86s |
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| Heat 1 | time | | 1. Sabine Busch | GDR | 55.51s | | 2. Anna Ambraziene | URS | 56.50s | | 3. Nawal El Moutawakil |  MAR | 57.21s | | 4. Jenny Laurendet | AUS | 57.41s | | 5. Barbara Johnson |  IRL | 58.72s | | 6. Tania Fernandez |  CUB | 58.78s | | 7. Mariam Zewde |  ETH | 1:00.57 |
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| Heat 2 | time | | 1. LaTanya Sheffield | USA | 55.93s | | 2. Debbie Flintoff-King | AUS | 56.31s | | 3. Christina Wennberg | SWE | 56.91s | | 4. Irmgard Trojer | ITA | 57.09s | | 5. Helene Huart |  FRA | 57.13s | | 6. Maria Joao Lopes |  POR | 58.86s | | 7. Semra Aksu |  TUR | 59.13s |
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| Heat 3 | time | | 1. Judi Brown-King | USA | 55.35s | | 2. Tuija Helander-Kuusisto | FIN | 55.42s | | 3. P.T. Usha | IND | 55.73s | | 4. Maria Usifo | NGR | 56.13s | | 5. Helga Halldorsdottir |  ISL | 57.82s | | 6. Marie Womplou |  CIV | 58.46s | | 7. Gerda Haas |  AUT | 58.65s |
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| Heat 4 | time | | 1. Margarita Khromova-Ponomaryova | URS | 55.21s | | 2. Schowonda Williams | USA | 55.53s | | 3. Gudrun Abt | FRG | 55.83s | | 4. Liliana Chala |  ECU | 58.39s | | 5. Gwen Wall |  CAN | 58.66s | | 6. Fialho Maria Do Carmo |  BRA | 58.93s | | -. Genowefa Blaszak |  POL | DQ |
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| Heat 5 | time | | 1. Cornelia Feuerbach-Ullrich | GDR | 56.75s | | 2. Sandra Farmer-Patrick | JAM | 56.76s | | 3. Rose Tata-Muya | KEN | 57.11s | | 4. Cristina Perez |  ESP | 57.23s | | 5. Erika Szopori |  HUN | 58.09s | | 6. Sally Flemming | AUS | 58.87s | | -. Fatimata Podie |  BKF | DQ |
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