| POS | ATHLETE | COUNTRY | MARK | Reaction Time | 
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jearl Miles Clark |  USA | 51.88 Q | |
| 2 | Sandra Myers |  ESP | 52.01 Q | |
| 3 | Grit Breuer |  GER | 52.16 Q | |
| 4 | Fatima Yusuf |  NGR | 52.46 Q | |
| 5 | Sølvi Olsen-Meinseth |  NOR | 52.95 q | |
| 6 | Aissatou Tandian |  SEN | 53.06 | |
| 7 | Cheryl Allen |  CAN | 53.21 | |
| Aelita Yurchenko |  URS | DNF | 
| POS | ATHLETE | COUNTRY | MARK | Reaction Time | 
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lyudmila Dzhigalova |  URS | 50.76 Q | |
| 2 | Diane Dixon |  USA | 50.84 Q | |
| 3 | Linda Keough |  GBR | 51.13 Q | |
| 4 | Renée Poetschka |  AUS | 51.65 Q | |
| 5 | Julia Merino |  ESP | 51.82 q | |
| 6 | Norfalia Carabali |  COL | 52.38 q | |
| 7 | Judit Forgács |  HUN | 53.79 | |
| Charity Opara |  NGR | DQ | 
| POS | ATHLETE | COUNTRY | MARK | Reaction Time | 
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Marie-José Pérec |  FRA | 50.61 Q | |
| 2 | Ximena Restrepo |  COL | 50.66 Q | |
| 3 | Lillie Leatherwood |  USA | 50.75 Q | |
| 4 | Olga Vladykina-Bryzgina |  URS | 50.79 Q | |
| 5 | Lorraine Hanson |  GBR | 51.02 q | |
| 6 | Karin Janke |  GER | 53.08 | |
| 7 | Nancy McLeon |  CUB | 53.72 | |
| Martha Grossenbacher |  SUI | DNS |