| Final | time |   |  | 1. Ellen van Langen |   Netherlands | 1:55.54 |   |  | 2. Liliya Nurutdinova |   Unified Team | 1:55.99 |   |  | 3. Ana Fidelia Quirot |   Cuba | 1:56.80 |   |  | 4. Inna Yevseyeva |   Unified Team | 1:57.20 |   |  | 5. Maria de Lurdes Mutola |   Mozambique | 1:57.49 |   |  | 6. Ella Kovacs |   Romania | 1:57.95 |   |  | 7. Joetta Clark |   United States | 1:58.06 |   |  | 8. Lyubov Gurina |   Unified Team | 1:58.13 |   |   
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|   |  | Venue: Estadi Olímpic de Montjuïc 67,007. |  | -- competitors from -- nations. |   
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| World record: 1:53.28 Jarmila Kratochvílová, Czechoslovakia, Munich, West Germany, July 26, 1983 |  | Olympic record: 1:53.43 Nadiya Olizarenko, Soviet Union, Moscow, Soviet Union, July 27, 1980 |   
| Semi 1 | time |   |  | 1. Liliya Nurutdinova |   Unified Team | 1:58.04 |   |  | 2. Maria de Lurdes Mutola |   Mozambique | 1:58.16 |   |  | 3. Inna Yevseyeva |   Unified Team | 1:58.20 |   |  | 4. Joetta Clark |   United States | 1:58.22 |   |  | 5. Letitia Vriesde |   Suriname | 1:58.28 |   |  | 6. Charmaine Crooks |   Canada | 1:58.55 |   |  | 7. Lorraine Baker |   Great Britain | 2:02.17 |   |  | 8. Sabine Zwiener |   Germany | 2:02.64 |   |   
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| Semi 2 | time |   |  | 1. Lyubov Gurina |   Unified Team | 2:00.64 |   |  | 2. Ellen van Langen |   Netherlands | 2:00.68 |   |  | 3. Ana Fidelia Quirot |    | 2:00.86 |   |  | 4. Ella Kovacs |   Romania | 2:00.89 |   |  | 5. Sigrun Grau |   Germany | 2:00.91 |   |  | 6. Carla Sacramento |   Portugal | 2:02.85 |   |  | 7. Diane Edwards |   Great Britain | 2:04.32 |   |  | 8. Julie Jenkins |   United States | 2:06.53 |   |   
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| Heat 1 | time |   |  | 1. Sigrun Grau |   Germany | 2:00.31 |   |  | 2. Liliya Nurutdinova |   Unified Team | 2:00.37 |   |  | 3. Diane Edwards |   Great Britain | 2:00.39 |   |  | 4. Shiny Wilson |   India | 2:01.90 |   |  | 5. Stella Jongmans |   Netherlands | 2:02.26 |   |  | 6. Brigitte Nganaye |   Central Africa | 2:15.70 |   |  | -. Baguepeng Gangue R. |   Chad | DSQ |   |   
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| Heat 2 | time |   |  | 1. Joetta Clark |   United States | 1:59.62 |   |  | 2. Ellen van Langen |   Netherlands | 1:59.86 |   |  | 3. Carla Sacramento |   Portugal | 2:00.57 |   |  | 4. Christine Wachtel |   Germany | 2:01.39 |   |  | 5. Paula Fryer |   Great Britain | 2:02.72 |   |  | 6. Sukanya Sang-Ngeun |   Thailand | 2:09.94 |   |  | 7. Andrea Garae |   Vanuatu | 2:28.61 |   |   
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| Heat 3 | time |   |  | 1. Ella Kovacs |   Romania | 1:59.88 |   |  | 2. Letitia Vriesde |   Suriname | 1:59.93 |   |  | 3. Julie Jenkins |   United States | 1:59.96 |   |  | 4. Sabine Zwiener |   Germany | 2:00.87 |   |  | 5. Fabia Trabaldo |   Italy | 2:01.44 |   |  | 6. Sriyani Dhammika Menike |  Sri Lanka | 2:03.85 | NR |  | 7. Prisca Singamo |   Malawi | 2:20.84 |   |   
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| Heat 4 | time |   |  | 1. Inna Yevseyeva |   Unified Team | 1:58.58 |   |  | 2. Ana Fidelia Quirot |   Cuba | 1:59.06 |   |  | 3. Charmaine Crooks |   Canada | 1:59.52 |   |  | 4. Lorraine Baker |   Great Britain | 2:00.50 |   |  | 5. Leontia Sălăgeanu |   Romania | 2:01.44 |   |  | 6. Zewdie Hailemariam |   Ethiopia | 2:03.85 |   |  | -. Carol Galea |   Malta | DSQ |   |   
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| Heat 5 | time |   |  | 1. Lyubov Gurina |   Unified Team | 2:00.27 |   |  | 2. Maria de Lurdes Mutola |   Mozambique | 2:00.83 |   |  | 3. Meredith Rainey |   United States | 2:01.33 |   |  | 4. Viviane Dorsile |   France | 2:01.54 |   |  | 5. Amaia Andrés |   Spain | 2:02.67 |   |  | 6. Gladys Wamuyu |   Kenya | 2:03.01 |   |  | 7. Edith Nakiyingi |   Uganda | 2:03.55 |   |  | 8. Mantokoane Pitso |  Lesotho | 2:29.77 |   |   
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