| | Event type

200 metres Freestyle, Women

Date	20 – 21 September 1988
Status	Olympic
Location	Su-yeong-jang, Ol-lim-pik Gong-won, Seoul
Participants	44 from 29 countries

East German Heike Friedrich was the prohibitive favorite. She had won the 1986 World Championships in the current world record of 1:57.55, and was also 1987 European Champion. The only suspense seemed to be how big her margin would be and if she could better her record. The final was led early by the defending champion, American Mary Wayte, trailed by her teammate, Mitzi Kremer. But Friedrich took control on the third lap, winning in 1:57.65, just off her world mark, with Silvia Poll placing second, which was the first Olympic medal ever won by a Costa Rican athlete. In 1996, her sister, Claudia Poll, would win this event for the first gold medal ever for Costa Rica. The bronze medal went to Friedrich’s teammate, Manuela Stellmach. The Americans fell back on the final laps, with Wayte placing fourth and Kremer sixth.

Pos	Swimmer	NOC	R1	B Final	Final
1	Heike Friedrich	GDR	1:59.02 (1 h6)	–	1:57.65 (1)	Gold
2	Sylvia Poll	CRC	1:59.22 (1 h5)	–	1:58.67 (2)	Silver
3	Manuela Stellmach	GDR	2:00.30 (2 h5)	–	1:59.01 (3)	Bronze
4	Mary Wayte	USA	1:59.50 (2 h6)	–	1:59.04 (4)
5	Nataliya Trefilova	URS	2:00.54 (1 h4)	–	1:59.24 (5)
6	Mitzi Kremer	USA	2:01.45 (2 h4)	–	2:00.23 (6)
7	Stephanie Ortwig	FRG	2:00.66 (3 h5)	–	2:00.73 (7)
8	Cécile Prunier	FRA	2:01.60 (4 h5)	–	2:02.88 (8)
9	Patricia Noall	CAN	2:02.31 (4 h6)	2:00.77 (1)	–
10	Ruth Gilfillan	GBR	2:02.11 (4 h4)	2:01.66 (2)	–
11	Mette Jacobsen	DEN	2:01.80 (3 h4)	2:01.84 (3)	–
12	Luminița Dobrescu	ROU	2:01.93 (3 h6)	2:01.98 (4)	–
13	Stela Marian Pura	ROU	2:02.26 (5 h4)	2:02.30 (5)	–
14	Chikako Nakamori	JPN	2:01.76 (5 h5)	2:02.31 (6)	–
15	Birgit Lohberg-Schulz	FRG	2:02.77 (1 h1)	2:02.32 (7)	–
16	Zhuang Yong	CHN	2:02.40 (6 h5)	2:14.23 (8)	–
17	Diane van der Plaats	NED	2:03.02 (1 h3)	–	–
=18	Isabelle Arnould	BEL	2:03.32 (=5 h6)	–	–
=18	Suzanne Nilsson	SWE	2:03.32 (=5 h6)	–	–
20	Sheridan Burge-Lopez	AUS	2:03.42 (7 h5)	–	–
21	June Croft	GBR	2:03.63 (7 h6)	–	–
22	Karin Brienesse	NED	2:04.36 (6 h4)	–	–
23	Silvia Persi	ITA	2:04.40 (8 h5)	–	–
24	Annette Moldrup Jørgensen	DEN	2:04.71 (7 h4)	–	–
25	Patrícia Amorim	BRA	2:04.74 (2 h3)	–	–
26	Susie Baumer	AUS	2:04.82 (8 h4)	–	–
27	Nurul Huda Abdullah	MAS	2:04.85 (3 h3)	–	–
28	Jane Kerr	CAN	2:04.92 (8 h6)	–	–
29	Kaori Sasaki	JPN	2:06.18 (4 h3)	–	–
30	Senda Gharbi	TUN	2:06.60 (5 h3)	–	–
31	Karen Dieffenthaler	TTO	2:07.09 (6 h3)	–	–
32	Bryndís Ólafsdóttir	ISL	2:07.11 (1 h2)	–	–
33	Rita Garay	PUR	2:07.44 (7 h3)	–	–
34	Natasha Aguilar	CRC	2:10.22 (2 h2)	–	–
35	Patricia Kohlmann	MEX	2:10.36 (8 h3)	–	–
36	Fenella Ng	HKG	2:10.43 (3 h2)	–	–
37	Kim Eun-Jeong	KOR	2:10.85 (4 h2)	–	–
38	Chang Hui-Chien	TPE	2:11.50 (5 h2)	–	–
39	Park Ju-Ri	KOR	2:11.53 (6 h2)	–	–
40	Qian Hong	CHN	2:12.44 (7 h2)	–	–
41	Catherine Fogarty	ZIM	2:13.44 (2 h1)	–	–
42	Celeste Hung	HKG	2:13.61 (8 h2)	–	–
43	Angela Birch	FIJ	2:16.79 (3 h1)	–	–
44	Cina Munch	FIJ	2:18.45 (4 h1)	–	–
DNS	Nancy Khalaf	LBN	– (DNS h1)	–	–

