| | Event type

400 metres Individual Medley, Women

Date	18 – 19 September 1988
Status	Olympic
Location	Su-yeong-jang, Ol-lim-pik Gong-won, Seoul
Participants	30 from 22 countries

Kathleen Nord (GDR) had won the 1986 World Championships, but the leader on the 1987 world list was young Romanian Nöemi Ildiko Lung. Lung was an unknown quantity, out much of early 1988 with a sinus infection. However the favorite was American Janet Evans, who was the leader on the 1988 world list, and had been World Swimmer of the Year in 1987, winning this event at the Pan Pacs.

The final began with a false start and then the opening butterfly leg was led by Nord, with Evans in almost a dead-heat for second. But Evans powered through the backstroke, opening up five full seconds on Nord, and leading second-placed Lung by over a second. She would increase her lead on the final two legs, winning over Lung by almost two seconds. Nord finished only fifth, as the bronze was won by her teammate, Daniela Hunger, who would later win the 200 IM in Seoul.

Evans would eventually win three gold medals in Seoul, adding the 400 and 800 freestyles. She would not repeat as World Swimmer of the Year, that honor going to Kristin Otto, based on her six gold medals, but Evans would win it again in 1989 and 1990.

Pos	Swimmer	NOC	R1	B Final	Final
1	Janet Evans	USA	4:43.04 (1 h4)	–	4:37.76 (1)	Gold
2	Noëmi Lung	ROU	4:41.96 (1 h3)	–	4:39.46 (2)	Silver
3	Daniela Hunger	GDR	4:44.85 (2 h4)	–	4:39.76 (3)	Bronze
4	Yelena Dendeberova	URS	4:46.63 (4 h3)	–	4:40.44 (4)
5	Kathleen Nord	GDR	4:42.92 (2 h3)	–	4:41.64 (5)
6	Jodie Clatworthy	AUS	4:44.26 (3 h3)	–	4:45.86 (6)
7	Lin Li	CHN	4:48.89 (5 h3)	–	4:47.05 (7)
8	Donna Procter	AUS	4:47.57 (1 h2)	–	4:47.51 (8)
9	Roberta Felotti	ITA	4:49.20 (3 h4)	4:49.53 (1)	–
10	Birgit Lohberg-Schulz	FRG	4:52.05 (6 h3)	4:50.54 (2)	–
11	Erika Hansen	USA	4:50.03 (3 h2)	4:51.93 (3)	–
12	Antoaneta Strumenlieva	BUL	4:51.58 (4 h2)	4:52.33 (4)	–
13	Anette Philipsson	SWE	4:53.58 (6 h2)	4:52.77 (5)	–
14	Christine Magnier	FRA	4:51.91 (5 h2)	4:53.29 (6)	–
15	Annette Poulsen	DEN	4:54.01 (7 h2)	4:54.40 (7)	–
16	Yan Ming	CHN	4:49.04 (2 h2)	4:55.92 (8)	–
17	Anamarija Petričević	YUG	4:54.17 (4 h4)	–	–
18	Suki Brownsdon	GBR	4:54.66 (5 h4)	–	–
19	Yoshie Nishioka	JPN	4:55.31 (6 h4)	–	–
20	Marianne Muis	NED	4:56.31 (7 h3)	–	–
21	Mildred Muis	NED	4:56.89 (8 h3)	–	–
22	Irene Dalby	NOR	4:58.14 (7 h4)	–	–
23	Hiroyo Harada	JPN	5:00.92 (1 h1)	–	–
24	Tracey Atkin	GBR	5:01.34 (8 h2)	–	–
25	Michelle Smith	IRL	5:01.84 (2 h1)	–	–
26	Marlene Bruten	MEX	5:03.69 (3 h1)	–	–
27	Chang Hui-Chien	TPE	5:13.20 (4 h1)	–	–
28	Valentina Aracil	ARG	5:19.17 (5 h1)	–	–
29	Annemarie Munk	HKG	5:24.11 (6 h1)	–	–
30	Kim Chen	TPE	5:28.15 (7 h1)	–	–
DNS	Yuliya Bogachova	URS	– (DNS h4)	–	–

Round One (18 September 1988 — 9:00)

Fastest eight advanced to the final. Places 9-16 advanced to the B Final.

