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Host City: Seoul, South Korea
Venue(s): Olympic Stadium, Seoul Sports Complex, Seoul
Date Started: September 29, 1988
Date Finished: October 1, 1988
| Gold: |  Paula Ivan |
| Silver: |  Laimutė Baikauskaitė |
| Bronze: | Tetiana Samolenko-Dorovskykh |
The favorites were Soviet [Tatyana Samolenko], 1987 World Champion and America's [Mary Decker-Slaney], 1983 World Champion. They qualified easily for the final, as did Romania's [Paula Ivan]. In the final, Ivan took the lead at the gun, and was never headed. She had an 8-metre lead at 800, dropping Decker-Slaney on the second lap, and she continued to increase her lead, winning by over 40 metres. Her time 3:53.96 was the second fastest ever run, but her winning margin of over six seconds has not been surpassed in any Olympic track race for women.
| Rank | Athlete | Age | Team | NOC | Medal | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Paula Ivan | 25 | Romania | ROU | Gold | OR |
| 2 | Laimutė Baikauskaitė | 32 | Soviet Union | URS | Silver | |
| 3 | Tetiana Samolenko-Dorovskykh | 27 | Soviet Union | URS | Bronze | |
| 4 | Christina Boxer-Cahill | 31 | Great Britain | GBR | ||
| 5 | Lynn Williams | 28 | Canada | CAN | ||
| 6 | Andrea Hahmann | 22 | East Germany | GDR | ||
| 7 | Shireen Bailey | 28 | Great Britain | GBR | ||
| 8 | Mary Decker-Slaney | 30 | United States | USA | ||
| 9 | Doina Beşliu-Melinte | 31 | Romania | ROU | ||
| 10 | Fatima Aouam | 28 | Morocco | MAR | ||
| 11 | Kim Gallagher | 24 | United States | USA | ||
| 12 | Debbie Scott-Bowker | 29 | Canada | CAN | ||
| 5 h1 r1/2 | Elly van Hulst | 29 | Netherlands | NED | ||
| 6 h1 r1/2 | Kirsty Wade | 26 | Great Britain | GBR | ||
| 7 h1 r1/2 | Lyubov Gurina | 31 | Soviet Union | URS | ||
| 8 h1 r1/2 | Angela Chalmers | 25 | Canada | CAN | ||
| 9 h1 r1/2 | Vera Michallek | 29 | West Germany | FRG | ||
| 9 h2 r1/2 | Hassiba Boulmerka | 20 | Algeria | ALG | ||
| 10 h1 r1/2 | Cornelia Bürki | 34 | Switzerland | SUI | ||
| 10 h2 r1/2 | Susan Sirma | 22 | Kenya | KEN | ||
| 11 h1 r1/2 | Khin Khin Htwe | 25 | Myanmar | MYA | ||
| 11 h2 r1/2 | Regina Jacobs | 25 | United States | USA | ||
| 12 h1 r1/2 | No Hye-Sun | 19 | South Korea | KOR | ||
| 12 h2 r1/2 | Letitia Vriesde | 23 | Suriname | SUR | ||
| 13 h1 r1/2 | Daphrose Nyiramutuzo | 16 | Rwanda | RWA | ||
| 13 h2 r1/2 | Laverne Bryan | 23 | Antigua and Barbuda | ANT | ||
| 14 h1 r1/2 | Poloni Avek | 22 | Papua New Guinea | PNG | ||
| 14 h2 r1/2 | Rachel Thompson | 24 | Sierra Leone | SLE |
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