| Date | 22 September 1988 — 10:00 | |
|---|---|---|
| Location | Su-yeong-jang, Ol-lim-pik Gong-won, Seoul | |
| Format | Fastest 8 advanced to the final round. Places 9-16 advanced to Final B. | |
| Pos | Lane | Competitor | NOC | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | Angela Birch |  FIJ | 1:13.48 | ||
| 2 | 4 | Katerine Moreno |  BOL | 1:14.42 | ||
| 3 | 3 | Carolina Araujo |  MOZ | 1:15.86 |
| Pos | Lane | Competitor | NOC | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | Ana Fortín |  HON | 1:10.10 | ||
| 2 | 4 | Tricia Duncan |  ISV | 1:10.37 | ||
| 3 | 3 | Tsang Wing Sze |  HKG | 1:10.50 | ||
| 4 | 6 | Sharon Pickering | FIJ | 1:12.14 | ||
| 5 | 2 | Elsa Freire |  ANG | 1:15.56 | ||
| 6 | 7 | Carla Fernandes | ANG | 1:21.58 |
| Pos | Lane | Competitor | NOC | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | Wang Bolin |  CHN | 1:05.15 | ||
| 2 | 4 | Tomoko Onogi |  JPN | 1:06.14 | ||
| 3 | 3 | Michelle Smith |  IRL | 1:06.22 | ||
| 4 | 8 | Akiko Thomson |  PHI | 1:06.51 | ||
| 5 | 5 | Aileen Convery | IRL | 1:06.73 | ||
| 6 | 1 | Hong Ji-Hui |  KOR | 1:08.33 | ||
| 7 | 7 | Rita Garay |  PUR | 1:08.58 | ||
| 8 | 6 | Wang Chi |  TPE | 1:09.56 |
| Pos | Lane | Competitor | NOC | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | Betsy Mitchell |  USA | 1:02.85 | ||
| 2 | 5 | Anca Pătrășcoiu |  ROU | 1:03.29 | ||
| 3 | 3 | Lorenza Vigarani |  ITA | 1:03.96 | ||
| 4 | 6 | Manuela Carosi | ITA | 1:04.69 | ||
| 5 | 1 | Bistra Gospodinova |  BUL | 1:04.91 | ||
| =6 | 7 | Eva Gysling |  SUI | 1:05.07 | ||
| =6 | 8 | Laurence Guillou |  FRA | 1:05.07 | ||
| 8 | 2 | Sylvia Hume |  NZL | 1:05.81 |
| Pos | Lane | Competitor | NOC | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | Cornelia Sirch |  GDR | 1:01.63 | ||
| 2 | 3 | Krisztina Egerszegi |  HUN | 1:02.09 | ||
| 3 | 7 | Sylvia Poll |  CRC | 1:03.21 | ||
| 4 | 5 | Svenja Schlicht |  FRG | 1:03.72 | ||
| 5 | 2 | Lori Melien |  CAN | 1:04.29 | ||
| 6 | 1 | Jolanda de Rover |  NED | 1:04.39 | ||
| 7 | 6 | Sharon Musson | NZL | 1:04.58 | ||
| 8 | 8 | Sharon Page |  GBR | 1:04.75 |
| Pos | Lane | Competitor | NOC | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | Kristin Otto | GDR | 1:01.45 | ||
| 2 | 5 | Beth Barr | USA | 1:02.63 | ||
| 3 | 3 | Nicole Livingstone |  AUS | 1:03.26 | ||
| 4 | 2 | Marion Aizpors | FRG | 1:03.27 | ||
| 5 | 8 | Kathy Read | GBR | 1:04.62 | ||
| 6 | 7 | Karen Lord | AUS | 1:04.69 | ||
| 7 | 6 | Johanna Larsson |  SWE | 1:05.10 | ||
| 8 | 1 | Satoko Morishita | JPN | 1:05.38 |
| Pos | Lane | Competitor | NOC | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| =1 | 5 | Manuela Carosi | ITA | 1:05.05 | ||
| =1 | 4 | Karen Lord | AUS | 1:05.05 |
| Pos | Lane | Competitor | NOC | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | Manuela Carosi | ITA | 1:04.62 | ||
| 2 | 4 | Karen Lord | AUS | 1:04.75 |
