| Date | 20 – 21 October 1968 |
|---|---|
| Status | Olympic |
| Location | Alberca Olímpica Francisco Márquez, Ciudad de México |
| Participants | 28 from 21 countries |
Dutchwoman Ada Kok had finished second in this event in 1964, was the 1966 European Champion, and had held the world record since 1965. Australian put forward the unknown Lyn McClements who had been a freestyler until the Olympic year and had never won a butterfly race until the Australian Trials in February 1968. American Ellie Daniel had won the 1967 Pan American Games and the 1968 US Olympic Trials and was expected to contend. McClements started the final quickly, leading by half a body length at the turn over American Susan Shields, with Kok in third and Daniel fourth. McClements hung on over the last lap and won a surprise gold medal, with Daniel moving up for silver and Shields taking bronze, Kok finishing fourth.
| Pos | Number | Competitor | NOC | R1 | SF | Final | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 13062 | Lyn McClements |  AUS | 1:06.1 (1 h3) | 1:06.1 (2 h2) | 1:05.5 (1) | Gold | ||
| 2 | 15381 | Ellie Daniel |  USA | 1:07.2 (1 h2) | 1:06.1 (1 h2) | 1:05.8 (2) | Silver | ||
| 3 | 15396 | Susan Shields | USA | 1:06.2 (1 h5) | 1:06.3 (2 h1) | 1:06.2 (3) | Bronze | ||
| 4 | 17070 | Ada Kok |  NED | 1:08.5 (2 h1) | 1:06.2 (1 h1) | 1:06.2 (4) | |||
| 5 | – | Andrea Gyarmati |  HUN | 1:07.4 (2 h3) | 1:06.6 (3 h1) | 1:06.8 (5) | |||
| 6 | 12333 | Heike Hustede |  FRG | 1:07.7 (1 h1) | 1:07.0 (4 h1) | 1:06.9 (6) | |||
| 7 | 15386 | Toni Hewitt | USA | 1:08.1 (2 h4) | 1:07.9 (5 h1) | 1:07.5 (7) | |||
| 8 | – | Helga Lindner |  GDR | 1:08.0 (1 h4) | 1:07.7 (3 h2) | 1:07.6 (8) | |||
| 9 | 23077 | Christine Strübing | GDR | 1:09.2 (3 h2) | 1:08.2 (6 h1) | – | |||
| 10 | 21056 | Tatyana Devyatova |  URS | 1:07.6 (2 h2) | 1:08.4 (4 h2) | – | |||
| 11 | 17071 | Nel Bos | NED | 1:09.5 (4 h2) | 1:08.5 (5 h2) | – | |||
| 12 | 19367 | Sandra Whittleston |  NZL | 1:08.5 (2 h5) | 1:08.7 (6 h2) | – | |||
| 13 | 16699 | Margaret Auton |  GBR | 1:08.5 (3 h4) | 1:08.8 (7 h2) | – | |||
| 14 | 18160 | Yasuko Fujii |  JPN | 1:10.1 (4 h1) | 1:09.4 (8 h2) | – | |||
| 15 | 13887 | Jeanne Warren |  CAN | 1:10.0 (3 h1) | 1:09.7 (7 h1) | – | |||
| 16 | 16701 | Gillian Treers | GBR | 1:10.6 (3 h5) | 1:10.6 (8 h1) | – | |||
| 17 | 13886 | Marilyn Corson | CAN | 1:10.7 (4 h5) | – | – | |||
| 18 | 23709 | Oei Liana |  TPE | 1:11.2 (5 h2) | – | – | |||
| 19 | 17704 | Yvonne Tobis |  ISR | 1:12.0 (3 h3) | – | – | |||
| 20 | 18781 | Patricia Obregón |  MEX | 1:12.4 (5 h1) | – | – | |||
| 21 | 17636 | Vivienne Smith |  IRL | 1:13.1 (6 h2) | – | – | |||
| 22 | 13060 | Pauline Gray | AUS | 1:13.5 (5 h5) | – | – | |||
| 23 | 16248 | Catherine Grosjean |  FRA | 1:14.6 (7 h2) | – | – | |||
| 24 | 13979 | Carmen Gómez |  COL | 1:14.7 (4 h4) | – | – | |||
| 25 | 21521 | Ruth Apt |  URU | 1:15.3 (5 h4) | – | – | |||
| 26 | 12810 | Adriana Comolli |  ARG | 1:16.5 (6 h5) | – | – | |||
| 27 | 14096 | Nam Sang-Nam |  KOR | 1:16.9 (6 h1) | – | – | |||
| 28 | 22935 | Ana Marcial |  PUR | 1:17.1 (6 h4) | – | – | |||
