Swimming at the 1988 Summer Olympics – Women's 200 metre breaststroke
The women's 200 metre breaststroke event at the 1988 Summer Olympics took place between 20–21 September at the Jamsil Indoor Swimming Pool in Seoul, South Korea.Records
Prior to this competition, the existing world and Olympic records were as follows.
The following records were established during the competition:
| Date | Round | Name | Nationality | Time | Record |
| 20 September | Heat 6 | Silke Hörner | | 2:27.63 | |
| 21 September | Final A | Silke Hörner | | 2:26.71 | |
Results
Heats
Rule: The eight fastest swimmers advance to final A, while the next eight to final B.
| Rank | Heat | Name | Nationality | Time | Notes |
| 1 | 6 | | | 2:27.63 | Q, |
| 2 | 5 | | | 2:28.94 | Q |
| 3 | 4 | | | 2:29.57 | Q |
| 4 | 6 | | | 2:29.67 | Q |
| 5 | 5 | | | 2:29.91 | Q |
| 6 | 5 | | | 2:30.03 | Q |
| 7 | 4 | | | 2:30.07 | Q |
| 8 | 4 | | | 2:30.60 | Q |
| 9 | 6 | | | 2:30.71 | q |
| 10 | 4 | | | 2:30.93 | q |
| 11 | 5 | | | 2:31.98 | q |
| 12 | 6 | | | 2:32.11 | q |
| 13 | 4 | | | 2:32.77 | q |
| 14 | 6 | | | 2:33.13 | q |
| 15 | 6 | | | 2:34.21 | q |
| 16 | 5 | | | 2:34.36 | q |
| 17 | 4 | | | 2:35.06 | |
| 18 | 3 | | | 2:35.57 | |
| 19 | 6 | | | 2:35.81 | |
| 20 | 3 | | | 2:36.14 | |
| 21 | 5 | | | 2:36.86 | |
| 22 | 6 | | | 2:37.38 | |
| 23 | 5 | | | 2:37.44 | |
| 24 | 1 | | | 2:37.84 | |
| 25 | 5 | | | 2:38.49 | |
| 26 | 4 | | | 2:38.75 | |
| 27 | 3 | | | 2:39.10 | |
| 28 | 3 | | | 2:39.38 | |
| 29 | 2 | | | 2:39.40 | |
| 30 | 3 | | | 2:39.97 | |
| 31 | 2 | | | 2:40.78 | |
| 32 | 3 | | | 2:40.80 | |
| 33 | 2 | | | 2:41.12 | |
| 34 | 6 | | | 2:41.34 | |
| 35 | 1 | | | 2:42.31 | |
| 36 | 2 | | | 2:42.82 | |
| 37 | 1 | | | 2:44.72 | |
| 38 | 2 | | | 2:45.35 | |
| 39 | 3 | | | 2:45.80 | |
| 40 | 3 | | | 2:45.87 | |
| 41 | 2 | | | 2:50.84 | |
| 42 | 1 | | | 2:51.60 | |
| 2 | | | | |
Finals
Final B
Final A
