# Swimming at the 1988 Summer Olympics – Women's 4 × 100 metre freestyle relay

The women's 4 × 100 metre freestyle relay event at the 1988 Summer Olympics took place on 22 September at the Jamsil Indoor Swimming Pool in Seoul, South Korea.

## Records

Prior to this competition, the existing world and Olympic records were as follows.
| World record | East Germany (GDR) Kristin Otto (54.73) Manuela Stellmach (54.96) Sabina Schulze (55.52) Heike Friedrich (55.36) | 3:40.57 | Madrid, Spain | 19 August 1986 |
| Olympic record | East Germany (GDR) Barbara Krause (54.90) Caren Metschuck (55.61) Ines Diers (55.90) Sarina Hülsenbeck (56.30) | 3:42.71 | Moscow, Soviet Union | 27 July 1980 |
The following new world and Olympic records were set during this competition.
| Date | Event | Name | Nationality | Time | Record |
| 22 September | Final | Kristin Otto (55.11) Katrin Meissner (54.73) Daniela Hunger (55.69) Manuela Stellmach (55.10) | East Germany | 3:40.63 | OR |

## Results
### Heats

Rule: The eight fastest teams advance to the final (Q).
| Rank | Heat | Nation | Swimmers | Time | Notes |
| 1 | 1 | East Germany | Katrin Meissner (55.30) Sabina Schulze (56.32) Heike Friedrich (55.68) Daniela Hunger (55.83) | 3:43.13 | Q |
| 2 | 2 | Netherlands | Conny van Bentum (56.34) Marianne Muis (55.96) Mildred Muis (55.85) Diana van der Plaats (55.97) | 3:44.12 | Q |
| 3 | 2 | United States | Laura Walker (57.46) Paige Zemina (56.51) Jill Sterkel (56.07) Mary Wayte (55.06) | 3:45.10 | Q |
| 4 | 1 | Soviet Union | Inna Abramova (57.56) Svetlana Isakova (56.55) Yelena Dendeberova (56.02) Svitlana Kopchykova (56.15) | 3:46.28 | Q |
| 5 | 2 | China | Xia Fujie (57.37) Lou Yaping (57.23) Yang Wenyi (55.86) Zhuang Yong (55.90) | 3:46.36 | Q |
| 6 | 1 | West Germany | Karin Seick (57.54) Christiane Pielke (56.94) Katja Ziliox (57.75) Marion Aizpors (55.80) | 3:48.03 | Q |
| 7 | 2 | Denmark | Mette Jacobsen (57.10) Gitta Jensen (56.85) Pia Sørensen (56.93) Annette Jørgensen (57.95) | 3:48.83 | Q |
| 8 | 2 | Canada | Kathy Bald (57.29) Kristin Topham (58.08) Allison Higson (57.09) Jane Kerr (56.74) | 3:49.20 | Q |
| 9 | 1 | Sweden | Agneta Eriksson (58.31) Karin Furuhed (57.31) Suzanne Nilsson (57.59) Eva Nyberg (57.29) | 3:50.50 | |
| 10 | 1 | Great Britain | Annabelle Cripps (57.87) June Croft (57.70) Linda Donnelly (58.01) Joanna Coull (57.26) | 3:50.84 | |
| 11 | 2 | Brazil | Adriana Pereira (58.59) Monica Rezende (59.37) Patrícia Amorim (59.92) Isabelle Vieira (58.41) | 3:56.29 | |
| 12 | 1 | Costa Rica | Natasha Aguilar (1:01.45) Marcela Cuesta (1:00.07) Carolina Mauri (1:00.25) Silvia Poll (57.90) | 3:59.67 | |
| 13 | 2 | South Korea | Kim Eun-jung (1:01.33) Han Young-hee (1:00.37) Park Joo-li (1:01.42) Lee Hong-mi (1:00.06) | 4:03.18 | |
| 14 | 2 | Hong Kong | Hung Cee Kay (1:00.80) Fenella Ng (1:01.15) Tsang Wing Sze (1:03.67) Annemarie Munk (1:02.96) | 4:08.58 | |
| 15 | 1 | Chinese Taipei | Wang Chi (1:02.17) Sabrina Lum (1:03.31) Carwai Seto (1:01.82) Chang Hui-chien (1:02.54) | 4:09.84 | |

### Final

| Rank | Lane | Nation | Swimmers | Time | Notes |
| | 4 | East Germany | Kristin Otto (55.11) Katrin Meissner (54.73) Daniela Hunger (55.69) Manuela Stellmach (55.10) | 3:40.63 | OR |
| | 5 | Netherlands | Marianne Muis (56.26) Mildred Muis (56.36) Conny van Bentum (55.73) Diana van der Plaats (55.04) | 3:43.39 | NR |
| | 3 | United States | Mary Wayte (55.88) Mitzi Kremer (55.68) Laura Walker (56.71) Dara Torres (55.98) | 3:44.25 | |
| 4 | 2 | China | Xia Fujie (57.78) Yang Wenyi (55.38) Lou Yaping (57.28) Zhuang Yong (54.25) | 3:44.69 | NR |
| 5 | 6 | Soviet Union | Yelena Dendeberova (56.49) Svetlana Isakova (56.20) Natalia Trefilova (56.00) Svitlana Kopchykova (56.30) | 3:44.99 | |
| 6 | 8 | Canada | Kathy Bald (57.01) Patricia Noall (56.75) Andrea Nugent (56.31) Jane Kerr (56.68) | 3:46.75 | |
| 7 | 7 | West Germany | Stephanie Ortwig (57.91) Marion Aizpors (55.71) Christiane Pielke (56.46) Karin Seick (56.82) | 3:46.90 | |
| 8 | 1 | Denmark | Gitta Jensen (56.93) Pia Sørensen (57.28) Mette Jacobsen (56.95) Annette Jørgensen (58.09) | 3:49.25 | |