Athletics at the 1964 Summer Olympics – Women's 400 metres
# Athletics at the 1964 Summer Olympics – Women's 400 metres

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 |
| - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Antónia Munkácsi | Hungary | 54.4 seconds OR |
| 2 | Tilly van der Made | Netherlands | 54.8 seconds |
| 3 | Betty Cuthbert | Australia | 56.0 seconds |
| 4 | Joy Grieveson | Great Britain | 56.8 seconds |
| 5 | Kiyoki Ogawa | Japan | 57.6 seconds |
| 6 | Stephie D'Souza | India | 58.0 seconds |
| 7 | Erna Maisack | United Team of Germany | 58.6 seconds |
| 8 | Ramazangiin Aldaa-nysh | Mongolia | 1:00.8 |

**Heat 2**

| Place | Athlete | Nation | Time |
| - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Maria Itkina | Soviet Union | 54.9 seconds |
| 2 | Margret Buscher | United Team of Germany | 55.3 seconds |
| 3 | Una Morris | Jamaica | 55.3 seconds |
| 4 | Maeve Kyle | Ireland | 55.4 seconds |
| 5 | Janell Smith | United States | 55.5 seconds |
| 6 | Patricia Kippax | Great Britain | 55.5 seconds |
| 7 | Abigal Hoffman | Canada | 55.9 seconds |
| 8 | Samruay Charonggool | Thailand | 1:04.0 |

**Heat 3**

| Place | Athlete | Nation | Time |
| - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Ann Packer | Great Britain | 53.1 seconds OR |
| 2 | Judy Amoore | Australia | 53.8 seconds |
| 3 | Evelyne Lebret | France | 54.8 seconds |
| 4 | Gertrud Schmidt | United Team of Germany | 55.1 seconds |
| 5 | Olga Kazi | Hungary | 56.5 seconds |
| 6 | Mary Rajamani | Malaysia | 57.8 seconds |
| 7 | Han Myeong-hui | South Korea | 58.7 seconds |

### Semifinals

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

**Semifinal 1**

| Place | Athlete | Nation | Time |
| - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Ann Packer | Great Britain | 52.7 seconds OR |
| 2 | Betty Cuthbert | Australia | 53.8 seconds |
| 3 | Antónia Munkácsi | Hungary | 54.0 seconds |
| 4 | Evelyne Lebret | France | 54.5 seconds |
| 5 | Joy Grieveson | Great Britain | 54.8 seconds |
| 6 | Una Morris | Jamaica | 54.9 seconds |
| 7 | Margret Buscher | United Team of Germany | 55.2 seconds |
| 8 | Ogawa Kiyoko | Japan | 57.1 seconds |

**Semifinal 2**

| Place | Athlete | Nation | Time |
| - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Judy Amoore | Australia | 53.3 seconds |
| 2 | Maria Itkina | Soviet Union | 53.5 seconds |
| 3 | Tilly van der Made | Netherlands | 54.1 seconds |
| 4 | Gertrud Schmidt | United Team of Germany | 54.2 seconds |
| 5 | Patricia Kippax | Great Britain | 54.4 seconds |
| 6 | Janell Smith | United States | 54.5 seconds |
| 7 | Maeve Kyle | Ireland | 55.3 seconds |
| — | Olga Kazi | Hungary | Did not start |

### Final

| Place | Athlete | Nation | Time |
| - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Betty Cuthbert | Australia | 52.0 seconds OR |
| 2 | Ann Packer | Great Britain | 52.2 seconds |
| 3 | Judy Amoore | Australia | 53.4 seconds |
| 4 | Antónia Munkácsi | Hungary | 54.4 seconds |
| 5 | Maria Itkina | Soviet Union | 54.6 seconds |
| 6 | Tilly van der Made | Netherlands | 55.2 seconds |
| 7 | Gertrud Schmidt | United Team of Germany | 55.4 seconds |
| 8 | Evelyne Lebret | France | 55.5 seconds |
