| | Event type

4 × 100 metres Relay, Women

Date	30 September – 1 October 1988
Status	Olympic
Location	Ol-lim-pik Ju-gyeong-gi-jang, Seoul Sports Complex, Seoul
Participants	81 from 19 countries

The GDR had been the top 4×100 relay team since the late 70s, but the US had defeated them at the 1987 World Championships. And in Seoul, they were led by 100/200 champion Florence Griffith Joyner and 1984 100 gold medalist Evelyn Ashford. They had formidable speed but could not match the superior baton work of the East Germans. In the final, Alice Brown put the US into a slight lead on the opener. But the GDR and the Soviet Union pulled ahead on the second leg. Griffith Joyner was chosen to run the final turn and she got to the final exchange two metres in front. But she and Ashford botched the pass, and the US was in third starting the final 100. Ashford was opposed by her long-time East German rival, Marlies Göhr, and she ran her down for the gold medal. The Soviet anchor, Nataliya Pomoshchnikova, actually took the lead after the final exchange but cramped slightly at 60 metres and had to hold on to finish third.

Pos	Number	Competitors	NOC	R1	SF	Final
1	–	United States	USA	42.39 (1 h3)	42.12 (1 h2)	41.98 (1)	Gold
		Alice Brown • Sheila Echols • Florence Griffith Joyner • Evelyn Ashford • Dannette Young • Jennifer Inniss (DNS) • Gwen Torrence (DNS)
2	–	East Germany	GDR	42.92 (1 h2)	42.23 (2 h1)	42.09 (2)	Silver
		Silke Möller • Kerstin Behrendt • Ingrid Lange • Marlies Göhr • Heike Drechsler (DNS) • Katrin Krabbe (DNS)
3	–	Soviet Union	URS	42.88 (1 h1)	42.01 (1 h1)	42.75 (3)	Bronze
		Lyudmila Kondratyeva • Galina Malchugina • Marina Zhirova • Nataliya Pomoshchnikova • Maia Azarashvili (DNS)
4	–	West Germany	FRG	42.99 (2 h1)	42.69 (2 h2)	42.76 (4)
		Sabine Richter • Ulrike Sarvari • Andrea Thomas • Ute Thimm • Silke Knoll (DNS)
5	–	Bulgaria	BUL	43.92 (4 h1)	43.07 (3 h2)	43.02 (5)
		Tsvetanka Ilieva • Valya Valova-Demireva • Nadezhda Georgieva • Yordanka Donkova • Aneliya Vechernikova (DNS) • Ginka Zagorcheva (DNS)
6	–	Poland	POL	43.98 (4 h3)	43.44 (4 h1)	43.93 (6)
		Joanna Smolarek • Jolanta Janota • Ewa Pisiewicz • Agnieszka Siwek • Jolanta Bartczak (DNS) • Agata Karczmarek (DNS)
7	–	France	FRA	43.43 (3 h1)	43.66 (4 h2)	44.02 (7)
		Françoise Leroux • Muriel Leroy • Laurence Bily • Patricia Girard • Marie-Christine Cazier-Balo • Marie-José Pérec (DNS)
3 h1 r2/3	–	Jamaica	JAM	43.50 (2 h2)	43.30 (3 h1)	– (DNS)
		Juliet Cuthbert • Grace Jackson • Merlene Ottey • Ethlyn Tate • Laurel Johnson • Vivienne Spence
5 h1 r2/3	–	Netherlands	NED	43.96 (3 h3)	43.48 (5 h1)	–
		Nelli Cooman • Marjan Olyslager • Gretha Tromp • Els Vader • Yvonne van Dorp (DNS)
5 h2 r2/3	–	Canada	CAN	43.92 (3 h2)	43.82 (5 h2)	–
		Angela Bailey • Angela Phipps • Angella Issajenko • Katie Anderson • Julie Rocheleau (DNS)
6 h1 r2/3	–	Great Britain	GBR	43.91 (2 h3)	43.50 (6 h1)	–
		Sallyanne Short • Bev Kinch • Simmone Jacobs • Paula Dunn • Helen Miles (DNS) • Janis Neilson (DNS)
6 h2 r2/3	–	Ghana	GHA	44.12 (5 h3)	44.30 (6 h2)	–
		Veronica Bawuah • Dinah Yankey • Mercy Addy • Martha Appiah • Grace Armah (DNS)
7 h1 r2/3	–	Italy	ITA	44.33 (5 h2)	43.97 (7 h1)	–
		Rita Angotzi • Rossella Tarolo • Daniela Ferrian • Marisa Masullo • Annalisa Gambelli (DNS) • Elena Martino (DNS)
7 h2 r2/3	–	People's Republic of China	CHN	44.29 (4 h2)	44.36 (7 h2)	–
		Zhang Xiaoqiong • Liu Shaomei • Xie Zhiling • Zhang Caihua • Liu Huajin (DNS) • Tian Yumei (DNS)
8 h1 r2/3	–	Greece	GRE	45.44 (6 h2)	45.74 (8 h1)	–
		Maria Tsoni • Voula Patoulidou • Katerina Koffa • Marina Skordi • Georgia Zouganeli
5 h1 r1/3	–	Colombia	COL	45.46 (5 h1)	– (DNS h2)	–
		Amparo Caicedo • Norfalia Carabalí • Olga Escalante • Ximena Restrepo • Elia Mera (DNS)
6 h1 r1/3	–	Chinese Taipei	TPE	46.21 (6 h1)	–	–
		Chang Feng-Hua • Chen Wen-Xing • Chen Ya-Li • Wang Shu-Hua • Hsu Huei-Ying (DNS) • Su Chun-Yueh (DNS)
6 h3 r1/3	–	Uganda	UGA	46.55 (6 h3)	–	–
		Oliver Acii • Grace Buzu • Farida Kyakutema • Ruth Kyalisima • Jane Ajilo (DNS)
7 h2 r1/3	–	Republic of Korea	KOR	45.83 (7 h2)	–	–
		Yun Mi-Gyeong • U Yang-Ja • Park Mi-Seon • Lee Yeong-Suk • Bang Sin-Hye (DNS) • Park Suk-Ja (DNS)

