| Final | | time | | | 1. Christel Frese |  West Germany | 53.36s | | | 2. Inge Bödding | West Germany | 54.60s | | | 3. Erika Weinstein | West Germany | 54.73s | | | 4. Colette Besson |  France | 55.64s | |
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| | First 2 from each Semi advanced to Final. |
| Semi 1 | | time | | | 2. Colette Besson | France | 54.61s | Q | | 4. Erika Weinstein | West Germany | 55.06s | Q | | 5. Lyubov Zavyalova |  Soviet Union | 55.12s | | | 6. Verona Bernard |  Great Britain | 55.25s | |
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| Semi 2 | | time | | | 1. Christel Frese | West Germany | 54.57s | Q | | 3. Inge Bödding | West Germany | 54.85s | Q | | 7. Margaretha Larsson |  Sweden | 55.75s | | | 8. Bernadette Martin | France | 56.75s | |
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| Heat 1 | | time | | | 1. Colette Besson | France | 54.74s | Q | | 3. Erika Weinstein | West Germany | 54.90s | Q | | 5. Margaretha Larsson | Sweden | 55.43s | q |
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| Heat 2 | | time | | | 2. Christel Frese | West Germany | 54.83s | Q | | 4. Verona Bernard | Great Britain | 55.11s | Q | | 6. Bernadette Martin | France | 55.88s | q |
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| Heat 3 | | time | | | 7. Lyubov Zavyalova | Soviet Union | 55.96s | Q | | 8. Inge Bödding | West Germany | 55.96s | Q | | 9. Birgitte Jennes |  Denmark | 57.37s | |
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