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4 × 400 metres Relay, Women

Date30 September – 1 October 1988
StatusOlympic
LocationOl-lim-pik Ju-gyeong-gi-jang, Seoul Sports Complex, Seoul
Participants61 from 13 countries

Anticipation was high for the final in this event, with the United States, the GDR, and the Soviet Union considered equal favorites. The Soviets were led by 400 champion Olha Bryzhina while the US was led by 100/200 champion Florence Griffith Joyner, who was a talented 400 runner. All three teams qualified easily for the final, which did not disappoint, some track experts considering this the greatest Olympic final ever run.

Denean Howard put the US ahead on the first leg but the Soviets Olga Nazarova ran 47.82 on the second leg to put the USSR eight metres in front. The GDR had fallen back and would not challenge for the gold medal. Valerie Brisco, 200/400 champion in 1984, ran the third leg for the US and brought the baton to Griffith Joyner with only a half-metre deficit. FloJo moved to Bryzhina’s shoulder on the backstretch and seemed ready to pounce, as the crowd looked for her to move ahead at any time. But it never happened. Griffith Joyner moved up slightly on the final turn but that was as close as she got, Bryzhina pulling away to win by three metres, and outrunning FloJo – 47.80 to 48.08. Both teams finished under the world record, with the Soviet Union posting 3:15.17, which still stood as the world record through 2020.

PosNumberCompetitorsNOCR1Final
1–Soviet UnionURS3:27.14 (3 h2)3:15.17 (1)GoldWR
Tatsiana Ledauskaya • Olga Nazarova • Mariya Pinigina • Olga Bryzgina • Lyudmila Dzhigalova • Maia Azarashvili (DNS) • Aelita Gutnik (DNS)
2–United StatesUSA3:25.86 (1 h2)3:15.51 (2)Silver
Denean Howard • Diane Dixon • Valerie Brisco • Florence Griffith Joyner • Sherri Howard • Lillie Leatherwood • Jennifer Inniss (DNS) • Gwen Torrence (DNS) • Terri Dendy (DNS)
3–East GermanyGDR3:27.37 (1 h1)3:18.29 (3)Bronze
Dagmar Neubauer • Kirsten Emmelmann • Sabine Busch • Petra Müller • Grit Breuer • Katrin Krabbe (DNS) • Heike Drechsler (DNS)
4–West GermanyFRG3:27.75 (3 h1)3:22.49 (4)
Ute Thimm • Helga Arendt • Andrea Thomas • Gudrun Abt • Gisela Kinzel • Michaela Schabinger • Karin Janke (DNS)
5–JamaicaJAM3:26.83 (2 h2)3:23.13 (5)
Sandie Richards • Andrea Thomas • Cathy Rattray-Williams • Sharon Powell • Marcia Tate • Grace Jackson (DNS)
6–Great BritainGBR3:28.52 (4 h1)3:26.89 (6)
Linda Keough • Jenny Stoute • Angela Piggford • Sally Gunnell • Janet Smith • Pat Beckford (DNS) • Loreen Hall (DNS)
7–FranceFRA3:29.95 (5 h1)3:29.37 (7)
Fabienne Ficher • Nathalie Simon • Nadine Debois • Évelyne Élien • Hélène Huart (DNS) • Marie-José Pérec (DNS)
AC r2/2–CanadaCAN3:27.63 (2 h1)– (DNF)
Charmaine Crooks • Molly Killingbeck • Marita Payne Wiggins • Jill Richardson • Esmie Lawrence • Rosey Edeh (DNS)
4 h2 r1/2–BrazilBRA3:36.81 (4 h2)–
Tânia Miranda • Suzete Montalvão • Soraya Telles • Magnólia Figueiredo • Conceição Geremias (DNS)
5 h2 r1/2–Republic of KoreaKOR3:51.09 (5 h2)–
Yang Gyeong-Hui • Choi Se-Beom • Im Chun-Ae • Kim Sun-Ja • Bang Sin-Hye (DNS) • Park Suk-Ja (DNS) • No Hye-Sun (DNS) • Park Mi-Seon (DNS)
6 h1 r1/2–NigeriaNGR3:30.21 (6 h1)–
Falilat Ogunkoya • Kehinde Vaughan • Airat Bakare • Mary Onyali • Sadia Sowunmi (DNS) • Maria Usifo (DNS)
7 h1 r1/2–IndiaIND3:33.46 (7 h1)–
Mercy Kuttan-Mathews • Vandana Rao • Vandana Shanbagh • Shiny Abraham • Ashwini Nachappa (DNS) • P. T. Usha (DNS)
AC h2 r1/2–ColombiaCOL– (DQ h2)–
Olga Escalante • Norfalia Carabalí • Amparo Caicedo • Ximena Restrepo • Elia Mera (DNS)
DNS–AustraliaAUS– (DNS h1)–
Debbie Flintoff-King • Maree Holland • Kerry Johnson • Jenny Laurendet • Sally Hamilton-Fleming
DNS–SpainESP– (DNS h2)–
Blanca Lacambra • Esther Lahoz • Cristina Pérez • Maite Zúñiga • Sandy Myers
DNS–UgandaUGA– (DNS h2)–
Jane Ajilo • Grace Buzu • Farida Kyakutema • Ruth Kyalisima • Oliver Acii