Round One (20 September 1988 — 9:00)

Fastest eight advanced to the final. Places 9-16 advanced to the B Final.

Heat One

Pos	Lane	Swimmer	NOC	50 m	100 m	150 m	Time
1	2	Birgit Lohberg-Schulz	FRG	29.35 (1) 31.13 (1)	1:00.48 (1) 31.43 (1)	1:31.91 (1) 30.86 (1)	2:02.77	q
2	4	Catherine Fogarty	ZIM	31.04 (2) 33.45 (2)	1:04.49 (2) 34.72 (2)	1:39.21 (2) 34.23 (2)	2:13.44
3	3	Angela Birch	FIJ	31.16 (3) 34.56 (3)	1:05.72 (3) 35.96 (3)	1:41.68 (3) 35.11 (3)	2:16.79
4	5	Cina Munch	FIJ	31.68 (4) 34.72 (4)	1:06.40 (4) 36.11 (4)	1:42.51 (4) 35.94 (4)	2:18.45
DNS	6	Nancy Khalaf	LBN	– (–) –	– (–) –	– (–) –	–

Heat Two

Pos	Lane	Swimmer	NOC	50 m	100 m	150 m	Time
1	4	Bryndís Ólafsdóttir	ISL	30.19 (1) 32.57 (1)	1:02.76 (1) 32.71 (1)	1:35.47 (1) 31.64 (1)	2:07.11
2	1	Natasha Aguilar	CRC	30.32 (2) 32.85 (4)	1:03.17 (2) 33.38 (3)	1:36.55 (3) 33.67 (5)	2:10.22
3	3	Fenella Ng	HKG	30.51 (3) 32.72 (2)	1:03.23 (3) 33.12 (2)	1:36.35 (2) 34.08 (7)	2:10.43
4	8	Kim Eun-Jeong	KOR	30.71 (4) 33.09 (5)	1:03.80 (5) 33.69 (4)	1:37.49 (5) 33.36 (4)	2:10.85
5	2	Chang Hui-Chien	TPE	30.83 (5) 32.75 (3)	1:03.58 (4) 33.85 (=6)	1:37.43 (4) 34.07 (6)	2:11.50
6	7	Park Ju-Ri	KOR	31.10 (8) 33.59 (7)	1:04.69 (7) 33.78 (5)	1:38.47 (7) 33.06 (3)	2:11.53
7	5	Qian Hong	CHN	30.84 (6) 33.96 (8)	1:04.80 (8) 34.79 (8)	1:39.59 (8) 32.85 (2)	2:12.44
8	6	Celeste Hung	HKG	30.97 (7) 33.42 (6)	1:04.39 (6) 33.85 (=6)	1:38.24 (6) 35.37 (8)	2:13.61

Heat Three

Pos	Lane	Swimmer	NOC	50 m	100 m	150 m	Time
1	5	Diane van der Plaats	NED	28.67 (2) 30.17 (1)	58.84 (1) 32.58 (4)	1:31.42 (1) 31.60 (2)	2:03.02
2	4	Patrícia Amorim	BRA	29.73 (6) 31.54 (5)	1:01.27 (5) 31.68 (1)	1:32.95 (3) 31.79 (3)	2:04.74
3	2	Nurul Huda Abdullah	MAS	29.89 (7) 31.69 (6)	1:01.58 (6) 31.78 (2)	1:33.36 (=5) 31.49 (1)	2:04.85
4	3	Kaori Sasaki	JPN	28.44 (1) 31.49 (4)	59.93 (2) 32.86 (6)	1:32.79 (2) 33.39 (6)	2:06.18
5	6	Senda Gharbi	TUN	29.58 (4) 31.35 (3)	1:00.93 (4) 32.43 (3)	1:33.36 (=5) 33.24 (5)	2:06.60
6	8	Karen Dieffenthaler	TTO	29.26 (3) 31.34 (2)	1:00.60 (3) 32.71 (5)	1:33.31 (4) 33.78 (7)	2:07.09
7	7	Rita Garay	PUR	30.09 (8) 31.82 (7)	1:01.91 (7) 32.89 (7)	1:34.80 (7) 32.64 (4)	2:07.44
8	1	Patricia Kohlmann	MEX	29.60 (5) 32.65 (8)	1:02.25 (8) 34.07 (8)	1:36.32 (8) 34.04 (8)	2:10.36

