| 1 | Jarmila Kratochvilová | TCH | 52,54 | Q |
| 2 | Ann-Louise Skoglund | SWE | 53,09 | Q |
| 3 | Lyudmila Belova | URS | 53,17 | q |
| 4 | Elke Decker | FRG | 54,37 |
| 1 | Tatyana Kocembová | TCH | 53,55 | Q |
| 2 | Verona Elder | GBR | 53,56 | Q |
| 3 | Mary Wagner | FRG | 53,94 | q |
| 4 | Marie-Christine Champenois | FRA | 55,01 |
| 1 | Gaby Bussmann | FRG | 53,56 | Q |
| 2 | Dagmar Rübsam | GDR | 53,94 | Q |
| 3 | Yelena Korban | URS | 54,14 |