In 1991, Retchakan retained her AAAs title in 56.67. At the World Championships in Tokyo. she ran below 55 seconds for the first time, with 54.95 in the heats, improving to 54.88 in the semi-finals, narrowly missing the final. The time ranked her tenth fastest in the world for 1991. In 1992, Retchakan won the UK title in 55.42 and retained the AAAs title in 55.04, to earn Olympic selection. At the Barcelona Olympics, she ran her lifetime best of 54.63 in the semi-finals, to again narrowly miss the final. She was unfortunate to miss out, as she was the seventh fastest athlete overall from the two semis. A month after the Olympics, she was selected to represent Europe at the IAAF World Cup in Havana. She ran 55.66, to finish second behind Sandra Farmer-Patrick and ahead of Margarita Ponomaryova. She was the ninth fastest in the world for 1992.