| 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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