| Date | 22 – 23 October 1968 |
|---|---|
| Status | Olympic |
| Location | Alberca Olímpica Francisco Márquez, Ciudad de México |
| Participants | 31 from 20 countries |
American Catie Ball had set the last three world records, but she had struggled in the 100 breaststroke and was withdrawn after that race, as she had been sick her entire time in Mexico. That left the favorite’s role to Soviet Halyna Prozumenshchykova, the defending champion and the world record holder until Ball came along. In the end the medalists in this race were the same three that had won the medals in the 100 breaststroke four days before. But Sharon Wichman, bronze medalist in the 100, moved up to win the gold, with the 100 gold medalist, Yugoslavia’s Ðurđica Bjedov, placing second, and Prozumenshchikova finishing third. Prozu would again finish third at the 1972 Olympics, earning her third medal in this event.
| Pos | Number | Competitor | NOC | R1 | Final | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 15402 | Sharon Wichman |  USA | 2:46.8 (1 h2) | 2:44.4 (1) | Gold | ||
| 2 | – | Đurđica Bjedov |  YUG | 2:50.2 (3 h3) | 2:46.4 (2) | Silver | ||
| 3 | 21057 | Galina Prozumenshchikova |  URS | 2:47.8 (1 h4) | 2:47.0 (3) | Bronze | ||
| 4 | 21058 | Alla Grebennikova | URS | 2:49.8 (2 h5) | 2:47.1 (4) | |||
| 5 | 15387 | Cathy Jamison | USA | 2:50.1 (2 h3) | 2:48.4 (5) | |||
| 6 | 21059 | Svetlana Babanina | URS | 2:49.8 (1 h3) | 2:48.4 (6) | |||
| 7 | 18157 | Chieno Shibata |  JPN | 2:50.6 (2 h4) | 2:51.5 (7) | |||
| 8 | 21520 | Ana María Norbis |  URU | 2:49.4 (1 h5) | 2:51.9 (8) | |||
| 9 | 16695 | Jill Slattery |  GBR | 2:51.2 (2 h2) | – | |||
| 10 | 13098 | Christl Filippovits |  AUT | 2:51.3 (1 h1) | – | |||
| 11 | 18779 | Tamara Oynick |  MEX | 2:52.4 (3 h2) | – | |||
| 12 | – | Vreni Eberle |  FRG | 2:52.5 (4 h2) | – | |||
| 13 | 13066 | Judy Playfair |  AUS | 2:52.9 (2 h1) | – | |||
| 14 | – | Sue McKenzie | AUS | 2:53.1 (3 h4) | – | |||
| 15 | 16698 | Dorothy Harrison | GBR | 2:55.1 (3 h1) | – | |||
| 16 | – | Yoshimi Nishigawa | JPN | 2:55.3 (3 h5) | – | |||
| 17 | 20392 | Yvonne Brage |  SWE | 2:56.3 (4 h3) | – | |||
| 18 | 17615 | Ann O'Connor |  IRL | 2:56.4 (4 h5) | – | |||
| 19 | 13055 | Jo-Anne Barnes | AUS | 2:57.4 (4 h4) | – | |||
| =20 | – | Yukari Takemoto | JPN | 2:57.9 (5 h4) | – | |||
| =20 | – | Klenie Bimolt |  NED | 2:57.9 (5 h5) | – | |||
| 22 | 17669 | Ellen Ingvadóttir |  ISL | 2:58.2 (6 h4) | – | |||
| 23 | 17705 | Shlomit Nir |  ISR | 2:58.5 (5 h3) | – | |||
| 24 | 18782 | Víctoria Casas | MEX | 3:01.0 (5 h2) | – | |||
| 25 | 16693 | Diana Harris | GBR | 3:03.4 (6 h2) | – | |||
| 26 | 18942 | Ana Elena de la Portilla | MEX | 3:03.5 (6 h3) | – | |||
| 27 | 18426 | Arlette Wilmes |  LUX | 3:06.7 (6 h5) | – | |||
| 28 | 15889 | Hedy García |  PHI | 3:08.1 (4 h1) | – | |||
| 29 | 21874 | Tamara Orejuela |  ECU | 3:08.5 (5 h1) | – | |||
| 30 | 14928 | María Moreno |  ESA | 3:15.4 (7 h4) | – | |||
| 31 | – | Liana Vicens |  PUR | 3:16.2 (7 h5) | – | |||
| 15376 | Catie Ball | USA | – (DNS h1) | – | ||||
| 14932 | María Castro | ESA | – (DNS h2) | – | ||||
| 12331 | Uta Frommater | FRG | – (DNS h3) | – |
| Date | 22 October 1968 — 10:00 |
|---|---|
| Format | Fastest eight advanced to the final. |
| Pos | Lane | Competitor | NOC | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | Sharon Wichman | USA | 2:46.8 | ||
| 2 | 6 | Galina Prozumenshchikova | URS | 2:47.8 | ||
| 3 | 2 | Ana María Norbis | URU | 2:49.4 | ||
| =4 | 2 | Svetlana Babanina | URS | 2:49.8 | ||
| =4 | 4 | Alla Grebennikova | URS | 2:49.8 | ||
| 6 | 4 | Cathy Jamison | USA | 2:50.1 | ||
