The women's 400 metres was the second-longest of the four women's track races in the Athletics at the 1964 Summer Olympics program in Tokyo. It was held on 15 October, 16 October, and 17 October 1964. 23 athletes from 17 nations entered. The first round was held on 15 October, the semifinals on 16 October, and the final on 17 October. The 1964 Summer Olympics were the first to feature the women's 400 metres.

Results

First round

The top five runners in each of the 3 heats advanced, as well as the next fastest runner from across the heats.

Heat 1

Place Athlete Nation Time (hand) Time (automatic) 1 Antónia Munkácsi 54.4 OR 54.42 2 Tilly van der Made 54.8 54.86 3 Betty Cuthbert 56.0 – 4 Joy Grieveson 56.8 – 5 Kiyoki Ogawa 57.6 – 6 Stephie D'Souza 58.0 – 7 Erna Maisack 58.6 – 8 Ramazangiin Aldaa-nysh 1:00.8 –

Heat 2

Place Athlete Nation Time (hand) Time (automatic) 1 Maria Itkina 54.9 54.99 2 Margret Buscher 55.3 55.32 3 Una Morris 55.3 55.39 4 Maeve Kyle 55.4 55.42 5 Janell Smith 55.5 55.56 6 Patricia Kippax 55.5 55.57 7 Abigal Hoffman 55.9 55.98 8 Samruay Charonggool 1:04.0 –

Heat 3

Place Athlete Nation Time (hand) Time (automatic) 1 Ann Packer 53.1 OR 53.18 2 Judy Amoore 53.8 53.85 3 Evelyne Lebret 54.8 – 4 Gertrud Schmidt 55.1 – 5 Olga Kazi 56.5 – 6 Mary Rajamani 57.8 – 7 Han Myeong-hui 58.7 –

Semifinals

The fastest four runners in each of the two semifinals advanced to the final.

Semifinal 1

Place Athlete Nation Time (hand) Time (automatic) 1 Ann Packer 52.7 OR 52.77 2 Betty Cuthbert 53.8 – 3 Antónia Munkácsi 54.0 – 4 Evelyne Lebret 54.5 – 5 Joy Grieveson 54.8 – 6 Una Morris 54.9 – 7 Margret Buscher 55.2 – 8 Ogawa Kiyoko 57.1 –

Semifinal 2

Place Athlete Nation Time (hand) Time (automatic) 1 Judy Amoore 53.3 53.39 2 Maria Itkina 53.5 53.50 3 Tilly van der Made 54.1 54.19 4 Gertrud Schmidt 54.2 54.27 5 Patricia Kippax 54.4 – 6 Janell Smith 54.5 – 7 Maeve Kyle 55.3 – — Olga Kazi Did not start –

Final

Place Athlete Nation Time (hand) Time (automatic) 1 Betty Cuthbert 52.0 OR 52.01 2 Ann Packer 52.2 52.20 3 Judy Amoore 53.4 – 4 Antónia Munkácsi 54.4 – 5 Maria Itkina 54.6 – 6 Tilly van der Made 55.2 – 7 Gertrud Schmidt 55.4 – 8 Evelyne Lebret 55.5 –

References