| | Event type

800 metres Freestyle, Women

Date	22 – 24 October 1968
Status	Olympic
Location	Alberca Olímpica Francisco Márquez, Ciudad de México
Participants	26 from 16 countries

The 800 metre freestyle was a new event for women on the Olympic Program. At the US Olympic Trials Debbie Meyer had set world records in the 200, 400, and 800 metre freestyles. Better in the distances she had already set five world records in this event, five in the 400, and three in the non-Olympic 1,500 free. Having already won gold in Mexico City in the 200 and 400 free, the only question was not if she would win, but by how much? By 400 metres she led by 4½ body lengths, followed by Australian 14-year-old Karen Moras, her teammate Pam Kruse, and Mexican favorite María Teresa Ramírez. Meyer finished in 9:24.0 to win her third individual freestyle gold medal by 11+ seconds, with Kruse taking silver. Ramírez won bronze as Swimming World noted, “The natatorium went loco as Ramírez touched out Moras by a tenth.” Through 2008, Debbie Meyer remains the only Olympic swimmer to have won three individual freestyle gold medals at the same Olympic Games.

Pos	Number	Competitor	NOC	R1	Final
1	15392	Debbie Meyer	USA	9:42.8 (1 h1)	9:24.0 (1)	Gold
2	15391	Pam Kruse	USA	9:49.8 (1 h3)	9:35.7 (2)	Silver
3	18776	María Teresa Ramírez	MEX	9:46.4 (1 h5)	9:38.5 (3)	Bronze
4	13065	Karen Moras	AUS	9:38.3 (1 h2)	9:38.6 (4)
5	15379	Patty Caretto	USA	9:46.4 (2 h5)	9:51.3 (5)
6	13888	Angela Coughlan	CAN	10:00.2 (2 h1)	9:56.4 (6)
7	13061	Denise Langford	AUS	9:59.3 (2 h2)	9:56.7 (7)
8	18777	Laura Vaca	MEX	10:01.8 (3 h2)	10:02.5 (8)
9	13058	Christine Deakes	AUS	10:06.7 (1 h4)	–
10	20396	Elisabeth Morris	SWE	10:07.5 (2 h3)	–
11	23048	Sigrid Goral	GDR	10:09.3 (3 h1)	–
12	16691	Sue Williams	GBR	10:17.6 (3 h3)	–
13	–	Sabine Rantzsch	GDR	10:18.4 (4 h3)	–
14	16246	Marie-José Kersaudy	FRA	10:19.8 (2 h4)	–
15	17963	Novella Calligaris	ITA	10:21.0 (3 h4)	–
16	16251	Dominique Mollier	FRA	10:21.4 (3 h5)	–
17	16006	Marjatta Hara	FIN	10:23.3 (4 h5)	–
18	22933	Kristina Moir	PUR	10:24.5 (4 h1)	–
19	19365	Tui Shipston	NZL	10:28.0 (4 h2)	–
20	18780	Norma Amezcua	MEX	10:31.6 (5 h2)	–
21	15890	Helen Elliott	PHI	10:32.9 (5 h1)	–
22	13974	Olga de Ángulo	COL	10:40.5 (5 h5)	–
23	13972	Patricia Olano	COL	10:44.1 (4 h4)	–
24	21524	Mónica E. Figueroa	URU	10:57.7 (6 h2)	–
25	16863	Silvana Asturias	GUA	11:12.5 (5 h4)	–
26	21522	Lylián Castillo	URU	11:19.1 (5 h3)	–
DNS	–	Anna Ocsai Galsi	HUN	– (DNS h1)	–
DNS	20394	Ingrid Gustavsson	SWE	– (DNS h1)	–
DNS	–	Lorna Blake	PUR	– (DNS h2)	–
DNS	–	Vera Kock	SWE	– (DNS h3)	–
DNS	16702	Sally Davison	GBR	– (DNS h4)	–
DNS	16700	Sheila Clayton	GBR	– (DNS h5)	–
DNS	22935	Ana Marcial	PUR	– (DNS h5)	–

Round One

Date	22 October 1968 — 10:00
Format	Fastest eight advanced to the final.

