| Order / Lane | ATHLETE | COUNTRY | PB | SB 1995 | 
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | Cathy Freeman |  AUS | 50.04 | 50.34 | 
| 3 | Melanie Neef |  GBR | 52.53 | 53.34i | 
| 4 | Pei-Chin Hsu |  TPE | 53.74 | |
| 5 | Linda Kisabaka |  GER | 53.68i | 53.68i | 
| 6 | Idalmis Bonne |  CUB | ||
| 7 | Tatyana Chebykina |  RUS | 51.73 | 51.73 | 
| 8 | Zoila Stewart |  CRC | 52.57 | 
| Order / Lane | ATHLETE | COUNTRY | PB | SB 1995 | 
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | Xifang Lu |  CHN | ||
| 3 | Julia Duporty |  CUB | 51.31 | 51.31 | 
| 4 | Olabisi Afolabi |  NGR | 51.76 | 51.76 | 
| 5 | Ngozi Mwanamwambwa |  ZAM | ||
| 6 | Olga V. Nazarova |  RUS | 49.11 | |
| 7 | Maicel Malone-Wallace |  USA | 50.05 | 50.84 | 
| 8 | Grace Birungi |  UGA | 56.10 | 
| Order / Lane | ATHLETE | COUNTRY | PB | SB 1995 | 
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | Hengyun Zhang |  CHN | 54.27i | 54.27i | 
| 3 | Yuliya Sotnikova |  RUS | 52.53 | 52.53 | 
| 4 | Uta Rohländer-Fromm |  GER | ||
| 5 | Norfalia Carabali |  COL | 51.17 | |
| 6 | Kannan Solaimathi |  IND | ||
| 7 | Marie-José Pérec |  FRA | 48.83 | 50.20 | 
| 8 | Öznur Dursun |  TUR | 53.15 | 53.15 | 
| Order / Lane | ATHLETE | COUNTRY | PB | SB 1995 | 
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pauline Davis-Thompson |  BAH | 50.05 | 51.54 | 
| 2 | Kim Graham |  USA | 52.33 | 52.89 | 
| 3 | Jing Li |  CHN | ||
| 4 | Kate Clarke |  LBR | ||
| 5 | Sandra Kuschmann |  GER | ||
| 6 | Sandra Myers |  ESP | 49.67 | 51.24 | 
| 7 | Olga Moroz |  UKR | 53.20 | |
| 8 | Sharron Celecia |  GIB | 57.4 | 57.4 | 
| Order / Lane | ATHLETE | COUNTRY | PB | SB 1995 | 
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | Nancy McLeon |  CUB | 52.87 | |
| 3 | Claudine Williams |  JAM | 51.30 | 51.30 | 
| 4 | Falilat Ogunkoya |  NGR | 50.99 | 50.99 | 
| 5 | Jearl Miles Clark |  USA | 49.82 | 50.83 | 
| 6 | Mercy Addy |  GHA | 51.0 | |
| 7 | Bernice Morton |  SKN | ||
| 8 | Evelyne Élien |  FRA | 51.52 | 52.53 | 
| Order / Lane | ATHLETE | COUNTRY | PB | SB 1995 | 
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vernetta Lesforis |  LCA | ||
| 2 | Lee Naylor |  AUS | 52.59 | 52.59 | 
| 3 | Francine Landre |  FRA | 52.53 | |
| 4 | Daniela Georgieva |  BUL | 50.25 | 50.25 | 
| 5 | Sandie Richards |  JAM | 50.19 | 50.53 | 
| 6 | Helena Fuchsová |  CZE | 52.91 | 53.05i | 
| 7 | Olena Rurak |  UKR | ||
| 8 | Mirna El-Laz |  LBN | 59.76 | 
| Order / Lane | ATHLETE | COUNTRY | PB | SB 1995 | 
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mary-Estelle Kapalu |  VAN | 56.06 | |
| 2 | Ximena Restrepo |  COL | 49.64 | 52.25 | 
| 3 | Merlene Frazer |  JAM | ||
| 4 | Renée Poetschka |  AUS | 50.47 | 50.47 | 
| 5 | Dora Kyriakou |  CYP | 52.05 | 52.05 | 
| 6 | Fatima Yusuf |  NGR | 50.41 | 52.88 | 
| 7 | Ludmila Formanová |  CZE | 51.84 | 51.84 | 
| 8 | Bipendu Mbombo |  COD |