# Athletics at the 1988 Summer Olympics – Women's 800 metres

The Women's 800 metres at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea had an entry list of 29 competitors, with four qualifying heats (29) and two semi-finals (16), before the final (8) took off on Monday September 26, 1988.

## Medalists

| Gold | Sigrun Wodars East Germany |
| Silver | Christine Wachtel East Germany |
| Bronze | Kim Gallagher United States |

## Records

These were the standing world and Olympic records (in minutes) prior to the 1988 Summer Olympics.
| World Record | 1:53.28 | Jarmila Kratochvílová | Munich (FGR) | July 26, 1983 |
| Olympic Record | 1:53.43 | Nadiya Olizarenko | Moscow (URS) | July 27, 1980 |

## Final

| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Time |
| | Sigrun Wodars | East Germany | 1:56.10 |
| | Christine Wachtel | East Germany | 1:56.64 |
| | Kim Gallagher | United States | 1:56.91 |
| 4 | Slobodanka Čolović | Yugoslavia | 1:57.50 |
| 5 | Delisa Walton-Floyd | United States | 1:57.80 |
| 6 | Inna Yevseyeva | Soviet Union | 1:59.37 |
| 7 | Maite Zúñiga | Spain | 1:59.82 |
| 8 | Diane Edwards | Great Britain | 2:00.77 |

## Semi finals

| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Time |
| 1 | Sigrun Wodars | East Germany | 1:57.21 |
| 2 | Kim Gallagher | United States | 1:57.39 |
| 3 | Slobodanka Čolović | Yugoslavia | 1:57.49 |
| 4 | Maite Zúñiga | Spain | 1:58.85 |
| 5 | Kirsty Wade | Great Britain | 2:00.86 |
| 6 | Soraya Telles | Brazil | 2:01.86 |
| 7 | Joetta Clark | United States | 2:03.32 |
| 8 | Nadiya Olizarenko | Soviet Union | 2:05.27 |
| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Time |
| 1 | Christine Wachtel | East Germany | 1:58.44 |
| 2 | Delisa Walton-Floyd | United States | 1:58.82 |
| 3 | Inna Yevseyeva | Soviet Union | 1:59.10 |
| 4 | Diane Edwards | Great Britain | 1:59.66 |
| 5 | Gabi Lesch | West Germany | 1:59.85 |
| 6 | Shireen Bailey | Great Britain | 1:59.94 |
| 7 | Dalia Matusevičienė | Soviet Union | 2:00.15 |
| 8 | Letitia Vriesde | Suriname | 2:02.34 |

## Qualifying heats

| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Time |
| 1 | Inna Yevseyeva | Soviet Union | 2:01.59 |
| 2 | Slobodanka Čolović | Yugoslavia | 2:01.80 |
| 3 | Shireen Bailey | Great Britain | 2:02.36 |
| 4 | Sharon Powell | Jamaica | 2:03.49 |
| 5 | Montserrat Pujol | Spain | 2:03.73 |
| 6 | Choi Se-Beom | South Korea | 2:06.65 |
| 7 | Assumpta Achuo-Bei | Cameroon | 2:07.10 |
| 8 | Christine Bakombo | Zaire | 2:11.00 |
| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Time |
| 1 | Christine Wachtel | East Germany | 2:00.62 |
| 2 | Joetta Clark | United States | 2:00.83 |
| 3 | Gabi Lesch | West Germany | 2:00.95 |
| 4 | Mayte Zúñiga | Spain | 2:00.98 |
| 5 | Mary Burzminski | Canada | 2:02.85 |
| 6 | Shiny Abraham-Wilson | India | 2:03.26 |
| 7 | Maria Mutola | Mozambique | 2:04.36 |
| 8 | Sheila Seebaluck | Mauritius | 2:08.93 |
| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Time |
| 1 | Sigrun Wodars | East Germany | 2:02.24 |
| 2 | Delisa Walton-Floyd | United States | 2:02.37 |
| 3 | Soraya Telles | Brazil | 2:02.48 |
| 4 | Dalia Matusevičienė | Soviet Union | 2:02.57 |
| 5 | Kirsty Wade | Great Britain | 2:02.75 |
| 6 | Maureen Stewart | Costa Rica | 2:08.17 |
| 7 | Laverne Bryan | Antigua and Barbuda | 2:12.18 |
| — | Sun Sumei | China | DNS |
| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Time |
| 1 | Kim Gallagher | United States | 2:01.70 |
| 2 | Diane Edwards | Great Britain | 2:01.79 |
| 3 | Nadiya Olizarenko | Soviet Union | 2:01.81 |
| 4 | Letitia Vriesde | Suriname | 2:01.83 |
| 5 | Hassiba Boulmerka | Algeria | 2:03.33 |
| 6 | Renée Belanger | Canada | 2:04.74 |
| — | Rosa Colorada | Spain | DNS |