The women's 400 metre individual medley event at the 1988 Summer Olympics

1988 Summer Olympics

The 1988 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIV Olympiad, were an all international multi-sport events celebrated from September 17 to October 2, 1988 in Seoul, South Korea. They were the second summer Olympic Games to be held in Asia and the first since the 1964 Summer Olympics...

 took place between September 18 & September 19.

This swimming

Swimming (sport)

Swimming is a sport governed by the Fédération Internationale de Natation .-History: Competitive swimming in Europe began around 1800 BCE, mostly in the form of the freestyle. In 1873 Steve Bowyer introduced the trudgen to Western swimming competitions, after copying the front crawl used by Native...

 event used medley swimming

Medley swimming

Medley is a combination of four different swimming styles into one race. This race is either swum by one swimmer as individual medley or by four swimmers as a medley relay...

. Because an Olympic size swimming pool is 50 metres long, this race consisted of eight lengths of the pool. The first two lengths were swum using the butterfly stroke

Butterfly stroke

The butterfly is a swimming stroke swum on the breast, with both arms moving simultaneously. The butterfly kick was developed separately, and is also known as the "dolphin kick"...

, the second pair with the backstroke

Backstroke

The backstroke, also sometimes called the back crawl, is one of the four swimming styles regulated by FINA, and the only regulated style swum on the back. This has the advantage of easy breathing, but the disadvantage of swimmers not being able to see where they are going. It is also the only...

, the third pair of lengths in breaststroke

Breaststroke

The breaststroke is a swimming style in which the swimmer is on his or her chest and the torso does not rotate. It is the most popular recreational style due to its stability and the ability to keep the head out of the water a large portion of the time. In most swimming classes, beginners learn...

, and the final two were freestyle

Freestyle swimming

Freestyle is an unregulated swimming style used in swimming competitions according to the rules of FINA. The front crawl stroke is almost universally used during a freestyle race, as this style is generally the fastest...

. Unlike other events using freestyle, swimmers could not use butterfly, backstroke, or breaststroke for the freestyle leg; most swimmers use the front crawl

Front crawl

The front crawl, forward crawl, or freestyle is a swimming stroke usually regarded as the fastest of the four front primary strokes. As such, the front crawl stroke is nearly universally used during a freestyle swimming competition, hence the synonymously used term "freestyle". It is one of two...

 in freestyle events.

Medalists

A Final

Place	Swimmer	Country	Time	Notes
	Janet Evans Janet Evans Janet Beth Evans is a American competitive swimmer who specializes in distance freestyle. She recently announced her comeback to the sport with intentions to swim in the 2012 Olympic Trials.-Biography:...		4:37.76
	Noemi Lung Noemi Lung Noemi Lung Zaharia is a former butterfly and medley swimmer from Romania, who won two medals at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea: the silver in the 400 m individual medley, and the bronze in the 200 m individual medley...		4:39.46
	Daniela Hunger Daniela Hunger Daniela Hunger is a former medley and freestyle swimmer from East Germany, who won two golden medals at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea: in the women's 200 m individual medley, and as a member of the women's 4×100 m freestyle team...		4:39.76
4	Yelena Dendeberova Yelena Dendeberova Yelena Dendeberova is a former medley swimmer from the Soviet Union, who won the silver medal in the 200 m individual medley at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea. She also competed in the 1992 Summer Olympics, for the Unified Team.-References:...		4:40.44
5	Kathleen Nord Kathleen Nord Kathleen Nord is a former butterfly and medley swimmer from East Germany, who won the gold medal in the 200 m butterfly at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea.-References:...		4:41.64
6	Jodie Clatworthy		4:45.86
7	Lin Li Lin Li (swimmer) Lynn Li is a Chinese former swimmer and Olympic champion.She competed at the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona, where she received silver medals in 200 m breaststroke and in 400 m medley, and a gold medal in 200 m individual medley.-World record:...		4:47.05
8	Donna Procter		4:47.51

B final

Place	Swimmer	Country	Time	Notes
9	Roberta Felotti		4:49.53
10	Birgit Schulz-Lohberg		4:50.54
11	Erika Hansen Erika Hansen Erika Marie Hansen is a retired female butterfly, freestyle and medley swimmer from the United States. She represented her native country at two consecutive Summer Olympics, starting in 1988...		4:51.93
12	Antoaneta Strumenlieva		4:52.33
13	Anette Philipsson Anette Philipsson Sissy Anette Philipsson is a former Swedish Olympic swimmer. She competed in the 1984 Summer Olympics and the 1988 Summer Olympics. She finished 12th in the 200 m individual medley both times....		4:52.77
14	Christine Magnier		4:53.29
15	Annette Poulson		4:54.40
16	Ming Yan		4:55.92