| 13885 | Elaine Tanner | CAN | – (DNS h1) | – | – | ||||
| 17381 | Edit Kovács | HUN | – (DNS h3) | – | – | ||||
| 15889 | Hedy García |  PHI | – (DNS h3) | – | – | ||||
| 22933 | Kristina Moir | PUR | – (DNS h5) | – | – | ||||
| 20262 | Pat Chan |  SGP | – (DNS h3) | – | – | ||||
| – | Lotten Andersson |  SWE | – (DNS h4) | – | – | ||||
| 20394 | Ingrid Gustavsson | SWE | – (DNS h3) | – | – |
| Date | 20 October 1968 — 10:00 |
|---|---|
| Format | Fastest 16 advanced to the semi-finals. |
| Pos | Lane | Competitor | NOC | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | Lyn McClements | AUS | 1:06.1 | ||
| 2 | 6 | Susan Shields | USA | 1:06.2 | ||
| 3 | 1 | Ellie Daniel | USA | 1:07.2 | ||
| 4 | 3 | Andrea Gyarmati | HUN | 1:07.4 | ||
| 5 | 4 | Tatyana Devyatova | URS | 1:07.6 | ||
| 6 | 6 | Heike Hustede | FRG | 1:07.7 | ||
| 7 | 6 | Helga Lindner | GDR | 1:08.0 | ||
| 8 | 5 | Toni Hewitt | USA | 1:08.1 | ||
| =9 | 2 | Ada Kok | NED | 1:08.5 | ||
| =9 | 2 | Margaret Auton | GBR | 1:08.5 | ||
| =9 | 3 | Sandra Whittleston | NZL | 1:08.5 | ||
| 12 | 6 | Christine Strübing | GDR | 1:09.2 | ||
| 13 | 3 | Nel Bos | NED | 1:09.5 | ||
| 14 | 5 | Jeanne Warren | CAN | 1:10.0 | ||
| 15 | 4 | Yasuko Fujii | JPN | 1:10.1 | ||
| 16 | 2 | Gillian Treers | GBR | 1:10.6 | ||
| 17 | 4 | Marilyn Corson | CAN | 1:10.7 | ||
| 18 | 5 | Oei Liana | TPE | 1:11.2 | ||
| 19 | 5 | Yvonne Tobis | ISR | 1:12.0 | ||
| 20 | 7 | Patricia Obregón | MEX | 1:12.4 | ||
| 21 | 2 | Vivienne Smith | IRL | 1:13.1 | ||
| 22 | 5 | Pauline Gray | AUS | 1:13.5 | ||
| 23 | 7 | Catherine Grosjean | FRA | 1:14.6 | ||
| 24 | 4 | Carmen Gómez | COL | 1:14.7 | ||
| 25 | 7 | Ruth Apt | URU | 1:15.3 | ||
| 26 | 7 | Adriana Comolli | ARG | 1:16.5 | ||
| 27 | 3 | Nam Sang-Nam | KOR | 1:16.9 | ||
| 28 | 3 | Ana Marcial | PUR | 1:17.1 | ||
| – | Elaine Tanner | CAN | – | |||
| – | Edit Kovács | HUN | – | |||
| – | Hedy García | PHI | – | |||
| – | Pat Chan | SGP | – | |||
| – | Ingrid Gustavsson | SWE | – | |||
| – | Lotten Andersson | SWE | – | |||
| – | Kristina Moir | PUR | – |
| Pos | Lane | Competitor | NOC | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6 | Heike Hustede | FRG | 1:07.7 | ||
| 2 | 2 | Ada Kok | NED | 1:08.5 | ||
| 3 | 5 | Jeanne Warren | CAN | 1:10.0 | ||
| 4 | 4 | Yasuko Fujii | JPN | 1:10.1 | ||
| 5 | 7 | Patricia Obregón | MEX | 1:12.4 | ||
| 6 | 3 | Nam Sang-Nam | KOR | 1:16.9 | ||
| – | Elaine Tanner | CAN | – |
| Pos | Lane | Competitor | NOC | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Ellie Daniel | USA | 1:07.2 | ||
| 2 | 4 | Tatyana Devyatova | URS | 1:07.6 | ||
| 3 | 6 | Christine Strübing | GDR | 1:09.2 | ||
| 4 | 3 | Nel Bos | NED | 1:09.5 | ||
| 5 | 5 | Oei Liana | TPE | 1:11.2 | ||
| 6 | 2 | Vivienne Smith | IRL | 1:13.1 | ||
| 7 | 7 | Catherine Grosjean | FRA | 1:14.6 |
| Pos | Lane | Competitor | NOC | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | Lyn McClements | AUS | 1:06.1 | ||
| 2 | 3 | Andrea Gyarmati | HUN | 1:07.4 | ||
| 3 | 5 | Yvonne Tobis | ISR | 1:12.0 | ||
| – | Edit Kovács | HUN | – | |||