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time
1	–	Karen Moras	AUS	9:38.3	QOR
2	–	Debbie Meyer	USA	9:42.8	QOR
=3	–	María Teresa Ramírez	MEX	9:46.4	Q
=3	–	Patty Caretto	USA	9:46.4	Q
5	–	Pam Kruse	USA	9:49.8	Q
6	–	Denise Langford	AUS	9:59.3	Q
7	–	Angela Coughlan	CAN	10:00.2	Q
8	–	Laura Vaca	MEX	10:01.8	Q
9	–	Christine Deakes	AUS	10:06.7
10	–	Elisabeth Morris	SWE	10:07.5
11	–	Sigrid Goral	GDR	10:09.3
12	–	Sue Williams	GBR	10:17.6
13	–	Sabine Rantzsch	GDR	10:18.4
14	–	Marie-José Kersaudy	FRA	10:19.8
15	–	Novella Calligaris	ITA	10:21.0
16	–	Dominique Mollier	FRA	10:21.4
17	–	Marjatta Hara	FIN	10:23.3
18	–	Kristina Moir	PUR	10:24.5
19	–	Tui Shipston	NZL	10:28.0
20	–	Norma Amezcua	MEX	10:31.6
21	–	Helen Elliott	PHI	10:32.9
22	–	Olga de Ángulo	COL	10:40.5
23	–	Patricia Olano	COL	10:44.1
24	–	Mónica E. Figueroa	URU	10:57.7
25	–	Silvana Asturias	GUA	11:12.5
26	–	Lylián Castillo	URU	11:19.1
DNS	–	Anna Ocsai Galsi	HUN	–
DNS	–	Ingrid Gustavsson	SWE	–
DNS	–	Lorna Blake	PUR	–
DNS	–	Vera Kock	SWE	–
DNS	–	Sally Davison	GBR	–
DNS	–	Sheila Clayton	GBR	–
DNS	–	Ana Marcial	PUR	–

Heat #1

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time	100 m	200 m	300 m	400 m	500 m	600 m	700 m	100-200 m Time (Rank)	200-300 m Time (Rank)	300-400 m Time (Rank)	400-500 m Time (Rank)	500-600 m Time (Rank)	600-700 m Time (Rank)	700-800 m Time (Rank)
1	–	Debbie Meyer	USA	9:42.8	1:08.2 (1)	2:21.6 (1)	3:35.2 (1)	4:49.3 (1)	6:03.3 (1)	7:16.9 (1)	8:30.8 (1)	1:13.4 (1)	1:13.6 (1)	1:14.1 (1)	1:14.0 (1)	1:13.6 (1)	1:13.9 (1)	1:12.0 (1)	QOR
2	–	Angela Coughlan	CAN	10:00.2	1:11.2 (2)	2:26.6 (2)	3:41.6 (2)	4:56.7 (2)	6:12.6 (2)	7:28.8 (2)	8:45.4 (2)	1:15.4 (2)	1:15.0 (2)	1:15.1 (2)	1:15.9 (2)	1:16.2 (2)	1:16.6 (2)	1:14.8 (2)	Q
3	–	Sigrid Goral	GDR	10:09.3	1:11.6 (3)	2:27.1 (3)	3:42.8 (3)	4:59.1 (3)	6:17.0 (3)	7:35.5 (3)	8:53.7 (3)	1:15.5 (3)	1:15.7 (3)	1:16.3 (3)	1:17.9 (3)	1:18.5 (3)	1:18.2 (3)	1:15.6 (3)
4	–	Kristina Moir	PUR	10:24.5	1:12.4 (4)	2:29.4 (4)	3:47.9 (4)	5:06.8 (4)	6:27.1 (4)	7:47.6 (4)	9:07.5 (4)	1:17.0 (4)	1:18.5 (4)	1:18.9 (4)	1:20.3 (4)	1:20.5 (=4)	1:19.9 (4)	1:17.0 (4)
5	–	Helen Elliott	PHI	10:32.9	1:14.0 (5)	2:33.0 (5)	3:52.0 (5)	5:11.8 (5)	6:32.5 (5)	7:53.0 (5)	9:14.1 (5)	1:19.0 (5)	1:19.0 (5)	1:19.8 (5)	1:20.7 (5)	1:20.5 (=4)	1:21.1 (5)	1:18.8 (5)
DNS	–	Anna Ocsai Galsi	HUN	–	– (–)	– (–)	– (–)	– (–)	– (–)	– (–)	– (–)	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
DNS	–	Ingrid Gustavsson	SWE	–	– (–)	– (–)	– (–)	– (–)	– (–)	– (–)	– (–)	–	–	–	–	–	–	–

