| Order / Lane | ATHLETE | COUNTRY | PB | SB 1995 | 
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jing Li |  CHN | 51.50 | 51.50 | 
| 2 | Ximena Restrepo |  COL | 49.64 | 51.57 | 
| 3 | Fatima Yusuf |  NGR | 50.41 | 50.60 | 
| 4 | Melanie Neef |  GBR | 51.39 | 51.39 | 
| 5 | Sandie Richards |  JAM | 50.19 | 50.53 | 
| 6 | Cathy Freeman |  AUS | 50.04 | 50.34 | 
| 7 | Yuliya Sotnikova |  RUS | 51.39 | 51.39 | 
| 8 | Kim Graham |  USA | 51.39 | 51.39 | 
| Order / Lane | ATHLETE | COUNTRY | PB | SB 1995 | 
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Claudine Williams |  JAM | 51.30 | 51.30 | 
| 2 | Tatyana Chebykina |  RUS | 51.58 | 51.58 | 
| 3 | Pauline Davis-Thompson |  BAH | 50.05 | 51.21 | 
| 4 | Renée Poetschka |  AUS | 50.47 | 50.47 | 
| 5 | Sandra Myers |  ESP | 49.67 | 51.18 | 
| 6 | Maicel Malone-Wallace |  USA | 50.05 | 50.84 | 
| 7 | Nancy McLeon |  CUB | 51.39 | 51.39 | 
| 8 | Daniela Georgieva |  BUL | 50.25 | 50.25 | 
| Order / Lane | ATHLETE | COUNTRY | PB | SB 1995 | 
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Olga V. Nazarova |  RUS | 49.11 | 51.55 | 
| 2 | Hengyun Zhang |  CHN | 51.51 | 51.51 | 
| 3 | Jearl Miles Clark |  USA | 49.82 | 50.83 | 
| 4 | Marie-José Pérec |  FRA | 48.83 | 50.20 | 
| 5 | Falilat Ogunkoya |  NGR | 50.72 | 50.72 | 
| 6 | Olena Rurak |  UKR | 51.32 | 51.32 | 
| 7 | Uta Rohländer-Fromm |  GER | 51.68 | 51.68 | 
| 8 | Julia Duporty |  CUB | 51.31 | 51.31 |