Swimming at the 1978 World Aquatics Championships – Women's 100 metre freestyle
# Swimming at the 1978 World Aquatics Championships – Women's 100 metre freestyle

The women's 100 metre freestyle event at the 1978 World Aquatics Championships took place 28 August.

## Results

### Heats

| Rank | Swimmer | Nation | Time | Notes |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Barbara Krause | East Germany | 55.99 | CR |
| 2 | Larisa Tsaryova | Soviet Union | 57.00 | |
| 3 | Lene Jenssen | Norway | 57.04 | |
| 4 | Stephanie Elkins | United States | 57.22 | |
| 5 | Heike Witt | East Germany | 57.41 | |
| 6 | Enith Brigitha | Netherlands | 57.51 | |
| 7 | Birgitta Jönsson | Sweden | 57.98 | |
| 8 | Rebecca Perrott | New Zealand | 58.01 | |
| 9 | Jane Abraham | United States | 58.17 | |
| 10 | Wendy Quirk | Canada | 58.20 | |
| 11 | Olga Klevakina | Soviet Union | 58.21 | |
| 12 | Petra Jensurski | West Germany | 58.26 | |
| 13 | Marion Aizpors | West Germany | 58.42 | |
| 14 | Ineke Ran | Netherlands | 58.52 | |
| 15 | Guylaine Berger | France | 58.53 | |
| 16 | Guri Kogstad | Norway | 58.68 | |
| 17 | Rosemary Brown | Australia | 58.71 | |
| 18 | Carol Klimpel | Canada | 58.97 | |
| 19 | Sachiko Yamazaki | Japan | 59.51 | |
| 20 | Sharron Davies | United Kingdom | 59.60 | |
| 21 | Heidi Turk | United Kingdom | 59.68 | |
| 22 | Heidi Koch | Austria | 59.75 | |
| 23 | Andrea Hawcridge | New Zealand | 59.94 | |
| 24 | Charlotte Petersen | Denmark | 1:00.63 | |
| 25 | Shelley Cramer | United States Virgin Islands | 1:00.63 | |
| 26 | Anette Fredriksson | Sweden | 1:00.69 | |
| 27 | Lone Jansen | Denmark | 1:00.79 | |
| 28 | Natalia Más | Spain | 1:01.02 | |
| 29 | Hsu Yue-yun | Chinese Taipei | 1:01.14 | |
| 30 | Julia Lopez-Zubero | Spain | 1:01.32 | |
| 31 | María París | Costa Rica | 1:01.41 | |
| 32 | Marie Rose Verplaetse | Belgium | 1:01.49 | |
| 33 | Ratchaneewan Bulakul | Thailand | 1:01.55 | |
| 34 | Maria Guimarães | Brazil | 1:01.67 | |
| 35 | Lorgia Orejuela | Ecuador | 1:01.74 | |
| 36 | Rosanna Juncos | Argentina | 1:01.95 | |
| 37 | Yasmine Kummer | Luxembourg | 1:02.35 | |
| 38 | Wen-Hsuen Kiang | Chinese Taipei | 1:02.77 | |
| 39 | Nanik Jullati Soewadji | Indonesia | 1:03.40 | |
| 40 | Marta Slonina | Poland | 1:03.65 | |
| 41 | Myriam Mizouni | Tunisia | 1:03.92 | |
| 42 | Sumatana Pingkatswan | Thailand | 1:04.26 | |
| 43 | Anita Sapardjiman | Indonesia | 1:05.24 | |
| 44 | Ahlem Gheribi | Tunisia | 1:05:59 | |
| 45 | Karen Van de Graaf | Australia | DNS | |

### Final

| Rank | Name | Nationality | Time | Notes |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| | Barbara Krause | East Germany | 55.68 | CR |
| | Lene Jenssen | Norway | 56.82 | |
| | Larisa Tsaryova | Soviet Union | 56.85 | |
| 4 | Stephanie Elkins | United States | 56.98 | |
| 5 | Enith Brigitha | Netherlands | 57.17 | |
| 6 | Heike Witt | East Germany | 57.49 | |
| 7 | Birgitta Jönsson | Sweden | 57.54 | |
| 8 | Rebecca Perrott | New Zealand | 58.03 | |
