Athletics at the 1988 Summer Olympics – Women's 100 metres
The Women's 100m at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea had an entry list of 64 competitors, with eight qualifying heats, four second-round races and two semifinals, before the final took off on Sunday September 25, 1988.
Records
These were the standing World and Olympic records prior to the 1988 Summer Olympics.| World Record | 10.49 |  Florence Griffith-Joyner | Indianapolis | July 16, 1988 |
| Olympic Record | 10.97 | Evelyn Ashford | Los Angeles | August 5, 1984 |
The following Olympic records were set during this competition.
| Date | Athlete | Time | OR | WR |
| September 24, 1988 | 10.88 | OR | ||
| September 24, 1988 | 10.88 | =OR | ||
| September 24, 1988 | 10.62 | OR |
Results
Heats
Heat 1
| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | Anelia Nuneva | 11.09 | ||
| 2 | Grace Jackson | 11.18 | ||
| 3 | Paula Dunn | 11.39 | ||
| 4 | Tian Yumei | 11.56 | ||
| 5 | Voula Patoulidou | 11.85 | ||
| 6 | Melvina Vulah | 12.16 | ||
| 7 | Félicite Bada | 12.27 | ||
| 8 | Farida Kyakutewa | 12.32 |
Heat 2
| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | Pauline Davis | 11.20 | ||
| 2 | Nelli Cooman | 11.22 | ||
| 3 | Marlies Göhr | 11.22 | ||
| 4 | Jolanta Janota | 11.71 | ||
| 5 | Sandy Myers | 11.86 | ||
| 6 | Méryem Oumezdi | 11.90 | ||
| 7 | Yvette Bonapart | 12.27 | ||
| 8 | Aminata Diarra | 12.27 |
Heat 3
| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | Gwen Torrence | 11.12 | ||
| 2 | Lyudmila Kondratyeva | 11.19 | ||
| 3 | Laurence Bily | 11.34 | ||
| 4 | Amparo Caicedo | 11.59 | ||
| 5 | Marisa Masullo | 11.71 | ||
| 6 | Ewa Pisiewicz | 11.84 | ||
| 7 | Ng Ka Yee | 12.18 | ||
| 8 | Jabou Jawo | 12.27 |
Heat 4
Wind +1.1| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | Juliet Cuthbert | 11.14 | ||
| 2 | Silke Möller | 11.27 | ||
| 3 | Els Vader | 11.38 | ||
| 4 | Sabine Richter | 11.49 | ||
| 5 | Françoise Leroux | 11.58 | ||
| 6 | Lydia de Vega | 11.67 | ||
| 7 | Guilhermina da Cruz | 12.47 | ||
| 8 | Erin Tierney | 12.52 |
Heat 5
Wind +0.1| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | Evelyn Ashford | 11.10 | ||
| 2 | Marina Zhirova | 11.22 | ||
| 3 | Joanna Smolarek | 11.43 | ||
| 4 | Andrea Thomas | 11.46 | ||
| 5 | Julie Rocheleau | 11.60 | ||
| 6 | Gaily Dube | 12.07 | ||
| 7 | Claudia Acerenza | 12.11 | ||
| 8 | Judith Diankoléla-Missengué | 12.14 |
Heat 6
Wind +0.2| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | Natalia Pomoshchnikova | 11.11 | ||
| 2 | Heike Drechsler | 11.15 | ||
| 3 | Simmone Jacobs | 11.56 | ||
| 4 | Angela Williams | 11.62 | ||
| 5 | Liu Shaomei | 11.66 | ||
| 6 | Lee Young-sook | 11.74 | ||
| 7 | Joyce Odhiambo | 11.90 | ||
| 8 | Mariama Ouiminga | 12.62 |
Heat 7
Wind +1.0| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | Florence Griffith-Joyner | 10.88 | ||
| 2 | Kerry Johnson | 11.44 | ||
| 3 | Angela Bailey | 11.61 | ||
