Swimming at the 1968 Summer Olympics – Women's 800 metre freestyle
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{{use dmy dates|date=November 2016}}
{{SwimmingAt1968SummerOlympics}}
The women's 800 metre freestyle event at the 1968 Olympic Games took place between 22 and 24 October.{{cite web |url=https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/summer/1968/SWI/womens-800-metres-freestyle.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200417170439/https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/summer/1968/SWI/womens-800-metres-freestyle.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=17 April 2020 |title=Swimming at the 1968 Mexico City Summer Games: Women's 800 metres Freestyle |accessdate=14 November 2016 |work=Sports Reference}} 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
| class="wikitable" |
| {{OlympicGoldMedalist|Debbie Meyer|USA|1968 Summer}} |
| {{OlympicSilverMedalist|Pam Kruse|USA|1968 Summer}} |
| {{OlympicBronzeMedalist|Maria Teresa Ramírez|MEX|1968 Summer}} |
Results
=Heats=
Heat 1
| class="wikitable sortable" | ||||
| Rank | Athlete | Country | Time | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| bgcolor=#CCFFCC
| 1 | Debbie Meyer | {{flagIOC|USA|1968 Summer}} | 9:42.8 | |
| bgcolor=#CCFFCC
| 2 | Angela Coughlan | {{flagIOC|CAN|1968 Summer}} | 10:00.2 | |
| 3 | Sigrid Goral | {{flagIOC|GDR|1968 Summer}} | 10:09.3 | |
| 4 | Kristina Moir | {{flagIOC|PUR|1968 Summer}} | 10:24.5 | |
| 5 | Helen Elliott | {{flagIOC|PHI|1968 Summer}} | 10:32.9 |
Heat 2
| class="wikitable sortable" | ||||
| Rank | Athlete | Country | Time | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| bgcolor=#CCFFCC
| 1 | Karen Moras | {{flagIOC|AUS|1968 Summer}} | 9:38.3 | |
| bgcolor=#CCFFCC
| 2 | Denise Langford | {{flagIOC|AUS|1968 Summer}} | 9:59.3 | |
| bgcolor=#CCFFCC
| 3 | Laura Vaca | {{flagIOC|MEX|1968 Summer}} | 10:01.8 | |
| 4 | Tui Shipston | {{flagIOC|NZL|1968 Summer}} | 10:28.0 | |
| 5 | Norma Amezcua | {{flagIOC|MEX|1968 Summer}} | 10:31.6 | |
| 6 | Emilia Figueroa | {{flagIOC|URU|1968 Summer}} | 10:57.7 |
Heat 3
| class="wikitable sortable" | ||||
| Rank | Athlete | Country | Time | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| bgcolor=#CCFFCC
| 1 | Pam Kruse | {{flagIOC|USA|1968 Summer}} | 9:49.8 | |
| 2 | Elisabeth Ljunggren-Morris | {{flagIOC|SWE|1968 Summer}} | 10:07.5 | |
| 3 | Susan Williams | {{flagIOC|GBR|1968 Summer}} | 10:17.6 | |
| 4 | Sabine Rantzsch | {{flagIOC|GDR|1968 Summer}} | 10:18.4 | |
| 5 | Lylian Castillo | {{flagIOC|URU|1968 Summer}} | 11:19.1 |
Heat 4
| class="wikitable sortable" | ||||
| Rank | Athlete | Country | Time | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Christine Deakes | {{flagIOC|AUS|1968 Summer}} | 10:06.7 | |
| 2 | Marie-José Kersaudy | {{flagIOC|FRA|1968 Summer}} | 10:19.8 | |
| 3 | Novella Calligaris | {{flagIOC|ITA|1968 Summer}} | 10:21.0 | |
| 4 | Patricia Olano | {{flagIOC|COL|1968 Summer}} | 10:44.1 | |
| 5 | Silvana Asturias | {{flagIOC|GUA|1968 Summer}} | 11:12.5 |
Heat 5
| class="wikitable sortable" | ||||
| Rank | Athlete | Country | Time | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| bgcolor=#CCFFCC
| 1 | María Teresa Ramírez | {{flagIOC|MEX|1968 Summer}} | 9:46.4 | |
| bgcolor=#CCFFCC
| 2 | Patty Caretto | {{flagIOC|USA|1968 Summer}} | 9:46.4 | |
| 3 | Dominique Mollier | {{flagIOC|FRA|1968 Summer}} | 10:21.4 | |
| 4 | Marjatta Hara | {{flagIOC|FIN|1968 Summer}} | 10:23.3 | |
| 5 | Olga de Angulo | {{flagIOC|COL|1968 Summer}} | 10:40.5 |
=Final=
| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center"
! Rank !! Athlete !!Country !! Time | Notes | |||
| 1 | Debbie Meyer | align=left| {{FlagIOC|USA|1968 Summer}} | 9:24.0 | OR |
| 2 | Pam Kruse | align=left| {{FlagIOC|USA|1968 Summer}} | 9:35.7 | |
| 3 | Maria Teresa Ramírez | align=left| {{FlagIOC|MEX|1968 Summer}} | 9:38.5 | |
| 4 | Karen Moras | align=left| {{FlagIOC|AUS|1968 Summer}} | 9:38.6 | |
| 5 | Patty Caretto | align=left| {{FlagIOC|USA|1968 Summer}} | 9:51.3 | |
| 6 | Angela Coughlan | align=left| {{FlagIOC|CAN|1968 Summer}} | 9:56.4 | |
| 7 | Denise Langford | align=left| {{FlagIOC|AUS|1968 Summer}} | 9:56.7 | |
| 8 | Laura Vaca | align=left| {{FlagIOC|MEX|1968 Summer}} | 10:02.5 |
Key: OR = Olympic record
References
{{reflist}}
{{Footer Olympic Champions 800 m Freestyle Women}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Swimming At The 1968 Summer Olympics - Women's 800 Metre Freestyle}}