Heat #2

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time	100 m	200 m	300 m	400 m	500 m	600 m	700 m	100-200 m Time (Rank)	200-300 m Time (Rank)	300-400 m Time (Rank)	400-500 m Time (Rank)	500-600 m Time (Rank)	600-700 m Time (Rank)	700-800 m Time (Rank)
1	–	Karen Moras	AUS	9:38.3	1:09.7 (1)	2:22.0 (1)	3:35.1 (1)	4:47.8 (1)	6:00.8 (1)	7:13.8 (1)	8:27.1 (1)	1:12.3 (1)	1:13.1 (1)	1:12.7 (1)	1:13.0 (1)	1:13.0 (1)	1:13.3 (1)	1:11.2 (1)	QOR
2	–	Denise Langford	AUS	9:59.3	1:10.5 (3)	2:24.7 (3)	3:39.7 (2)	4:55.5 (2)	6:10.9 (2)	7:27.6 (2)	8:44.6 (2)	1:14.2 (2)	1:15.0 (2)	1:15.8 (2)	1:15.4 (2)	1:16.7 (2)	1:17.0 (2)	1:14.7 (2)	Q
3	–	Laura Vaca	MEX	10:01.8	1:09.9 (2)	2:24.6 (2)	3:40.0 (3)	4:56.0 (3)	6:12.3 (3)	7:29.4 (3)	8:46.5 (3)	1:14.7 (3)	1:15.4 (3)	1:16.0 (3)	1:16.3 (3)	1:17.1 (3)	1:17.1 (3)	1:15.3 (3)	Q
4	–	Tui Shipston	NZL	10:28.0	1:10.9 (4)	2:26.0 (4)	3:42.9 (4)	5:02.4 (4)	6:23.4 (4)	7:45.6 (4)	9:07.6 (4)	1:15.1 (4)	1:16.9 (4)	1:19.5 (4)	1:21.0 (4)	1:22.2 (5)	1:22.0 (5)	1:20.4 (6)
5	–	Norma Amezcua	MEX	10:31.6	1:11.6 (5)	2:29.1 (5)	3:48.4 (5)	5:08.7 (5)	6:30.1 (5)	7:51.4 (5)	9:12.6 (5)	1:17.5 (5)	1:19.3 (5)	1:20.3 (5)	1:21.4 (5)	1:21.3 (4)	1:21.2 (4)	1:19.0 (4)
6	–	Mónica E. Figueroa	URU	10:57.7	1:17.4 (6)	2:39.6 (6)	4:03.4 (6)	5:26.7 (6)	6:50.5 (6)	8:14.2 (6)	9:37.7 (6)	1:22.2 (6)	1:23.8 (6)	1:23.3 (6)	1:23.8 (6)	1:23.7 (6)	1:23.5 (6)	1:20.0 (5)
DNS	–	Lorna Blake	PUR	–	– (–)	– (–)	– (–)	– (–)	– (–)	– (–)	– (–)	–	–	–	–	–	–	–