Round One

Date	30 September 1988
Format	Top four in each heat and next four fastest advanced to the semi-finals.

Pos	Team	NOC	Time (automatic)
1	United States	USA	42.39	Q
2	Soviet Union	URS	42.88	Q
3	East Germany	GDR	42.92	Q
4	West Germany	FRG	42.99	Q
5	France	FRA	43.43	Q
6	Jamaica	JAM	43.50	Q
7	Great Britain	GBR	43.91	Q
=8	Bulgaria	BUL	43.92	Q
=8	Canada	CAN	43.92	Q
10	Netherlands	NED	43.96	Q
11	Poland	POL	43.98	Q
12	Ghana	GHA	44.12	q
13	People's Republic of China	CHN	44.29	Q
14	Italy	ITA	44.33	q
15	Greece	GRE	45.44	q
16	Colombia	COL	45.46	q
17	Republic of Korea	KOR	45.83
18	Chinese Taipei	TPE	46.21
19	Uganda	UGA	46.55

Heat #1

Time	13:50

Pos	Lane	Competitors	NOC	Time (Automatic)	Split Time
1	–	Soviet Union	URS	42.88	–	Q
Lead-Off	525	Marina Zhirova		–	–
2nd Leg	528	Lyudmila Kondratyeva		–	–
3rd Leg	534	Galina Malchugina		–	–
Anchor	545	Nataliya Pomoshchnikova-Voronova		–	10.67
2	–	West Germany	FRG	42.99	–	Q
Lead-Off	196	Sabine Richter		–	–
2nd Leg	197	Ulrike Sarvari		–	–
3rd Leg	200	Ute Thimm		–	–
Anchor	201	Andrea Thomas		–	10.65
3	–	France	FRA	43.43	–	Q
Lead-Off	161	Laurence Bily		–	–
2nd Leg	163	Marie-Christine Cazier-Balo		–	–
3rd Leg	175	Françoise Leroux		–	–
Anchor	176	Muriel Leroy		–	10.74
4	–	Bulgaria	BUL	43.92	–	Q
Lead-Off	44	Valya Valova-Demireva		–	–
2nd Leg	46	Yordanka Donkova		–	–
3rd Leg	47	Nadezhda Georgieva		–	–
Anchor	49	Tsvetanka Ilieva		–	11.19
5	–	Colombia	COL	45.46	–	q
Lead-Off	120	Amparo Caicedo		–	–
2nd Leg	121	Norfalia Carabalí		–	–
3rd Leg	122	Olga Escalante		–	–
Anchor	124	Ximena Restrepo		–	11.49
6	–	Chinese Taipei	TPE	46.21	–
Lead-Off	495	Chang Feng-Hua		–	–
2nd Leg	496	Chen Wen-Xing		–	–
3rd Leg	497	Chen Ya-Li		–	–
Anchor	500	Wang Shu-Hua		–	11.63

