Final | | time | | 1. Marilyn Neufville | Great Britain | 53.01s | WB | 2. Christel Frese | West Germany | 53.13s | | 3. Colette Besson | France | 53.63s | | 4. Karin Lundgren | Sweden | 53.8 s | |
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| First 2 from each Heat advanced to Final. |
Heat 1 | | time | | 1. Christel Frese | West Germany | 53.7s | Q | 2. Colette Besson | France | 53.8s | q | 3. Svetla Zlateva | Bulgaria | 55.5s | |
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Heat 2 | | time | | 1. Marilyn Neufville | Great Britain | 55.2s | Q | 2. Libuše Macounová | Czechoslovakia | 56.4s | | 3. Krystyna Hryniewicka | Poland | 56.7s | |
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Heat 3 | | time | | 1. Karin Lundgren | Sweden | 55.2s | Q | 2. Raisa Nikanorova | Soviet Union | 55.8s | | 3. Donata Govoni | Italy | 55.8s | |
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