# Swimming at the 1988 Summer Olympics – Women's 100 metre butterfly

The women's 100 metre butterfly event at the 1988 Summer Olympics took place on 23 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 | Mary T. Meagher (USA) | 57.93 | Brown Deer, United States | 16 August 1981 |
| Olympic record | Mary T. Meagher (USA) | 59.05 | Los Angeles, United States | 2 August 1984 |
The following records were established during the competition:
| Date | Round | Name | Nation | Time | Record |
| 23 September | Final A | Kristin Otto | East Germany | 59.00 | OR |

## Results
### Heats

Rule: The eight fastest swimmers advance to final A (Q), while the next eight to final B (q).
| Rank | Heat | Name | Nationality | Time | Notes |
| 1 | 5 | Catherine Plewinski | France | 59.34 | Q, NR |
| 2 | 4 | Birte Weigang | East Germany | 59.97 | Q |
| 3 | 5 | Kristin Otto | East Germany | 1:00.40 | Q |
| 4 | 4 | Qian Hong | China | 1:00.66 | Q |
| 5 | 5 | Conny van Bentum | Netherlands | 1:00.94 | Q |
| 6 | 3 | Janel Jorgensen | United States | 1:00.97 | Q |
| 7 | 4 | Wang Xiaohong | China | 1:01.18 | Q |
| 8 | 3 | Mary T. Meagher | United States | 1:01.48 | Q |
| 9 | 5 | Svitlana Kopchykova | Soviet Union | 1:01.85 | q |
| 10 | 5 | Fiona Alessandri | Australia | 1:01.90 | q |
| 11 | 3 | Neviana Miteva | Bulgaria | 1:02.01 | q |
| 12 | 3 | Kiyomi Takahashi | Japan | 1:02.04 | q |
| 13 | 3 | Ilaria Tocchini | Italy | 1:02.07 | q |
| 14 | 4 | Jacqueline Delord | France | 1:02.24 | q |
| 15 | 5 | Gabi Reha | West Germany | 1:02.27 | q |
| 16 | 4 | Takayo Kitano | Japan | 1:02.39 | q |
| 17 | 2 | María Luisa Fernández | Spain | 1:02.47 | |
| 18 | 4 | Caroline Foot | Great Britain | 1:02.76 | |
| 19 | 4 | Ina Beyermann | West Germany | 1:02.85 | |
| 20 | 5 | Jane Kerr | Canada | 1:02.91 | |
| 21 | 3 | Annabelle Cripps | Great Britain | 1:03.34 | |
| 22 | 5 | Agneta Eriksson | Sweden | 1:03.45 | |
| 23 | 4 | Andrea Nugent | Canada | 1:03.69 | |
| 24 | 3 | Emanuela Viola | Italy | 1:03.91 | |
| 24 | 3 | Stela Pura | Romania | 1:03.91 | |
| 26 | 2 | Lee Hong-mi | South Korea | 1:04.36 | |
| 27 | 2 | Sandra Neves | Portugal | 1:04.60 | |
| 28 | 2 | Blanca Morales | Guatemala | 1:05.02 | |
| 29 | 2 | Marlene Bruten | Mexico | 1:05.37 | |
| 30 | 2 | Kim Soo-jin | South Korea | 1:06.14 | |
| 31 | 2 | Hung Cee Kay | Hong Kong | 1:06.94 | |
| 32 | 2 | Chang Hui-chien | Chinese Taipei | 1:07.36 | |
| 33 | 1 | Marcela Cuesta | Costa Rica | 1:07.66 | |
| 34 | 1 | Nguyễn Kiều Oanh | Vietnam | 1:07.96 | |
| 35 | 1 | Ana Joselina Fortin | Honduras | 1:07.99 | |
| 36 | 1 | Annemarie Munk | Hong Kong | 1:08.35 | |
| 37 | 1 | Sharon Pickering | Fiji | 1:10.51 | |
| 38 | 1 | Cina Munch | Fiji | 1:12.03 | |
| 39 | 1 | Elsa Freire | Angola | 1:12.27 | |
| 40 | 1 | Barbara Gayle | Guam | 1:12.84 | |

### Finals
#### Final B

| Rank | Lane | Name | Nationality | Time |
| 9 | 4 | Svitlana Kopchykova | Soviet Union | 1:01.48 |
| 10 | 6 | Kiyomi Takahashi | Japan | 1:01.80 |
| 11 | 7 | Jacqueline Delord | France | 1:02.45 |
| 12 | 3 | Neviana Miteva | Bulgaria | 1:02.47 |
| 13 | 5 | Fiona Alessandri | Australia | 1:02.51 |
| 14 | 8 | Takayo Kitano | Japan | 1:02.53 |
| 15 | 1 | Gabi Reha | West Germany | 1:02.63 |
| 16 | 2 | Ilaria Tocchini | Italy | 1:02.78 |

#### Final A

| Rank | Lane | Name | Nationality | Time | Notes |
| | 3 | Kristin Otto | East Germany | 59.00 | OR |
| | 5 | Birte Weigang | East Germany | 59.45 | |
| | 6 | Qian Hong | China | 59.52 | |
| 4 | 4 | Catherine Plewinski | France | 59.58 | |
| 5 | 7 | Janel Jorgensen | United States | 1:00.48 | |
| 6 | 2 | Conny van Bentum | Netherlands | 1:00.62 | |
| 7 | 8 | Mary T. Meagher | United States | 1:00.97 | |
| 8 | 1 | Wang Xiaohong | China | 1:01.15 | |