The women's 800 metre freestyle event at the 1968 Olympic Games took place between 22 and 24 October.[1] This swimming event used freestyle swimming, which means that the method of the stroke is not regulated (unlike backstroke, breaststroke, and butterfly events). Nearly all swimmers use the front crawl or a variant of that stroke. Because an Olympic size swimming pool is 50 metres long, this race consisted of sixteen lengths of the pool.
The winning margin was 11.7 seconds which as of 2023 remains the greatest winning margin in this event at the Olympics and one of only two occasions when the event was won by more than 7 seconds, the other time being in 2016.
Medalists
edit| Gold | Debbie Meyer United States
|
| Silver | Pam Kruse United States
|
| Bronze | Maria Teresa Ramírez Mexico
|
Results
editHeats
editHeat 1
| Rank | Athlete | Country | Time | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Debbie Meyer |  United States |
9:42.8 | |
| 2 | Angela Coughlan |  Canada |
10:00.2 | |
| 3 | Sigrid Goral |  East Germany |
10:09.3 | |
| 4 | Kristina Moir |  Puerto Rico |
10:24.5 | |
| 5 | Helen Elliott |  Philippines |
10:32.9 |
Heat 2
| Rank | Athlete | Country | Time | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Karen Moras |  Australia |
9:38.3 | |
| 2 | Denise Langford | Australia |
9:59.3 | |
| 3 | Laura Vaca |  Mexico |
10:01.8 | |
| 4 | Tui Shipston |  New Zealand |
10:28.0 | |
| 5 | Norma Amezcua | Mexico |
10:31.6 | |
| 6 | Emilia Figueroa |  Uruguay |
10:57.7 |
Heat 3
| Rank | Athlete | Country | Time | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pam Kruse | United States |
9:49.8 | |
| 2 | Elisabeth Ljunggren-Morris |  Sweden |
10:07.5 | |
| 3 | Susan Williams |  Great Britain |
10:17.6 | |
| 4 | Sabine Rantzsch | East Germany |
10:18.4 | |
| 5 | Lylian Castillo | Uruguay |
11:19.1 |
Heat 4
| Rank | Athlete | Country | Time | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Christine Deakes | Australia |
10:06.7 | |
| 2 | Marie-José Kersaudy |  France |
10:19.8 | |
| 3 | Novella Calligaris |  Italy |
10:21.0 | |
| 4 | Patricia Olano |  Colombia |
10:44.1 | |
| 5 | Silvana Asturias |  Guatemala |
11:12.5 |
Heat 5
| Rank | Athlete | Country | Time | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | María Teresa Ramírez | Mexico |
9:46.4 | |
| 2 | Patty Caretto | United States |
9:46.4 | |
| 3 | Dominique Mollier | France |
10:21.4 | |
| 4 | Marjatta Hara |  Finland |
10:23.3 | |
| 5 | Olga de Angulo | Colombia |
10:40.5 |
Final
edit| Rank | Athlete | Country | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
Debbie Meyer | United States |
9:24.0 | OR |
 |
Pam Kruse | United States |
9:35.7 | |
 |
Maria Teresa Ramírez | Mexico |
9:38.5 | |
| 4 | Karen Moras | Australia |
9:38.6 | |
| 5 | Patty Caretto | United States |
9:51.3 | |
| 6 | Angela Coughlan | Canada |
9:56.4 | |
| 7 | Denise Langford | Australia |
9:56.7 | |
| 8 | Laura Vaca | Mexico |
10:02.5 |
Key: OR = Olympic record
References
edit- ^ "Swimming at the 1968 Mexico City Summer Games: Women's 800 metres Freestyle". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 14 November 2016.