| Final | | tim e | | L | | 1. Jarmila Kratochvílová |  Czechoslovakia | 49.59s | WR | 2 | | 2. Dagmar Rübsam |  East Germany | 51.18s | | 3 | | 3. Gaby Bußmann |  West Germany | 51.57s | NR | 1 | | 4. Taťána Kocembová | Czechoslovakia | 51.62s | | 4 |
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| | First 2 from each Semi advanced to Final. |
| Semi 1 | | time | | | 1. Jarmila Kratochvílová | Czechoslovakia | 51.90s | Q | | 3. Dagmar Rübsam | East Germany | 52.73s | Q | | 6. Mary Wagner | West Germany | 52.89s | | | 7. Verona Elder |  Great Britain | 53.00s | |
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| Semi 2 | | time | | | 2. Taťána Kocembová | Czechoslovakia | 52.43s | Q | | 4. Gaby Bußmann | West Germany | 52.85s | Q | | 5. Ann-Louise Skoglund |  Sweden | 52.85s | | | 8. Lyudmila Belova |  Soviet Union | 53.17s | |
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Heats - Saturday, 6th March | | First 2 from each Heat and next Best 2 advanced to Semi-Finals. |
| Heat 1 | | time | | | 1. Jarmila Kratochvílová | Czechoslovakia | 52.54s | Q | | 2. Ann-Louise Skoglund | Sweden | 53.09s | Q | | 3. Lyudmila Belova | Soviet Union | 53.17s | q | | 10.Elke Decker | West Germany | 54.37s | |
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| Heat 2 | | time | | | 4. Taťána Kocembová | Czechoslovakia | 53.55s | Q | | 5. Verona Elder | Great Britain | 53.56s | Q | | 7. Mary Wagner | West Germany | 53.94s | q | | 11.Marie-Christine Champenois |  France | 55.01s | |
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| Heat 3 | | time | | | 5. Gaby Bußmann | West Germany | 53.56s | Q | | 8. Dagmar Rübsam | East Germany | 53.94s | Q | | 9. Yelena Korban | Soviet Union | 54.14s | |
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