| 4 | Patricia Girard | 11.65 | ||
| 5 | Zhang Caihua | 11.84 | ||
| 6 | Gisèle Ongollo | 11.85 | ||
| 7 | Chen Ya-li | 12.16 | ||
| 8 | Evelyn Farrell | 12.48 |
Heat 8
Wind +0.1| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | Merlene Ottey | 11.03 | ||
| 2 | Ulrike Sarvari | 11.26 | ||
| 3 | Angella Issajenko | 11.42 | ||
| 4 | Dinah Yankey | 11.64 | ||
| 5 | Rossella Tarolo | 11.86 | ||
| 6 | Helen Miles | 11.88 | ||
| 7 | Olivette Daruhi | 13.00 | ||
| 8 | Mala Sakonhninhom | 15.12 |
Quarterfinals
Quarterfinal 1
Wind +0.5| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | Heike Drechsler | 10.96 | ||
| 2 | Merlene Ottey | 11.03 | ||
| 3 | Ulrike Sarvari | 11.16 | ||
| 4 | Pauline Davis | 11.21 | ||
| 5 | Angela Bailey | 11.29 | ||
| 6 | Els Vader | 11.51 | ||
| 7 | Tian Yumei | 11.55 | ||
| 8 | Françoise Leroux | 11.75 |
Quarterfinal 2
Wind +1.6| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | Evelyn Ashford | 10.88 | ||
| 2 | Natalia Pomoishchnikova | 10.98 | ||
| 3 | Marlies Göhr | 10.99 | ||
| 4 | Nelli Cooman | 11.08 | ||
| 5 | Angella Issajenko | 11.27 | ||
| 6 | Joanna Smolarek | 11.35 | ||
| 7 | Angela Williams | 11.45 | ||
| 8 | Amparo Caicedo | 11.65 |
Quarterfinal 3
Wind +1.0| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | Florence Griffith-Joyner | 10.62 | ||
| 2 | Juliet Cuthbert | 11.03 | ||
| 3 | Lyudmila Kondratyeva | 11.05 | ||
| 4 | Silke Möller | 11.10 | ||
| 5 | Simmone Jacobs | 11.31 | ||
| 6 | Laurence Bily | 11.35 | ||
| 7 | Andrea Thomas | 11.37 | ||
| 8 | Dinah Yankey | 11.63 |
Quarterfinal 4
| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | Anelia Nuneva | 10.96 | ||
| 2 | Gwen Torrence | 10.99 | ||
| 3 | Grace Jackson | 11.13 | ||
| 4 | Marina Zhirova | 11.14 | ||
| 5 | Paula Dunn | 11.37 | ||
| 6 | Kerry Johnson | 11.42 | ||
| 7 | Sabine Richter | 11.59 | ||
| 8 | Julie Rocheleau | 11.75 |
Semifinals
Semifinal 1
| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | Evelyn Ashford | 10.99 | ||
| 2 | Anelia Nuneva | 11.00 | ||
| 3 | Gwen Torrence | 11.02 | ||
| 4 | Juliet Cuthbert | 11.10 | ||
| 5 | Silke Moller | 11.12 | ||
| 6 | Marlies Göhr | 11.13 | ||
| 7 | Lyudmila Kondratyeva | 11.21 | ||
| 8 | Marina Zhirova | 11.24 |
Semifinal 2
Wind +2.6| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | Florence Griffith-Joyner | 10.70 | ||
| 2 | Heike Drechsler | 10.91 | ||
| 3 | Natalia Pomoshchnikova | 11.03 | ||
| 4 | Grace Jackson | 11.06 | ||
| 5 | Ulrike Sarvari | 11.12 | ||
| 6 | Pauline Davis | 11.12 | ||
| 7 | Nelli Cooman | 11.13 | ||
| — | Merlene Ottey |
Final
Wind+3.0| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Time |
| Florence Griffith-Joyner | 10.54 | ||
| Evelyn Ashford | 10.83 | ||
| Heike Drechsler | 10.85 | ||
| 4 | Grace Jackson | 10.97 | |
| 5 | Gwen Torrence | 10.97 | |
| 6 | Natalia Pomoshchnikova | 11.00 | |
| 7 | Juliet Cuthbert | 11.26 | |
| 8 | Anelia Nuneva | 11.49 |