| 7 | 5 | Đurđica Bjedov | YUG | 2:50.2 | ||
| 8 | 3 | Chieno Shibata | JPN | 2:50.6 | ||
| 9 | 7 | Jill Slattery | GBR | 2:51.2 | ||
| 10 | 4 | Christl Filippovits | AUT | 2:51.3 | ||
| 11 | 5 | Tamara Oynick | MEX | 2:52.4 | ||
| 12 | 4 | Vreni Eberle | FRG | 2:52.5 | ||
| 13 | 3 | Judy Playfair | AUS | 2:52.9 | ||
| 14 | 2 | Sue McKenzie | AUS | 2:53.1 | ||
| 15 | 5 | Dorothy Harrison | GBR | 2:55.1 | ||
| 16 | 3 | Yoshimi Nishigawa | JPN | 2:55.3 | ||
| 17 | 3 | Yvonne Brage | SWE | 2:56.3 | ||
| 18 | 7 | Ann O'Connor | IRL | 2:56.4 | ||
| 19 | 1 | Jo-Anne Barnes | AUS | 2:57.4 | ||
| =20 | 4 | Yukari Takemoto | JPN | 2:57.9 | ||
| =20 | 6 | Klenie Bimolt | NED | 2:57.9 | ||
| 22 | 5 | Ellen Ingvadóttir | ISL | 2:58.2 | ||
| 23 | 7 | Shlomit Nir | ISR | 2:58.5 | ||
| 24 | 3 | Víctoria Casas | MEX | 3:01.0 | ||
| 25 | 6 | Diana Harris | GBR | 3:03.4 | ||
| 26 | 6 | Ana Elena de la Portilla | MEX | 3:03.5 | ||
| 27 | 5 | Arlette Wilmes | LUX | 3:06.7 | ||
| 28 | 6 | Hedy García | PHI | 3:08.1 | ||
| 29 | 2 | Tamara Orejuela | ECU | 3:08.5 | ||
| 30 | 7 | María Moreno | ESA | 3:15.4 | ||
| 31 | 1 | Liana Vicens | PUR | 3:16.2 | ||
| – | Catie Ball | USA | – | |||
| – | María Castro | ESA | – | |||
| – | Uta Frommater | FRG | – |
| Pos | Lane | Competitor | NOC | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | Christl Filippovits | AUT | 2:51.3 | ||
| 2 | 3 | Judy Playfair | AUS | 2:52.9 | ||
| 3 | 5 | Dorothy Harrison | GBR | 2:55.1 | ||
| 4 | 6 | Hedy García | PHI | 3:08.1 | ||
| 5 | 2 | Tamara Orejuela | ECU | 3:08.5 | ||
| – | Catie Ball | USA | – |
| Pos | Lane | Competitor | NOC | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | Sharon Wichman | USA | 2:46.8 | ||
| 2 | 7 | Jill Slattery | GBR | 2:51.2 | ||
| 3 | 5 | Tamara Oynick | MEX | 2:52.4 | ||
| 4 | 4 | Vreni Eberle | FRG | 2:52.5 | ||
| 5 | 3 | Víctoria Casas | MEX | 3:01.0 | ||
| 6 | 6 | Diana Harris | GBR | 3:03.4 | ||
| – | María Castro | ESA | – |
| Pos | Lane | Competitor | NOC | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | Svetlana Babanina | URS | 2:49.8 | ||
| 2 | 4 | Cathy Jamison | USA | 2:50.1 | ||
| 3 | 5 | Đurđica Bjedov | YUG | 2:50.2 | ||
| 4 | 3 | Yvonne Brage | SWE | 2:56.3 | ||
| 5 | 7 | Shlomit Nir | ISR | 2:58.5 | ||
| 6 | 6 | Ana Elena de la Portilla | MEX | 3:03.5 | ||
| – | Uta Frommater | FRG | – |
| Pos | Lane | Competitor | NOC | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6 | Galina Prozumenshchikova | URS | 2:47.8 | ||
| 2 | 3 | Chieno Shibata | JPN | 2:50.6 | ||
| 3 | 2 | Sue McKenzie | AUS | 2:53.1 | ||
| 4 | 1 | Jo-Anne Barnes | AUS | 2:57.4 | ||
| 5 | 4 | Yukari Takemoto | JPN | 2:57.9 | ||
| 6 | 5 | Ellen Ingvadóttir | ISL | 2:58.2 | ||
| 7 | 7 | María Moreno | ESA | 3:15.4 |
| Pos | Lane | Competitor | NOC | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | Ana María Norbis | URU | 2:49.4 | ||
| 2 | 4 | Alla Grebennikova | URS | 2:49.8 | ||
| 3 | 3 | Yoshimi Nishigawa | JPN | 2:55.3 | ||
| 4 | 7 | Ann O'Connor | IRL | 2:56.4 | ||
| 5 | 6 | Klenie Bimolt | NED | 2:57.9 | ||
| 6 | 5 | Arlette Wilmes | LUX | 3:06.7 | ||
| 7 | 1 | Liana Vicens | PUR | 3:16.2 |
| Date | 23 October 1968 — 17:00 |
|---|
| Pos | Lane | Competitor | NOC | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | Sharon Wichman | USA | 2:44.4 | ||
| 2 | 1 | Đurđica Bjedov | YUG | 2:46.4 | ||
| 3 | 5 | Galina Prozumenshchikova | URS | 2:47.0 | ||
| 4 | 2 | Alla Grebennikova | URS | 2:47.1 | ||
| 5 | 7 | Cathy Jamison | USA | 2:48.4 | ||
| 6 | 6 | Svetlana Babanina | URS | 2:48.4 | ||
| 7 | 8 | Chieno Shibata | JPN | 2:51.5 | ||
| 8 | 3 | Ana María Norbis | URU | 2:51.9 |