Heat #3

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time	100 m	200 m	300 m	400 m	500 m	600 m	700 m	100-200 m Time (Rank)	200-300 m Time (Rank)	300-400 m Time (Rank)	400-500 m Time (Rank)	500-600 m Time (Rank)	600-700 m Time (Rank)	700-800 m Time (Rank)
1	–	Pam Kruse	USA	9:49.8	1:10.9 (1)	2:26.2 (1)	3:41.6 (1)	4:57.2 (1)	6:11.0 (1)	7:23.9 (1)	8:37.6 (1)	1:15.3 (1)	1:15.4 (1)	1:15.6 (1)	1:13.8 (1)	1:12.9 (1)	1:13.7 (1)	1:12.2 (1)	Q
2	–	Elisabeth Morris	SWE	10:07.5	1:12.4 (2)	2:28.5 (2)	3:44.9 (2)	5:02.1 (2)	6:19.1 (2)	7:36.0 (2)	8:52.5 (2)	1:16.1 (2)	1:16.4 (2)	1:17.2 (2)	1:17.0 (2)	1:16.9 (2)	1:16.5 (2)	1:15.0 (3)
3	–	Sue Williams	GBR	10:17.6	1:13.0 (3)	2:30.9 (4)	3:48.9 (4)	5:06.6 (4)	6:25.4 (4)	7:44.5 (4)	9:03.3 (4)	1:17.9 (4)	1:18.0 (4)	1:17.7 (4)	1:18.8 (4)	1:19.1 (4)	1:18.8 (3)	1:14.3 (2)
4	–	Sabine Rantzsch	GDR	10:18.4	1:13.2 (4)	2:30.6 (3)	3:48.3 (3)	5:05.8 (3)	6:23.7 (3)	7:42.2 (3)	9:01.2 (3)	1:17.4 (3)	1:17.7 (3)	1:17.5 (3)	1:17.9 (3)	1:18.5 (3)	1:19.0 (4)	1:17.2 (4)
5	–	Lylián Castillo	URU	11:19.1	1:16.4 (5)	2:41.7 (5)	4:08.6 (5)	5:35.1 (5)	7:02.2 (5)	8:27.9 (5)	9:53.9 (5)	1:25.3 (5)	1:26.9 (5)	1:26.5 (5)	1:27.1 (5)	1:25.7 (5)	1:26.0 (5)	1:25.2 (5)
DNS	–	Vera Kock	SWE	–	– (–)	– (–)	– (–)	– (–)	– (–)	– (–)	– (–)	–	–	–	–	–	–	–