| – | Hedy García | PHI | – | |||
| – | Pat Chan | SGP | – | |||
| – | Ingrid Gustavsson | SWE | – |
| Pos | Lane | Competitor | NOC | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6 | Helga Lindner | GDR | 1:08.0 | ||
| 2 | 5 | Toni Hewitt | USA | 1:08.1 | ||
| 3 | 2 | Margaret Auton | GBR | 1:08.5 | ||
| 4 | 4 | Carmen Gómez | COL | 1:14.7 | ||
| 5 | 7 | Ruth Apt | URU | 1:15.3 | ||
| 6 | 3 | Ana Marcial | PUR | 1:17.1 | ||
| – | Lotten Andersson | SWE | – |
| Pos | Lane | Competitor | NOC | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6 | Susan Shields | USA | 1:06.2 | ||
| 2 | 3 | Sandra Whittleston | NZL | 1:08.5 | ||
| 3 | 2 | Gillian Treers | GBR | 1:10.6 | ||
| 4 | 4 | Marilyn Corson | CAN | 1:10.7 | ||
| 5 | 5 | Pauline Gray | AUS | 1:13.5 | ||
| 6 | 7 | Adriana Comolli | ARG | 1:16.5 | ||
| – | Kristina Moir | PUR | – |
| Date | 20 October 1968 — 10:00 |
|---|---|
| Format | Fastest eight advanced to the final. |
| Pos | Lane | Competitor | NOC | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| =1 | 5 | Ellie Daniel | USA | 1:06.1 | ||
| =1 | 4 | Lyn McClements | AUS | 1:06.1 | ||
| 3 | 2 | Ada Kok | NED | 1:06.2 | ||
| 4 | 4 | Susan Shields | USA | 1:06.3 | ||
| 5 | 5 | Andrea Gyarmati | HUN | 1:06.6 | ||
| 6 | 3 | Heike Hustede | FRG | 1:07.0 | ||
| 7 | 6 | Helga Lindner | GDR | 1:07.7 | ||
| 8 | 6 | Toni Hewitt | USA | 1:07.9 | ||
| 9 | 7 | Christine Strübing | GDR | 1:08.2 | ||
| 10 | 3 | Tatyana Devyatova | URS | 1:08.4 | ||
| 11 | 1 | Nel Bos | NED | 1:08.5 | ||
| 12 | 2 | Sandra Whittleston | NZL | 1:08.7 | ||
| 13 | 7 | Margaret Auton | GBR | 1:08.8 | ||
| 14 | 8 | Yasuko Fujii | JPN | 1:09.4 | ||
| 15 | 1 | Jeanne Warren | CAN | 1:09.7 | ||
| 16 | 8 | Gillian Treers | GBR | 1:10.6 |
| Pos | Lane | Competitor | NOC | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | Ada Kok | NED | 1:06.2 | ||
| 2 | 4 | Susan Shields | USA | 1:06.3 | ||
| 3 | 5 | Andrea Gyarmati | HUN | 1:06.6 | ||
| 4 | 3 | Heike Hustede | FRG | 1:07.0 | ||
| 5 | 6 | Toni Hewitt | USA | 1:07.9 | ||
| 6 | 7 | Christine Strübing | GDR | 1:08.2 | ||
| 7 | 1 | Jeanne Warren | CAN | 1:09.7 | ||
| 8 | 8 | Gillian Treers | GBR | 1:10.6 |
| Pos | Lane | Competitor | NOC | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | Ellie Daniel | USA | 1:06.1 | ||
| 2 | 4 | Lyn McClements | AUS | 1:06.1 | ||
| 3 | 6 | Helga Lindner | GDR | 1:07.7 | ||
| 4 | 3 | Tatyana Devyatova | URS | 1:08.4 | ||
| 5 | 1 | Nel Bos | NED | 1:08.5 | ||
| 6 | 2 | Sandra Whittleston | NZL | 1:08.7 | ||
| 7 | 7 | Margaret Auton | GBR | 1:08.8 | ||
| 8 | 8 | Yasuko Fujii | JPN | 1:09.4 |
| Date | 21 October 1968 — 17:00 |
|---|
| Pos | Lane | Competitor | NOC | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | Lyn McClements | AUS | 1:05.5 | ||
| 2 | 4 | Ellie Daniel | USA | 1:05.8 | ||
| 3 | 6 | Susan Shields | USA | 1:06.2 | ||
| 4 | 3 | Ada Kok | NED | 1:06.2 | ||
| 5 | 2 | Andrea Gyarmati | HUN | 1:06.8 | ||
| 6 | 7 | Heike Hustede | FRG | 1:06.9 | ||
| 7 | 8 | Toni Hewitt | USA | 1:07.5 | ||
| 8 | 1 | Helga Lindner | GDR | 1:07.6 |