Preliminary heats

Rank	Swimmer	Country	Time	Notes
1	Noemi Lung Noemi Lung Noemi Lung Zaharia is a former butterfly and medley swimmer from Romania, who won two medals at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea: the silver in the 400 m individual medley, and the bronze in the 200 m individual medley...		4:41.96	q-A
2	Kathleen Nord Kathleen Nord Kathleen Nord is a former butterfly and medley swimmer from East Germany, who won the gold medal in the 200 m butterfly at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea.-References:...		4:42.92	q-A
3	Janet Evans Janet Evans Janet Beth Evans is a American competitive swimmer who specializes in distance freestyle. She recently announced her comeback to the sport with intentions to swim in the 2012 Olympic Trials.-Biography:...		4:43.04	q-A
4	Jodie Clatworthy		4:44.26	q-A Commonwealth
5	Daniela Hunger Daniela Hunger Daniela Hunger is a former medley and freestyle swimmer from East Germany, who won two golden medals at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea: in the women's 200 m individual medley, and as a member of the women's 4×100 m freestyle team...		4:44.85	q-A
6	Yelena Dendeberova Yelena Dendeberova Yelena Dendeberova is a former medley swimmer from the Soviet Union, who won the silver medal in the 200 m individual medley at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea. She also competed in the 1992 Summer Olympics, for the Unified Team.-References:...		4:46.63	q-A
7	Donna Procter		4:47.57	q-A
8	Lin Li Lin Li (swimmer) Lynn Li is a Chinese former swimmer and Olympic champion.She competed at the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona, where she received silver medals in 200 m breaststroke and in 400 m medley, and a gold medal in 200 m individual medley.-World record:...		4:48.89	q-A
9	Yan Ming		4:49.04	q-B
10	Roberta Felotti		4:49.20	q-B
11	Erika Hansen Erika Hansen Erika Marie Hansen is a retired female butterfly, freestyle and medley swimmer from the United States. She represented her native country at two consecutive Summer Olympics, starting in 1988...		4:50.03	q-B
12	Antoaneta Strumenlieva		4:51.58	q-B
13	Christine Magnier		4:51.91	q-B
14	Birgit Schulz-Lohberg		4:52.05	q-B
15	Anette Philipsson Anette Philipsson Sissy Anette Philipsson is a former Swedish Olympic swimmer. She competed in the 1984 Summer Olympics and the 1988 Summer Olympics. She finished 12th in the 200 m individual medley both times....		4:53.58	q-B
16	Annette Poulson		4:54.01	q-B
17	Anamarija Petricevic Anamarija Petričević Anamarija Petričević is a retired Croatian swimmer.Anamarija Petričević is a daughter of Đurđica Bjedov, gold and silver medalist in swimming at the 1968 Summer Olympics. Petričević competed for Yugoslavia at the 1988 Summer Olympics...		4:54.17
18	Susannah Brownsdon		4:54.66
19	Yoshie Nishioka		4:55.31
20	Marianne Muis Marianne Muis Marianne Muis is a former medley and freestyle swimmer from The Netherlands, who competed in three consequentive Summer Olympics for her native country, starting in 1988. There she won the silver medal with the Dutch women's 4×100 m freestyle relay team, behind East Germany...		4:56.31
21	Mildred Muis Mildred Muis Mildred Muis is a former medley and freestyle swimmer from The Netherlands, who competed in two consequentive Summer Olympics for her native country, starting in 1988. There she won the silver medal with the Dutch women's 4×100 m freestyle relay team, behind East Germany...		4:56.89
22	Irene Dalby Irene Dalby Irene Karine Dalby is a former international swimmer from Norway, who competed in the late 1980s and early 1990s...		4:58.14
23	Hiroyo Harada		5:00.92
24	Tracey Atkin		5:01.34
25	Michelle Smith Michelle Smith Michelle Smith is a retired Irish swimmer and practising Irish barrister. She was a triple gold medallist at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, for the 400 m individual medley, 400 m freestyle and 200 m individual medley...		5:01.84
26	Marlene Bruten		5:03.69
27	Hui-Chen Chang		5:13.20
28	Valentina Aracil		5:19.17
29	Annemarie Munk		5:24.11
30	Kimberly Chen		5:28.15