Heat One

Pos	Lane	Swimmer	NOC	100 m	200 m	300 m	Time
1	4	Hiroyo Harada	JPN	1:07.79 (3) 1:13.63 (1)	2:21.42 (1) 1:30.12 (2)	3:51.54 (1) 1:09.38 (3)	5:00.92
2	3	Michelle Smith	IRL	1:06.56 (2) 1:15.06 (2)	2:21.62 (2) 1:30.51 (4)	3:52.13 (2) 1:09.71 (4)	5:01.84
3	5	Marlene Bruten	MEX	1:06.14 (1) 1:18.87 (3)	2:25.01 (3) 1:30.84 (5)	3:55.85 (3) 1:07.84 (1)	5:03.69
4	7	Chang Hui-Chien	TPE	1:09.28 (4) 1:25.37 (7)	2:34.65 (4) 1:30.24 (3)	4:04.89 (5) 1:08.31 (2)	5:13.20
5	6	Valentina Aracil	ARG	1:12.44 (6) 1:23.15 (4)	2:35.59 (5) 1:29.13 (1)	4:04.72 (4) 1:14.45 (6)	5:19.17
6	1	Annemarie Munk	HKG	1:10.95 (5) 1:24.68 (6)	2:35.63 (6) 1:35.16 (6)	4:10.79 (6) 1:13.32 (5)	5:24.11
7	2	Kim Chen	TPE	1:13.12 (7) 1:24.15 (5)	2:37.27 (7) 1:35.20 (7)	4:12.47 (7) 1:15.68 (7)	5:28.15

Heat Two

Pos	Lane	Swimmer	NOC	100 m	200 m	300 m	Time
1	5	Donna Procter	AUS	1:04.89 (2) 1:13.32 (3)	2:18.21 (2) 1:24.17 (2)	3:42.38 (1) 1:05.19 (4)	4:47.57	Q
2	3	Yan Ming	CHN	1:06.11 (5) 1:14.80 (7)	2:20.91 (6) 1:23.06 (1)	3:43.97 (2) 1:05.07 (2)	4:49.04	q
3	4	Erika Hansen	USA	1:05.54 (3) 1:11.23 (1)	2:16.77 (1) 1:28.11 (6)	3:44.88 (3) 1:05.15 (3)	4:50.03	q
4	1	Antoaneta Strumenlieva	BUL	1:04.85 (1) 1:14.41 (6)	2:19.26 (3) 1:28.25 (7)	3:47.51 (6) 1:04.07 (1)	4:51.58	q
5	6	Christine Magnier	FRA	1:07.62 (8) 1:12.83 (2)	2:20.45 (5) 1:24.95 (4)	3:45.40 (4) 1:06.51 (6)	4:51.91	q
6	7	Anette Philipsson	SWE	1:07.35 (7) 1:14.30 (5)	2:21.65 (7) 1:24.81 (3)	3:46.46 (5) 1:07.12 (7)	4:53.58	q
7	8	Annette Poulsen	DEN	1:06.98 (6) 1:15.60 (8)	2:22.58 (8) 1:25.64 (5)	3:48.22 (7) 1:05.79 (5)	4:54.01	q
8	2	Tracey Atkin	GBR	1:05.69 (4) 1:14.02 (4)	2:19.71 (4) 1:31.24 (8)	3:50.95 (8) 1:10.39 (8)	5:01.34

Heat Three

Pos	Lane	Swimmer	NOC	100 m	200 m	300 m	Time
1	4	Noëmi Lung	ROU	1:04.80 (3) 1:10.10 (1)	2:14.90 (1) 1:23.15 (5)	3:38.05 (1) 1:03.91 (2)	4:41.96	Q
2	5	Kathleen Nord	GDR	1:04.19 (1) 1:15.09 (6)	2:19.28 (5) 1:20.34 (1)	3:39.62 (3) 1:03.30 (1)	4:42.92	Q
3	3	Jodie Clatworthy	AUS	1:05.85 (6) 1:11.28 (2)	2:17.13 (2) 1:21.88 (2)	3:39.01 (2) 1:05.25 (4)	4:44.26	Q
4	6	Yelena Dendeberova	URS	1:04.70 (2) 1:13.13 (4)	2:17.83 (3) 1:22.13 (3)	3:39.96 (4) 1:06.67 (7)	4:46.63	Q
5	2	Lin Li	CHN	1:05.82 (5) 1:13.11 (3)	2:18.93 (4) 1:22.43 (4)	3:41.36 (5) 1:07.53 (8)	4:48.89	Q
6	1	Birgit Lohberg-Schulz	FRG	1:05.30 (4) 1:14.60 (5)	2:19.90 (6) 1:26.41 (7)	3:46.31 (6) 1:05.74 (6)	4:52.05	q
7	7	Marianne Muis	NED	1:07.17 (7) 1:16.93 (7)	2:24.10 (7) 1:26.48 (8)	3:50.58 (7) 1:05.73 (5)	4:56.31
8	8	Mildred Muis	NED	1:07.27 (8) 1:18.31 (8)	2:25.58 (8) 1:26.23 (6)	3:51.81 (8) 1:05.08 (3)	4:56.89