Heat #4

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time	100 m	200 m	300 m	400 m	500 m	600 m	700 m	100-200 m Time (Rank)	200-300 m Time (Rank)	300-400 m Time (Rank)	400-500 m Time (Rank)	500-600 m Time (Rank)	600-700 m Time (Rank)	700-800 m Time (Rank)
1	–	Christine Deakes	AUS	10:06.7	1:10.6 (1)	2:25.3 (5)	3:39.4 (1)	4:54.6 (1)	6:11.4 (1)	7:29.9 (1)	8:48.5 (1)	1:14.7 (5)	1:14.1 (1)	1:15.2 (1)	1:16.8 (1)	1:18.5 (1)	1:18.6 (=1)	1:18.2 (3)
2	–	Marie-José Kersaudy	FRA	10:19.8	1:12.1 (2)	2:27.6 (1)	3:43.2 (2)	5:02.0 (2)	6:21.0 (2)	7:41.7 (2)	9:02.5 (2)	1:15.5 (1)	1:15.6 (2)	1:18.8 (2)	1:19.0 (2)	1:20.7 (3)	1:20.8 (3)	1:17.3 (2)
3	–	Novella Calligaris	ITA	10:21.0	1:12.4 (3)	2:28.7 (2)	3:47.4 (3)	5:07.7 (3)	6:27.1 (3)	7:46.9 (3)	9:05.5 (3)	1:16.3 (2)	1:18.7 (3)	1:20.3 (3)	1:19.4 (3)	1:19.8 (2)	1:18.6 (=1)	1:15.5 (1)
4	–	Patricia Olano	COL	10:44.1	1:13.5 (4)	2:32.3 (3)	3:52.6 (4)	5:13.4 (4)	6:36.5 (4)	7:59.3 (4)	9:23.7 (4)	1:18.8 (3)	1:20.3 (4)	1:20.8 (4)	1:23.1 (4)	1:22.8 (4)	1:24.4 (4)	1:20.4 (4)
5	–	Silvana Asturias	GUA	11:12.5	1:17.6 (5)	2:39.9 (4)	4:03.0 (5)	5:27.5 (5)	6:52.9 (5)	8:19.9 (5)	9:47.4 (5)	1:22.3 (4)	1:23.1 (5)	1:24.5 (5)	1:25.4 (5)	1:27.0 (5)	1:27.5 (5)	1:25.1 (5)
DNS	–	Sally Davison	GBR	–	– (–)	– (–)	– (–)	– (–)	– (–)	– (–)	– (–)	–	–	–	–	–	–	–

Heat #5

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time	100 m	200 m	300 m	400 m	500 m	600 m	700 m	100-200 m Time (Rank)	200-300 m Time (Rank)	300-400 m Time (Rank)	400-500 m Time (Rank)	500-600 m Time (Rank)	600-700 m Time (Rank)	700-800 m Time (Rank)
1	–	María Teresa Ramírez	MEX	9:46.4	1:09.8 (2)	2:22.3 (2)	3:35.8 (=1)	4:49.2 (1)	6:04.0 (1)	7:19.5 (2)	8:34.5 (2)	1:12.5 (1)	1:13.5 (1)	1:13.4 (1)	1:14.8 (2)	1:15.5 (2)	1:15.0 (2)	1:11.9 (1)	Q
2	–	Patty Caretto	USA	9:46.4	1:09.1 (1)	2:22.0 (1)	3:35.8 (=1)	4:49.9 (2)	6:04.1 (2)	7:19.0 (1)	8:33.9 (1)	1:12.9 (2)	1:13.8 (2)	1:14.1 (2)	1:14.2 (1)	1:14.9 (1)	1:14.9 (1)	1:12.5 (3)	Q
3	–	Dominique Mollier	FRA	10:21.4	1:12.5 (4)	2:30.0 (4)	3:48.9 (4)	5:09.0 (4)	6:29.1 (4)	7:49.4 (4)	9:09.3 (4)	1:17.5 (4)	1:18.9 (4)	1:20.1 (4)	1:20.1 (3)	1:20.3 (3)	1:19.9 (3)	1:12.1 (2)
4	–	Marjatta Hara	FIN	10:23.3	1:11.3 (3)	2:27.6 (3)	3:45.1 (3)	5:04.5 (3)	6:24.7 (3)	7:45.1 (3)	9:05.8 (3)	1:16.3 (3)	1:17.5 (3)	1:19.4 (3)	1:20.2 (4)	1:20.4 (4)	1:20.7 (4)	1:17.5 (4)
5	–	Olga de Ángulo	COL	10:40.5	1:15.7 (5)	2:36.8 (5)	3:56.6 (5)	5:17.6 (5)	6:38.9 (5)	7:59.9 (5)	9:22.1 (5)	1:21.1 (5)	1:19.8 (5)	1:21.0 (5)	1:21.3 (5)	1:21.0 (5)	1:22.2 (5)	1:18.4 (5)
DNS	–	Sheila Clayton	GBR	–	– (–)	– (–)	– (–)	– (–)	– (–)	– (–)	– (–)	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
DNS	–	Ana Marcial	PUR	–	– (–)	– (–)	– (–)	– (–)	– (–)	– (–)	– (–)	–	–	–	–	–	–	–

