| Final | | time | | L | | 1. Jarmila Kratochvílová |  Czechoslovakia | 49.69s | | 3 | | 2. Kirsten Siemon |  East Germany | 51.70s | | 2 | | 3. Rositsa Stamenova |  Bulgaria | 52.36s | | 5 | | 4. Judit Forgács |  Hungary | 53.86s | | 1 | | 5. Karoline Käfer |  Austria | 53.92s | | 4 |
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Heats - Saturday, 5th March | | First 2 from each Heat and Best time advanced to Final. |
| Heat 1 | | time | | | 1. Jarmila Kratochvílová | Czechoslovakia | 52.31s | Q | | 2. Rositsa Stamenova | Bulgaria | 52.94s | Q | | 5. Karoline Käfer | Austria | 54.22s | q | | 8. Olga Vladykina |  Soviet Union | 57.36s | |
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| Heat 2 | | time | | | 3. Kirsten Siemon | East Germany | 53.09s | Q | | 4. Judit Forgács | Hungary | 53.49s | Q | | 6. Pauline Mullins |  Ireland | 54.23s | | | 7. Alena Bulířová | Czechoslovakia | 54.32s | |
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