The women's pentathlon was part of the Athletics at the 1964 Summer Olympics program in Tokyo. It was held on 16 October and 17 October 1964, with the first three events on 16 October and the last two on 17 October. 20 athletes from 15 nations entered. The 1964 Summer Olympics were the first appearance of the women's pentathlon. The events of the pentathlon, in order, were:

Results

First day

80 metre hurdles

Shot put

Press's shot put, nearly 2.7 metres further than the nearest competitor's, combined with her hurdles victory to give her a solid lead after two events.

High jump

First day rankings

Second day

Long jump

Rand won her second straight event, climbing back up to third place overall after her fall to seventh following the shot put. Press, never having been outside the top four in any event, increased her lead to over 200 points above fellow Soviet Bystrova.

200 metres

Rand won her third straight event to pass Bystrova and take the silver medal. Press, who had won the first two events, had her lowest finish of the pentathlon in sixth place, still winning the gold medal by over 200 points and breaking her own world record (5137 points, set in 1961) by more than 100 points.

Final standings