The women's 400 metres sprint competition of the athletics events at the 1979 Pan American Games took place at the Estadio Sixto Escobar.[1][2] The defending Pan American Games champion was Joyce Yakubowich of Canada.
Records
Prior to this competition, the existing world and Pan American Games records were as follows:
| World record |  Marita Koch (GDR)
|
48.94 | Prague, Czechoslovakia | August 31, 1978 |
| Pan American Games record |  Joyce Yakubowich (CAN)
|
51.62 | Mexico City, Mexico | 1975 |
Results
All times shown are in seconds.[3]
| KEY: | WR | World Record | GR | Pan American Record |
Heats
| Rank | Heat | Name | Nationality | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | June Griffith |  Guyana |
52.83 | Q |
| 2 | 2 | Sharon Dabney |  United States |
52.91 | Q |
| 3 | 1 | Patricia Jackson | United States |
53.13 | Q |
| 4 | 2 | Aurelia Pentón |  Cuba |
53.37 | Q |
| 5 | 2 | Helen Blake |  Jamaica |
54.22 | Q |
| 6 | 2 | Marita Payne |  Canada |
54.90 | q |
| 7 | 1 | Micheline Racette | Canada |
54.95 | Q |
| 8 | 1 | Joece Felipe dos Santos |  Brazil |
56.39 | q |
| 9 | 1 | Denise Muller |  Virgin Islands |
56.70 | |
| 10 | 2 | Tânia Miranda | Brazil |
57.12 | |
| 11 | 2 | Marcela López |  Argentina |
57.65 | |
| 12 | 2 | Brenda Gordon | Virgin Islands |
1:00.69 | |
| 13 | 1 | Eugenia Ponce |  Honduras |
1:04.14 |
Final
Held on 12 July
| Rank | Name | Nationality | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Sharon Dabney | United States
|
51.81 | |
|
June Griffith | Guyana
|
51.81 | |
|
Patricia Jackson | United States
|
52.32 | |
| 4 | Aurelia Pentón | Cuba
|
52.71 | |
| 5 | Micheline Racette | Canada
|
53.30 | |
| 6 | Helen Blake | Jamaica
|
53.41 | |
| 7 | Marita Payne | Canada
|
53.99 | |
| 8 | Joece Felipe dos Santos | Brazil
|
56.49 |
References
- ^ Memoria VIII Juegos Deportivos Panamericanos San Juan, Puerto Rico 1979 (PDF) (in Spanish). 1979 Pan American Games Organising Committee (COPAN 79). 1981. p. 197. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2019-08-11. Retrieved 2019-08-17.
- ^ Full results
- ^ Memoria VIII Juegos Deportivos Panamericanos San Juan, Puerto Rico 1979 (PDF) (in Spanish). 1979 Pan American Games Organising Committee (COPAN 79). 1981. p. 258. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2019-08-11. Retrieved 2019-08-17.
- ^ "Heats results". The Times-News. 12 July 1979. p. 20. Retrieved 30 December 2019.