Heat Four

Pos	Lane	Swimmer	NOC	50 m	100 m	150 m	Time
1	6	Nataliya Trefilova	URS	28.63 (3) 30.26 (1)	58.89 (=1) 31.39 (4)	1:30.28 (2) 30.26 (2)	2:00.54	Q
2	4	Mitzi Kremer	USA	28.57 (2) 30.32 (3)	58.89 (=1) 31.30 (2)	1:30.19 (1) 31.26 (4)	2:01.45	Q
3	7	Mette Jacobsen	DEN	29.26 (7) 31.14 (6)	1:00.40 (7) 31.33 (3)	1:31.73 (5) 30.07 (1)	2:01.80	q
4	1	Ruth Gilfillan	GBR	28.88 (4) 30.98 (4)	59.86 (5) 31.48 (5)	1:31.34 (4) 30.77 (3)	2:02.11	q
5	5	Stela Marian Pura	ROU	29.09 (6) 30.27 (2)	59.36 (3) 31.29 (1)	1:30.65 (3) 31.61 (5)	2:02.26	q
6	2	Karin Brienesse	NED	28.54 (1) 31.09 (5)	59.63 (4) 32.17 (7)	1:31.80 (6) 32.56 (8)	2:04.36
7	8	Annette Moldrup Jørgensen	DEN	29.57 (8) 31.18 (7)	1:00.75 (8) 31.80 (6)	1:32.55 (7) 32.16 (6)	2:04.71
8	3	Susie Baumer	AUS	28.99 (5) 31.22 (8)	1:00.21 (6) 32.43 (8)	1:32.64 (8) 32.18 (7)	2:04.82

Heat Five

Pos	Lane	Swimmer	NOC	50 m	100 m	150 m	Time
1	3	Sylvia Poll	CRC	28.19 (1) 30.41 (4)	58.60 (1) 30.15 (1)	1:28.75 (1) 30.47 (1)	1:59.22	Q
2	4	Manuela Stellmach	GDR	28.24 (2) 30.37 (2)	58.61 (2) 30.88 (2)	1:29.49 (2) 30.81 (=3)	2:00.30	Q
3	5	Stephanie Ortwig	FRG	28.43 (3) 30.31 (1)	58.74 (3) 31.26 (5)	1:30.00 (3) 30.66 (2)	2:00.66	Q
4	6	Cécile Prunier	FRA	28.92 (6) 30.40 (3)	59.32 (4) 31.14 (3)	1:30.46 (4) 31.14 (=5)	2:01.60	Q
5	1	Chikako Nakamori	JPN	28.97 (7) 30.50 (5)	59.47 (5) 31.15 (4)	1:30.62 (5) 31.14 (=5)	2:01.76	q
6	8	Zhuang Yong	CHN	28.74 (4) 31.21 (8)	59.95 (7) 31.64 (8)	1:31.59 (7) 30.81 (=3)	2:02.40	q
7	2	Sheridan Burge-Lopez	AUS	29.52 (8) 31.07 (7)	1:00.59 (8) 31.53 (=6)	1:32.12 (8) 31.30 (7)	2:03.42
8	7	Silvia Persi	ITA	28.86 (5) 31.05 (6)	59.91 (6) 31.53 (=6)	1:31.44 (6) 32.96 (8)	2:04.40