Heat Four

Pos	Lane	Swimmer	NOC	100 m	200 m	300 m	Time
1	4	Janet Evans	USA	1:05.34 (3) 1:10.28 (1)	2:15.62 (1) 1:23.64 (5)	3:39.26 (1) 1:03.78 (1)	4:43.04	Q
2	5	Daniela Hunger	GDR	1:04.89 (2) 1:12.23 (2)	2:17.12 (2) 1:23.28 (3)	3:40.40 (2) 1:04.45 (2)	4:44.85	Q
3	6	Roberta Felotti	ITA	1:06.49 (5) 1:13.87 (3)	2:20.36 (3) 1:23.42 (4)	3:43.78 (3) 1:05.42 (3)	4:49.20	q
4	3	Anamarija Petričević	YUG	1:05.95 (4) 1:16.32 (5)	2:22.27 (=4) 1:23.75 (6)	3:46.02 (5) 1:08.15 (6)	4:54.17
5	8	Suki Brownsdon	GBR	1:04.72 (1) 1:19.68 (7)	2:24.40 (7) 1:22.65 (2)	3:47.05 (6) 1:07.61 (4)	4:54.66
6	7	Yoshie Nishioka	JPN	1:06.57 (6) 1:17.36 (6)	2:23.93 (6) 1:21.42 (1)	3:45.35 (4) 1:09.96 (7)	4:55.31
7	1	Irene Dalby	NOR	1:06.83 (7) 1:15.44 (4)	2:22.27 (=4) 1:28.02 (7)	3:50.29 (7) 1:07.85 (5)	4:58.14
DNS	2	Yuliya Bogachova	URS	– (–) –	– (–) –	– (–) –	–

B Final (19 September 1988 — 12:00)

Pos	Lane	Swimmer	NOC	100 m	200 m	300 m	Time
1	5	Roberta Felotti	ITA	1:06.76 (6) 1:13.78 (3)	2:20.54 (4) 1:23.57 (1)	3:44.11 (1) 1:05.42 (3)	4:49.53
2	7	Birgit Lohberg-Schulz	FRG	1:05.84 (3) 1:14.67 (5)	2:20.51 (3) 1:25.97 (5)	3:46.48 (4) 1:04.06 (2)	4:50.54
3	3	Erika Hansen	USA	1:04.99 (1) 1:10.54 (1)	2:15.53 (1) 1:30.17 (8)	3:45.70 (2) 1:06.23 (6)	4:51.93
4	6	Antoaneta Strumenlieva	BUL	1:05.25 (2) 1:14.26 (4)	2:19.51 (2) 1:28.79 (7)	3:48.30 (7) 1:04.03 (1)	4:52.33
5	1	Anette Philipsson	SWE	1:07.77 (7) 1:14.74 (6)	2:22.51 (8) 1:24.64 (2)	3:47.15 (6) 1:05.62 (4)	4:52.77
6	2	Christine Magnier	FRA	1:08.08 (8) 1:13.07 (2)	2:21.15 (5) 1:25.23 (4)	3:46.38 (3) 1:06.91 (7)	4:53.29
7	8	Annette Poulsen	DEN	1:06.66 (5) 1:15.81 (7)	2:22.47 (7) 1:26.07 (6)	3:48.54 (8) 1:05.86 (5)	4:54.40
8	4	Yan Ming	CHN	1:06.16 (4) 1:15.89 (8)	2:22.05 (6) 1:25.09 (3)	3:47.14 (5) 1:08.78 (8)	4:55.92

Final (19 September 1988 — 12:00)

Pos	Lane	Swimmer	NOC	100 m	200 m	300 m	Time
1	3	Janet Evans	USA	1:04.55 (4) 1:08.24 (1)	2:12.79 (1) 1:21.47 (5)	3:34.26 (1) 1:03.50 (3)	4:37.76
2	4	Noëmi Lung	ROU	1:04.75 (5) 1:09.08 (2)	2:13.83 (2) 1:22.14 (6)	3:35.97 (3) 1:03.49 (2)	4:39.46
3	2	Daniela Hunger	GDR	1:04.53 (3) 1:11.48 (3)	2:16.01 (3) 1:20.77 (3)	3:36.78 (4) 1:02.98 (1)	4:39.76
4	7	Yelena Dendeberova	URS	1:04.52 (2) 1:13.32 (6)	2:17.84 (5) 1:18.01 (1)	3:35.85 (2) 1:04.59 (5)	4:40.44
5	5	Kathleen Nord	GDR	1:03.43 (1) 1:14.38 (8)	2:17.81 (4) 1:19.65 (2)	3:37.46 (5) 1:04.18 (4)	4:41.64
6	6	Jodie Clatworthy	AUS	1:06.21 (8) 1:11.81 (4)	2:18.02 (6) 1:21.28 (4)	3:39.30 (6) 1:06.56 (8)	4:45.86
7	8	Lin Li	CHN	1:04.87 (6) 1:13.38 (7)	2:18.25 (7) 1:22.30 (7)	3:40.55 (7) 1:06.50 (7)	4:47.05
8	1	Donna Procter	AUS	1:05.63 (7) 1:13.13 (5)	2:18.76 (8) 1:23.87 (8)	3:42.63 (8) 1:04.88 (6)	4:47.51