Final Round

Date	24 October 1968 — 17:00

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time	100 m	200 m	300 m	400 m	500 m	600 m	700 m	100-200 m Time (Rank)	200-300 m Time (Rank)	300-400 m Time (Rank)	400-500 m Time (Rank)	500-600 m Time (Rank)	600-700 m Time (Rank)	700-800 m Time (Rank)
1	–	Debbie Meyer	USA	9:24.0	1:05.8 (1)	2:15.9 (1)	3:27.0 (1)	4:38.6 (1)	5:50.1 (1)	7:02.3 (1)	8:14.6 (1)	1:10.1 (1)	1:11.1 (1)	1:11.6 (1)	1:11.5 (2)	1:12.2 (1)	1:12.3 (1)	1:09.4 (1)	OR
2	–	Pam Kruse	USA	9:35.7	1:08.5 (6)	2:20.1 (5)	3:32.6 (4)	4:45.1 (2)	5:57.6 (2)	7:10.3 (2)	8:23.9 (2)	1:11.6 (3)	1:12.5 (2)	1:12.5 (2)	1:12.5 (3)	1:12.7 (2)	1:13.6 (2)	1:11.8 (4)
3	–	María Teresa Ramírez	MEX	9:38.5	1:07.4 (3)	2:19.3 (3)	3:32.2 (3)	4:45.8 (3)	5:59.3 (4)	7:13.2 (4)	8:27.2 (4)	1:11.9 (4)	1:12.9 (3)	1:13.6 (3)	1:13.5 (4)	1:13.9 (3)	1:14.0 (3)	1:11.3 (2)
4	–	Karen Moras	AUS	9:38.6	1:07.0 (2)	2:18.5 (2)	3:31.5 (2)	4:49.9 (5)	5:58.9 (3)	7:13.0 (3)	8:27.1 (3)	1:11.5 (2)	1:13.0 (4)	1:18.4 (8)	1:09.0 (1)	1:14.1 (4)	1:14.1 (4)	1:11.5 (3)
5	–	Patty Caretto	USA	9:51.3	1:07.7 (4)	2:20.0 (4)	3:33.4 (5)	4:48.0 (4)	6:03.1 (5)	7:19.5 (5)	8:35.9 (5)	1:12.3 (5)	1:13.4 (5)	1:14.6 (4)	1:15.1 (5)	1:16.4 (5)	1:16.4 (6)	1:15.4 (6)
6	–	Angela Coughlan	CAN	9:56.4	1:08.0 (5)	2:20.6 (6)	3:34.9 (6)	4:51.1 (6)	6:07.7 (6)	7:24.2 (6)	8:40.8 (6)	1:12.6 (6)	1:14.3 (6)	1:16.2 (=6)	1:16.6 (8)	1:16.5 (=6)	1:16.6 (7)	1:15.6 (7)
7	–	Denise Langford	AUS	9:56.7	1:09.1 (7)	2:22.5 (7)	3:37.0 (7)	4:52.5 (7)	6:08.3 (7)	7:24.8 (7)	8:41.0 (7)	1:13.4 (7)	1:14.5 (7)	1:15.5 (5)	1:15.8 (6)	1:16.5 (=6)	1:16.2 (5)	1:15.7 (8)
8	–	Laura Vaca	MEX	10:02.5	1:10.1 (8)	2:25.2 (8)	3:41.2 (8)	4:57.4 (8)	6:13.8 (8)	7:30.4 (8)	8:47.2 (8)	1:15.1 (8)	1:16.0 (8)	1:16.2 (=6)	1:16.4 (7)	1:16.6 (8)	1:16.8 (8)	1:15.3 (5)