Heat Six

Pos	Lane	Swimmer	NOC	50 m	100 m	150 m	Time
1	4	Heike Friedrich	GDR	28.71 (3) 30.27 (1)	58.98 (2) 30.14 (1)	1:29.12 (1) 29.90 (2)	1:59.02	Q
2	5	Mary Wayte	USA	28.04 (1) 30.38 (2)	58.42 (1) 30.71 (2)	1:29.13 (2) 30.37 (3)	1:59.50	Q
3	3	Luminița Dobrescu	ROU	28.36 (2) 30.63 (3)	58.99 (3) 31.82 (7)	1:30.81 (3) 31.12 (5)	2:01.93	q
4	6	Patricia Noall	CAN	29.75 (8) 31.28 (6)	1:01.03 (8) 31.52 (=4)	1:32.55 (8) 29.76 (1)	2:02.31	q
=5	1	Isabelle Arnould	BEL	29.53 (7) 31.27 (5)	1:00.80 (6) 31.52 (=4)	1:32.32 (7) 31.00 (4)	2:03.32
=5	8	Suzanne Nilsson	SWE	29.35 (5) 30.88 (4)	1:00.23 (5) 31.53 (6)	1:31.76 (4) 31.56 (7)	2:03.32
7	7	June Croft	GBR	29.37 (6) 31.53 (8)	1:00.90 (7) 31.41 (3)	1:32.31 (6) 31.32 (6)	2:03.63
8	2	Jane Kerr	CAN	28.82 (4) 31.30 (7)	1:00.12 (4) 32.05 (8)	1:32.17 (5) 32.75 (8)	2:04.92

B Final (21 September 1988 — 12:00)

Pos	Lane	Swimmer	NOC	50 m	100 m	150 m	Time
1	7	Patricia Noall	CAN	29.32 (5) 30.91 (=4)	1:00.23 (5) 31.05 (1)	1:31.28 (4) 29.49 (1)	2:00.77
2	6	Ruth Gilfillan	GBR	29.12 (=2) 30.91 (=4)	1:00.03 (4) 31.30 (4)	1:31.33 (5) 30.33 (2)	2:01.66
3	5	Mette Jacobsen	DEN	29.44 (7) 30.88 (3)	1:00.32 (7) 31.08 (2)	1:31.40 (6) 30.44 (3)	2:01.84
4	3	Luminița Dobrescu	ROU	28.26 (1) 31.05 (7)	59.31 (1) 31.83 (7)	1:31.14 (1) 30.84 (4)	2:01.98
5	2	Stela Marian Pura	ROU	29.12 (=2) 30.69 (2)	59.81 (3) 31.39 (5)	1:31.20 (2) 31.10 (7)	2:02.30
6	4	Chikako Nakamori	JPN	29.19 (4) 30.53 (1)	59.72 (2) 31.55 (6)	1:31.27 (3) 31.04 (6)	2:02.31
7	8	Birgit Lohberg-Schulz	FRG	29.37 (6) 30.92 (6)	1:00.29 (6) 31.12 (3)	1:31.41 (7) 30.91 (5)	2:02.32
8	1	Zhuang Yong	CHN	29.59 (8) 33.78 (8)	1:03.37 (8) 35.93 (8)	1:39.30 (8) 34.93 (8)	2:14.23

Final (21 September 1988 — 12:00)

Pos	Lane	Swimmer	NOC	50 m	100 m	150 m	Time
1	4	Heike Friedrich	GDR	28.55 (6) 29.95 (2)	58.50 (3) 29.53 (1)	1:28.03 (1) 29.62 (1)	1:57.65	OR
2	5	Sylvia Poll	CRC	28.47 (=3) 30.31 (5)	58.78 (6) 29.68 (2)	1:28.46 (3) 30.21 (4)	1:58.67
3	6	Manuela Stellmach	GDR	28.51 (5) 30.09 (3)	58.60 (4) 30.36 (4)	1:28.96 (5) 30.05 (3)	1:59.01
4	3	Mary Wayte	USA	28.07 (1) 30.36 (7)	58.43 (2) 30.25 (3)	1:28.68 (4) 30.36 (5)	1:59.04
5	2	Nataliya Trefilova	URS	28.47 (=3) 30.14 (4)	58.61 (5) 30.90 (7)	1:29.51 (6) 29.73 (2)	1:59.24
6	1	Mitzi Kremer	USA	28.26 (2) 29.63 (1)	57.89 (1) 30.49 (5)	1:28.38 (2) 31.85 (8)	2:00.23
7	7	Stephanie Ortwig	FRG	28.94 (7) 30.33 (6)	59.27 (7) 30.71 (6)	1:29.98 (7) 30.75 (6)	2:00.73
8	8	Cécile Prunier	FRA	29.35 (8) 30.91 (8)	1:00.26 (8) 31.44 (8)	1:31.70 (8) 31.18 (7)	2:02.88