Round One

Date30 September 1988
FormatTop 3 in each heat and next 2 fastest advanced to the final round.
PosTeamNOCTime (automatic)
1United StatesUSA3:25.86Q
2JamaicaJAM3:26.83Q
3Soviet UnionURS3:27.14Q
4East GermanyGDR3:27.37Q
5CanadaCAN3:27.63Q
6West GermanyFRG3:27.75Q
7Great BritainGBR3:28.52q
8FranceFRA3:29.95q
9NigeriaNGR3:30.21
10IndiaIND3:33.46
11BrazilBRA3:36.81
12Republic of KoreaKOR3:51.09
DQColombiaCOL–
DNSAustraliaAUS–
DNSUgandaUGA–
DNSSpainESP–

Heat #1

Time15:10
PosLaneCompetitorsNOCTime (Automatic)SplitExchange
17East GermanyGDR3:27.37– (–)– (–)Q
Lead-Off257Grit Breuer –52.50 (4)– (–)
2nd Leg281Dagmar Neubauer –50.27 (1)1:42.77 (1)
3rd Leg262Kirsten Emmelmann –52.20 (5)2:34.97 (1)
Anchor279Petra Müller –52.40 (5)– (–)
22CanadaCAN3:27.63– (–)– (–)Q
Lead-Off68Charmaine Crooks –51.42 (1)– (–)
2nd Leg73Esmie Lawrence –53.77 (6)1:45.19 (4)
3rd Leg75Marita Payne Wiggins –51.20 (2)2:36.39 (3)
Anchor77Jill Richardson –51.24 (2)– (–)
38West GermanyFRG3:27.75– (–)– (–)Q
Lead-Off183Helga Arendt –51.54 (2)– (–)
2nd Leg198Michaela Schabinger –52.92 (3)1:44.46 (3)
3rd Leg187Gisela Kinzel –51.59 (4)2:36.05 (2)
Anchor182Gudrun Abt –51.70 (4)– (–)
DNS1AustraliaAUS–– (–)– (–)
12Debbie Flintoff-King DNS–– (–)– (–)
14Maree Holland DNS–– (–)– (–)
15Kerry Johnson DNS–– (–)– (–)
16Jenny Laurendet DNS–– (–)– (–)
43Great BritainGBR3:28.52– (–)– (–)q
Lead-Off227Linda Keough –51.58 (3)– (–)
2nd Leg248Jenny Stoute –52.79 (2)1:44.37 (2)
3rd Leg247Janet Smith –52.77 (6)2:37.14 (5)
Anchor219Sally Gunnell –51.38 (3)– (–)
54FranceFRA3:29.95– (–)– (–)q
Lead-Off171Fabienne Ficher –52.84 (6)– (–)
2nd Leg180Nathalie Simon –52.94 (4)1:45.78 (5)
3rd Leg167Évelyne Élien –50.91 (1)2:36.69 (4)
Anchor165Nadine Debois –53.26 (6)– (–)
66NigeriaNGR3:30.21– (–)– (–)
Lead-Off427Falilat Ogunkoya –52.78 (5)– (–)
2nd Leg431Kehinde Vaughan –53.66 (5)1:46.44 (6)
3rd Leg426Airat Bakare –54.81 (7)2:41.25 (7)
Anchor428Mary Onyali –48.96 (1)– (–)
75IndiaIND3:33.46– (–)– (–)
Lead-Off332Mercy Kuttan-Mathews –53.73 (7)– (–)
2nd Leg337Vandana Rao –54.52 (7)1:48.25 (7)
3rd Leg335Vandana Shanbagh –51.30 (3)2:39.55 (6)
Anchor333Shiny Abraham –53.91 (7)– (–)

