| POS | Rank | Heat | ATHLETE | COUNTRY | RESULTS | 
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | 1 | Jamaica |  JAM | 2:58.84 Q SB | 
| 2 | 2 | 1 | Bahamas |  BAH | 2:59.02 Q NR | 
| 3 | 3 | 1 | France |  FRA | 3:00.64 q SB | 
| 4 | 4 | 1 | Poland |  POL | 3:00.66 q SB | 
| 5 | 1 | 2 | Nigeria |  NGR | 3:01.06 Q SB | 
| 6 | 5 | 1 | South Africa |  RSA | 3:01.25 SB | 
| 7 | 2 | 2 | Great Britain & NI |  GBR | 3:01.35 Q SB | 
| 8 | 3 | 2 | Australia |  AUS | 3:01.91 Q SB | 
| 9 | 4 | 2 | Russia |  RUS | 3:02.28 SB | 
| 10 | 5 | 2 | Ukraine |  UKR | 3:02.68 NR | 
| 11 | 6 | 2 | Sri Lanka |  SRI | 3:02.89 | 
| 12 | 7 | 2 | Senegal |  SEN | 3:02.94 | 
| 13 | 6 | 1 | Botswana |  BOT | 3:05.28 | 
| 14 | 8 | 2 | Japan |  JPN | 3:13.63 | 
| 1 | United States |  USA | DQ | ||
| 1 | Kenya |  KEN | DQ |