Heat #2

Time	13:55

Pos	Lane	Competitors	NOC	Time (Automatic)	Split Time
1	–	East Germany	GDR	42.92	–	Q
Lead-Off	255	Kerstin Behrendt		–	–
2nd Leg	266	Marlies Oelsner-Göhr		–	–
3rd Leg	275	Ingrid Auerswald-Lange		–	–
Anchor	277	Silke Möller		–	10.72
2	–	Jamaica	JAM	43.50	–	Q
Lead-Off	372	Ethlyn Tate		–	–
2nd Leg	365	Grace Jackson-Small		–	–
3rd Leg	371	Vivienne Spence		–	–
Anchor	366	Laurel Johnson		–	10.72
3	–	Canada	CAN	43.92	–	Q
Lead-Off	60	Angela Bailey		–	–
2nd Leg	76	Angela Phipps		–	–
3rd Leg	70	Angella Taylor-Issajenko		–	–
Anchor	59	Katie Anderson		–	10.91
4	–	People's Republic of China	CHN	44.29	–	Q
Lead-Off	110	Zhang Xiaoqiong		–	–
2nd Leg	98	Liu Shaomei		–	–
3rd Leg	105	Xie Zhiling		–	–
Anchor	109	Zhang Caihua		–	10.96
5	–	Italy	ITA	44.33	–	q
Lead-Off	348	Rita Angotzi		–	–
2nd Leg	353	Daniela Ferrian		–	–
3rd Leg	358	Marisa Masullo		–	–
Anchor	360	Rossella Tarolo		–	10.79
6	–	Greece	GRE	45.44	–	q
Lead-Off	302	Maria Tsoni		–	–
2nd Leg	300	Voula Patoulidou		–	–
3rd Leg	304	Georgia Zouganeli		–	–
Anchor	301	Marina Skordi		–	11.38
7	–	Republic of Korea	KOR	45.83	–
Lead-Off	405	Yun Mi-Gyeong		–	–
2nd Leg	402	U Yang-Ja		–	–
3rd Leg	400	Park Mi-Seon		–	–
Anchor	396	Lee Yeong-Suk		–	10.94

Heat #3

Time	14:00

Pos	Lane	Competitors	NOC	Time (Automatic)	Split Time
1	–	United States	USA	42.39	–	Q
Lead-Off	556	Alice Brown		–	–
2nd Leg	565	Sheila Echols		–	–
3rd Leg	602	Dannette Young		–	–
Anchor	554	Evelyn Ashford		–	10.41
2	–	Great Britain	GBR	43.91	–	Q
Lead-Off	243	Sallyanne Short		–	–
2nd Leg	228	Bev Kinch		–	–
3rd Leg	224	Simmone Jacobs		–	–
Anchor	216	Paula Dunn		–	10.75
3	–	Netherlands	NED	43.96	–	Q
Lead-Off	317	Nelli Fiere-Cooman		–	–
2nd Leg	320	Gretha Tromp		–	–
3rd Leg	319	Marjan Olyslager		–	–
Anchor	321	Els Vader		–	10.86
4	–	Poland	POL	43.98	–	Q
Lead-Off	448	Jolanta Janota		–	–
2nd Leg	453	Ewa Pisiewicz		–	–
3rd Leg	454	Agnieszka Siwek		–	–
Anchor	455	Joanna Smolarek		–	10.52
5	–	Ghana	GHA	44.12	–	q
Lead-Off	296	Veronica Bawuah		–	–
2nd Leg	297	Dinah Yankey		–	–
3rd Leg	293	Mercy Addy		–	–
Anchor	294	Martha Appiah		–	10.55
6	–	Uganda	UGA	46.55	–
Lead-Off	503	Oliver Acii		–	–
2nd Leg	505	Grace Buzu		–	–
3rd Leg	506	Farida Kyakutema		–	–
Anchor	507	Ruth Kyalisima		–	11.05

Semi-Finals

Date	1 October 1988
Format	Top four in each heat advanced to the final.