Heat #2

Time15:20
PosLaneCompetitorsNOCTime (Automatic)SplitExchange
15United StatesUSA3:25.86– (–)– (–)Q
Lead-Off561Lillie Leatherwood –51.12 (1)– (–)
2nd Leg572Sherri Howard –51.81 (2)1:42.93 (1)
3rd Leg571Denean Howard –50.59 (1)2:33.52 (1)
Anchor564Diane Dixon –52.34 (4)– (–)
26JamaicaJAM3:26.83– (–)– (–)Q
Lead-Off373Marcia Tate –52.98 (3)– (–)
2nd Leg374Andrea Thomas –50.68 (1)1:43.66 (2)
3rd Leg369Cathy Rattray-Williams –51.48 (3)2:35.14 (2)
Anchor368Sharon Powell –51.69 (2)– (–)
33Soviet UnionURS3:27.14– (–)– (–)Q
Lead-Off518Lyudmila Dzhigalova –51.39 (2)– (–)
2nd Leg541Olga Nazarova –52.51 (3)1:43.90 (3)
3rd Leg543Mariya Pinigina –51.44 (2)2:35.34 (3)
Anchor516Olga Bryzgina –51.80 (3)– (–)
47BrazilBRA3:36.81– (–)– (–)
Lead-Off40Tânia Miranda –57.86 (4)– (–)
2nd Leg41Suzete Montalvão –53.99 (5)1:51.85 (4)
3rd Leg42Soraya Telles –53.80 (4)2:45.65 (4)
Anchor38Magnólia Figueiredo –51.16 (1)– (–)
51Republic of KoreaKOR3:51.09– (–)– (–)
Lead-Off403Yang Gyeong-Hui –59.06 (5)– (–)
2nd Leg388Choi Se-Beom –57.15 (6)1:56.21 (5)
3rd Leg397Im Chun-Ae –57.21 (6)2:53.42 (5)
Anchor394Kim Sun-Ja –57.67 (5)– (–)
DQ2ColombiaCOL–– (–)– (–)
Lead-Off122Olga Escalante –[56.64] ([4])– (–)
2nd Leg121Norfalia Carabalí –[53.87] ([4])[1:50.51] ([4])
3rd Leg120Amparo Caicedo –[55.40] ([5])[2:45.91] ([5])
Anchor124Ximena Restrepo –– (–)– (–)
DNS4UgandaUGA–– (–)– (–)
504Jane Ajilo DNS–– (–)– (–)
505Grace Buzu DNS–– (–)– (–)
506Farida Kyakutema DNS–– (–)– (–)
507Ruth Kyalisima DNS–– (–)– (–)
DNS8SpainESP–– (–)– (–)
135Blanca Lacambra DNS–– (–)– (–)
136Esther Lahoz DNS–– (–)– (–)
138Cristina Pérez DNS–– (–)– (–)
141Maite Zúñiga DNS–– (–)– (–)

Final Round

Date1 October 1988 — 14:35
PosLaneCompetitorsNOCTime (Automatic)SplitExchange
1–Soviet UnionURS3:15.17– (–)– (–)WR
Lead-Off–Tatsiana Ledauskaya –50.12 (2)– (–)
2nd Leg–Olga Nazarova –47.82 (1)1:37.94 (1)
3rd Leg–Mariya Pinigina –49.43 (3)2:27.37 (1)
Anchor–Olga Bryzgina –47.80 (1)– (–)
24United StatesUSA3:15.51– (–)– (–)
Lead-Off571Denean Howard –49.82 (1)– (–)
2nd Leg564Diane Dixon –49.17 (2)1:38.99 (2)
3rd Leg555Valerie Brisco –48.44 (1)2:27.43 (2)
Anchor569Florence Griffith Joyner –48.08 (2)– (–)
35East GermanyGDR3:18.29– (–)– (–)
Lead-Off281Dagmar Neubauer –50.58 (3)– (–)
2nd Leg262Kirsten Emmelmann –49.91 (3)1:40.49 (3)
3rd Leg259Sabine Busch –48.81 (2)2:29.30 (3)
Anchor279Petra Müller –48.99 (3)– (–)
41West GermanyFRG3:22.49– (–)– (–)
Lead-Off200Ute Thimm –50.81 (4)– (–)
2nd Leg183Helga Arendt –49.95 (5)1:40.76 (4)
3rd Leg201Andrea Thomas –51.50 (5)2:32.26 (4)
Anchor182Gudrun Abt –50.23 (4)– (–)
53JamaicaJAM3:23.13– (–)– (–)
Lead-Off370Sandie Richards –51.54 (6)– (–)
2nd Leg374Andrea Thomas –49.94 (4)1:41.48 (5)
3rd Leg369Cathy Rattray-Williams –51.08 (4)2:32.56 (5)
Anchor368Sharon Powell –50.57 (5)– (–)
62Great BritainGBR3:26.89– (–)– (–)
Lead-Off227Linda Keough –50.86 (5)– (–)
2nd Leg248Jenny Stoute –51.91 (6)1:42.77 (6)
3rd Leg240Angela Piggford –53.08 (6)2:35.85 (6)
Anchor219Sally Gunnell –51.04 (6)– (–)
77FranceFRA3:29.37– (–)– (–)
Lead-Off171Fabienne Ficher –51.82 (7)– (–)
2nd Leg180Nathalie Simon –52.88 (7)1:44.70 (7)
3rd Leg165Nadine Debois –53.10 (7)2:37.80 (7)
Anchor167Évelyne Élien –51.57 (7)– (–)
DNF8CanadaCAN–– (–)– (–)
Lead-Off68Charmaine Crooks –51.83 (8)– (–)
2nd Leg71Molly Killingbeck –– (–)– (–)
3rd Leg75Marita Payne Wiggins –– (–)– (–)
Anchor77Jill Richardson –– (–)– (–)