# Athletics at the 1968 Summer Olympics – Women's 80 metres hurdles

The Women's 80 metres hurdles competition at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City, Mexico was held at the University Olympic Stadium on October 17–18.

## Competition format

The Women's 80m hurdles competition consisted of heats (Round 1), Semifinals and a Final. The three fastest competitors from each race in the heats qualified for the semifinals, along with the fastest overall competitor not already qualified. The top four athletes from each semifinals race advanced to the final.

## Records

Prior to this competition, the existing world and Olympic records were as follows:
| World record | Vera Korsakova (URS) | 10.2 | Soviet Union | July 16, 1968 |
| Olympic record | Irina Press (URS) | 10.6 | Rome, Italy | August 31, 1960 |

## Results
### Round 1

Qual. rule: first 3 of each heat (Q) plus the next fastest time (q) qualified.

#### Heat 1

| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | Mamie Rallins | United States | 10.6 | Q |
| 2 | Vera Korsakova | Soviet Union | 10.6 | Q |
| 3 | Inge Schell | West Germany | 10.7 | Q |
| 4 | Carmen Smith | Jamaica | 11.0 | |
| 5 | Carla Panerai | Italy | 11.0 | |
| 6 | Enriqueta Basilio | Mexico | 11.1 | |
| 7 | Ulla-Britt Wieslander | Sweden | 11.2 | |

#### Heat 2

| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | Pam Kilborn | Australia | 10.4 | Q |
| 2 | Valeria Bufanu | Romania | 10.9 | Q |
| 3 | Mária Kiss | Hungary | 10.9 | Q |
| 4 | Marlene Elejarde | Cuba | 10.9 | |
| 5 | Marijana Lubej | Yugoslavia | 11.0 | |
| 6 | Snezhana Yurukova | Bulgaria | 11.0 | |
| 7 | Ann Wilson | Great Britain | 11.1 | |

#### Heat 3

| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | Patty Van Wolvelaere | United States | 10.6 | Q |
| 2 | Teresa Sukniewicz | Poland | 10.7 | Q |
| 3 | Tatyana Talysheva | Soviet Union | 10.8 | Q |
| 4 | Carlota Ulloa | Chile | 11.1 | |
| 5 | Jenny Meldrum | Canada | 11.1 | |
| — | Pat Pryce | Great Britain | DNF | |

#### Heat 4

| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | Maureen Caird | Australia | 10.4 | Q |
| 2 | Chi Cheng | Taiwan | 10.5 | Q |
| 3 | Danuta Straszyńska | Poland | 10.7 | Q |
| 4 | Inge Aigner | Austria | 10.8 | q |
| 5 | Meta Antenen | Switzerland | 10.9 | |
| 6 | Pat Jones | Great Britain | 11.0 | |
| 7 | Roswitha Emonts-Gast | Belgium | 11.4 | |

#### Heat 5

| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | Karin Balzer | East Germany | 10.7 | Q |
| 2 | Elżbieta Żebrowska | Poland | 10.8 | Q |
| 3 | Judy Dyer | United States | 10.9 | Q |
| 4 | Liudmila Ievleva | Soviet Union | 10.9 | |
| 5 | Yeh Chu-Mei | Taiwan | 11.7 | |
| 6 | Cecilia Sosa | El Salvador | 12.8 | |

### Semifinals

Qual. rule: first 4 of each heat (Q) qualified.

#### Heat 1

| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | Maureen Caird | Australia | 10.5 | Q |
| 2 | Patty Van Wolvelaere | United States | 10.6 | Q |
| 3 | Tatyana Talysheva | Soviet Union | 10.7 | Q |
| 4 | Karin Balzer | East Germany | 10.8 | Q |
| 5 | Vera Korsakova | Soviet Union | 10.8 | |
| 6 | Teresa Sukniewicz | Poland | 10.9 | |
| 7 | Valeria Bufanu | Romania | 11.0 | |
| 8 | Inge Aigner | Austria | 11.1 | |

#### Heat 2

| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | Pam Kilborn | Australia | 10.4 | Q |
| 2 | Chi Cheng | Taiwan | 10.5 | Q |
| 3 | Danuta Straszyńska | Poland | 10.5 | Q |
| 4 | Elżbieta Żebrowska | Poland | 10.6 | Q |
| 5 | Mamie Rallins | United States | 10.6 | |
| 6 | Judy Dyer | United States | 10.8 | |
| 7 | Inge Schell | West Germany | 10.8 | |
| 8 | Mária Kiss | Hungary | 11.2 | |

### Final

| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
| | Maureen Caird | Australia | 10.3 | OR |
| | Pam Kilborn | Australia | 10.4 | |
| | Chi Cheng | Taiwan | 10.4 | |
| 4 | Patty Van Wolvelaere | United States | 10.5 | |
| 5 | Karin Balzer | East Germany | 10.6 | |
| 6 | Danuta Straszyńska | Poland | 10.6 | |
| 7 | Elżbieta Żebrowska | Poland | 10.6 | |
| 8 | Tatyana Talysheva | Soviet Union | 10.7 | |