Pos	Team	NOC	Time (automatic)
1	Soviet Union	URS	42.01	Q
2	United States	USA	42.12	Q
3	East Germany	GDR	42.23	Q
4	West Germany	FRG	42.69	Q
5	Bulgaria	BUL	43.07	Q
6	Jamaica	JAM	43.30	Q
7	Poland	POL	43.44	Q
8	Netherlands	NED	43.48
9	Great Britain	GBR	43.50
10	France	FRA	43.66	Q
11	Canada	CAN	43.82
12	Italy	ITA	43.97
13	Ghana	GHA	44.30
14	People's Republic of China	CHN	44.36
15	Greece	GRE	45.74
DNS	Colombia	COL	–

Heat #1

Time	12:15

Pos	Lane	Competitors	NOC	Time (Automatic)	Split Time
1	–	Soviet Union	URS	42.01	–	Q
Lead-Off	528	Lyudmila Kondratyeva		–	–
2nd Leg	534	Galina Malchugina		–	–
3rd Leg	525	Marina Zhirova		–	–
Anchor	545	Nataliya Pomoshchnikova-Voronova		–	10.30
2	–	East Germany	GDR	42.23	–	Q
Lead-Off	277	Silke Möller		–	–
2nd Leg	255	Kerstin Behrendt		–	–
3rd Leg	275	Ingrid Auerswald-Lange		–	–
Anchor	266	Marlies Oelsner-Göhr		–	10.36
3	–	Jamaica	JAM	43.30	–	Q
Lead-Off	372	Ethlyn Tate		–	–
2nd Leg	365	Grace Jackson-Small		–	–
3rd Leg	364	Juliet Cuthbert		–	–
Anchor	367	Merlene Ottey-Page		–	10.85
4	–	Poland	POL	43.44	–	Q
Lead-Off	455	Joanna Smolarek		–	–
2nd Leg	448	Jolanta Janota		–	–
3rd Leg	453	Ewa Pisiewicz		–	–
Anchor	454	Agnieszka Siwek		–	10.53
5	–	Netherlands	NED	43.48	–
Lead-Off	317	Nelli Fiere-Cooman		–	–
2nd Leg	320	Gretha Tromp		–	–
3rd Leg	319	Marjan Olyslager		–	–
Anchor	321	Els Vader		–	10.58
6	–	Great Britain	GBR	43.50	–
Lead-Off	243	Sallyanne Short		–	–
2nd Leg	228	Bev Kinch		–	–
3rd Leg	224	Simmone Jacobs		–	–
Anchor	216	Paula Dunn		–	10.39
7	–	Italy	ITA	43.97	–
Lead-Off	348	Rita Angotzi		–	–
2nd Leg	360	Rossella Tarolo		–	–
3rd Leg	353	Daniela Ferrian		–	–
Anchor	358	Marisa Masullo		–	10.63
8	–	Greece	GRE	45.74	–
Lead-Off	302	Maria Tsoni		–	–
2nd Leg	300	Voula Patoulidou		–	–
3rd Leg	299	Katerina Koffa		–	–
Anchor	301	Marina Skordi		–	11.04

