The Women's 10,000 m at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea had an entry list of 42 competitors (eight were non-starters), with two qualifying heats (42) before the final (20) took place on Friday, September 30, 1988.

In the final, she let Olga Bondarenko and Nancy Tinari cruise through 79 second laps, marked by Liz McColgan.

The field strung out, only Kathrin Ullrich tried to stay with her, even McColgan held off the fast early pace.

Suddenly, at the end of the seventh lap, Kristiansen made a left turn and stepped off the track.

Over the last two kilometers McColgan kept increasing the pace trying to burn off them off, finally with three laps to go, Zhupiyeva began to crack and drop off.