Swimming at the 1968 Summer Olympics – Women's 200 metre freestyle
The women's 200 metre freestyle event at the 1968 Olympic Games took place between 21 and 22 October. This swimming event used freestyle swimming, which means that the method of the stroke is not regulated. Nearly all swimmers use the front crawl or a variant of that stroke. Because an Olympic size swimming pool is 50 metres long, this race consisted of four lengths of the pool.
Medalists
Results
Heats
Heat 1| Rank | Athlete | Country | Time | Note |
| 1 | Debbie Meyer | 2:13.1 | ||
| 2 | Oľga Kozičová | 2:16.1 | ||
| 3 | Susan Williams | 2:20.4 | ||
| 4 | Heidi Reineck | 2:21.4 | ||
| 5 | Danièle Dorléans | 2:21.7 | ||
| 6 | Kirsten Strange-Campbell | 2:30.5 |
Heat 2
| Rank | Athlete | Country | Time | Note |
| 1 | Lyn Bell | 2:15.7 | ||
| 2 | Claude Mandonnaud | 2:15.8 | ||
| 3 | Jenny Steinbeck | 2:18.8 | ||
| 4 | Helen Elliott | 2:25.4 | ||
| 5 | Novella Calligaris | 2:26.3 | ||
| 6 | Marcia Arriaga | 2:27.0 | ||
| 7 | Shen Bao-ni | 2:34.0 | ||
| 8 | Lorna Blake | 2:43.8 |
Heat 3
| Rank | Athlete | Country | Time | Note |
| 1 | Jan Henne | 2:13.8 | ||
| 2 | Marion Lay | 2:16.7 | ||
| 3 | María Teresa Ramírez | 2:17.5 | ||
| 4 | Alexandra Jackson | 2:19.2 | ||
| 5 | Kristina Moir | 2:23.1 | ||
| 6 | Donatella Ferracuti | 2:28.2 | ||
| 7 | Hrafnhildur Guðmundsdóttir | 2:28.5 |
Heat 4
| Rank | Athlete | Country | Time | Note |
| 1 | Gabriele Wetzko | 2:14.7 | ||
| 2 | Angela Coughlan | 2:20.9 | ||
| 3 | Maria Strumolo | 2:23.3 | ||
| 4 | Aloisia Bauer | 2:24.5 | ||
| 5 | Emilia Figueroa | 2:27.4 |
Heat 5
| Rank | Athlete | Country | Time | Note |
| 1 | Jane Barkman | 2:13.6 | ||
| 2 | Marie-José Kersaudy | 2:18.0 | ||
| 3 | Elisabeth Berglund | 2:19.7 | ||
| 4 | Tamara Sosnova | 2:23.5 | ||
| 5 | Patricia Olano | 2:25.1 | ||
| 6 | Silvana Asturias | 2:30.7 | ||
| 7 | Lylian Castillo | 2:34.1 |
Heat 6
| Rank | Athlete | Country | Time | Note |
| 1 | Mirjana Šegrt | 2:15.7 | ||
| 2 | Oei Liana | 2:16.3 | ||
| 3 | Julie McDonald | 2:19.9 | ||
| 4 | Consuelo Changanaqui | 2:20.7 | ||
| 5 | Rosario de Vivanco | 2:22.2 | ||
| 6 | Sally Davison | 2:26.1 |
Final
| Rank | Athlete | Country | Time | Notes |
| Debbie Meyer | 2:10.5 | OR | ||
| Jan Henne | 2:11.0 | |||
| Jane Barkman | 2:11.2 | |||
| 4 | Gabriele Wetzko | 2:12.3 | ||
| 5 | Mirjana Šegrt | 2:13.3 | ||
| 6 | Claude Mandonnaud | 2:14.9 | ||
| 7 | Lyn Bell | 2:15.1 | ||
| 8 | Olga Kozičová | 2:16.0 |
Key: OR = Olympic record