Heat #2

Time	12:20

Pos	Lane	Competitors	NOC	Time (Automatic)	Split Time
1	–	United States	USA	42.12	–	Q
Lead-Off	556	Alice Brown		–	–
2nd Leg	565	Sheila Echols		–	–
3rd Leg	569	Florence Griffith Joyner		–	–
Anchor	554	Evelyn Ashford		–	10.01
2	–	West Germany	FRG	42.69	–	Q
Lead-Off	196	Sabine Richter		–	–
2nd Leg	197	Ulrike Sarvari		–	–
3rd Leg	201	Andrea Thomas		–	–
Anchor	200	Ute Thimm		–	10.53
3	–	Bulgaria	BUL	43.07	–	Q
Lead-Off	49	Tsvetanka Ilieva		–	–
2nd Leg	44	Valya Valova-Demireva		–	–
3rd Leg	47	Nadezhda Georgieva		–	–
Anchor	46	Yordanka Donkova		–	10.53
4	–	France	FRA	43.66	–	Q
Lead-Off	175	Françoise Leroux		–	–
2nd Leg	176	Muriel Leroy		–	–
3rd Leg	161	Laurence Bily		–	–
Anchor	172	Patricia Girard-Léno		–	10.59
5	–	Canada	CAN	43.82	–
Lead-Off	60	Angela Bailey		–	–
2nd Leg	76	Angela Phipps		–	–
3rd Leg	70	Angella Taylor-Issajenko		–	–
Anchor	59	Katie Anderson		–	10.86
6	–	Ghana	GHA	44.30	–
Lead-Off	296	Veronica Bawuah		–	–
2nd Leg	297	Dinah Yankey		–	–
3rd Leg	293	Mercy Addy		–	–
Anchor	294	Martha Appiah		–	10.57
7	–	People's Republic of China	CHN	44.36	–
Lead-Off	110	Zhang Xiaoqiong		–	–
2nd Leg	98	Liu Shaomei		–	–
3rd Leg	105	Xie Zhiling		–	–
Anchor	109	Zhang Caihua		–	10.87
DNS	–	Colombia	COL	–	–
	120	Amparo Caicedo DNS		–	–
	121	Norfalia Carabalí DNS		–	–
	122	Olga Escalante DNS		–	–
	124	Ximena Restrepo DNS		–	–

Final Round

Date	1 October 1988 — 13:55

Pos	Lane	Competitors	NOC	Time (Automatic)	Split Time
1	–	United States	USA	41.98	–
Lead-Off	556	Alice Brown		–	–
2nd Leg	565	Sheila Echols		–	–
3rd Leg	569	Florence Griffith Joyner		–	–
Anchor	554	Evelyn Ashford		–	10.06
2	–	East Germany	GDR	42.09	–
	277	Silke Möller		–	–
	255	Kerstin Behrendt		–	–
3rd Leg	275	Ingrid Auerswald-Lange		–	–
Anchor	266	Marlies Oelsner-Göhr		–	10.26
3	–	Soviet Union	URS	42.75	–
Lead-Off	528	Lyudmila Kondratyeva		–	–
2nd Leg	534	Galina Malchugina		–	–
3rd Leg	525	Marina Zhirova		–	–
Anchor	545	Nataliya Pomoshchnikova-Voronova		–	10.75
4	–	West Germany	FRG	42.76	–
Lead-Off	196	Sabine Richter		–	–
2nd Leg	197	Ulrike Sarvari		–	–
3rd Leg	201	Andrea Thomas		–	–
Anchor	200	Ute Thimm		–	10.42
5	–	Bulgaria	BUL	43.02	–
Lead-Off	49	Tsvetanka Ilieva		–	–
2nd Leg	44	Valya Valova-Demireva		–	–
3rd Leg	47	Nadezhda Georgieva		–	–
Anchor	46	Yordanka Donkova		–	10.26
6	–	Poland	POL	43.93	–
Lead-Off	455	Joanna Smolarek		–	–
2nd Leg	448	Jolanta Janota		–	–
3rd Leg	453	Ewa Pisiewicz		–	–
Anchor	454	Agnieszka Siwek		–	10.70
7	–	France	FRA	44.02	–
Lead-Off	175	Françoise Leroux		–	–
2nd Leg	176	Muriel Leroy		–	–
3rd Leg	161	Laurence Bily		–	–
Anchor	172	Patricia Girard-Léno		–	10.48
DNS	–	Jamaica	JAM	–	–
	364	Juliet Cuthbert DNS		–	–
	365	Grace Jackson-Small DNS		–	–
	367	Merlene Ottey-Page DNS		–	–
	372	Ethlyn Tate DNS		–	–