| POS | ATHLETE | COUNTRY | MARK | 
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tirunesh Dibaba |  ETH | 15:00.66 Q | 
| 2 | Sentayehu Ejigu |  ETH | 15:01.31 Q | 
| 3 | Yelena Zadorozhnaya |  RUS | 15:01.77 Q | 
| 4 | Liliya Shobukhova |  RUS | 15:01.86 Q | 
| 5 | Edith Masai |  KEN | 15:01.92 Q | 
| 6 | Irina Mikitenko |  GER | 15:02.16 q | 
| 7 | Yingjie Sun |  CHN | 15:03.00 q SB | 
| 8 | Émilie Mondor |  CAN | 15:20.15 | 
| 9 | Marla Runyan |  USA | 15:24.88 | 
| 10 | Nuray Tezeta Sürekli |  TUR | 15:26.64 | 
| 11 | Kimberley Smith |  NZL | 15:31.80 | 
| 12 | Docus Inzikuru |  UGA | 15:38.59 | 
| 13 | Shayne Wille-Culpepper |  USA | 15:40.02 | 
| 14 | Ebru Kavaklioglu |  TUR | 15:52.39 | 
| 15 | Maria McCambridge |  IRL | 15:57.42 | 
| 16 | Souad Aït Salem |  ALG | 16:02.10 | 
| 17 | Dulce MarÃa RodrÃguez |  MEX | 16:08.07 | 
| 18 | Zeinab Bakour |  SYR | 17:18.66 | 
| 19 | Francine Niyonizigiye |  BDI | 17:21.27 | 
| Elizabeth Zaragoza |  ESA | DNF | 
| POS | ATHLETE | COUNTRY | MARK | 
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Meseret DEFAR |  ETH | 14:52.39 Q | 
| 2 | Elvan Abeylegesse |  TUR | 14:54.80 Q | 
| 3 | Joanne Pavey |  GBR | 14:55.45 Q | 
| 4 | Isabella Bosibori Ochichi |  KEN | 14:55.69 Q | 
| 5 | Huina Xing |  CHN | 14:56.01 Q PB | 
| 6 | Margaret Maury |  FRA | 14:56.79 q PB | 
| 7 | Sonia O'Sullivan |  IRL | 14:59.61 q | 
| 8 | Gulnara Galkina |  RUS | 15:05.78 q | 
| 9 | Jane Wanjiku Gakunyi |  KEN | 15:14.57 | 
| 10 | Kirsi Valasti |  FIN | 15:33.78 | 
| 11 | Shalane Flanagan |  USA | 15:34.63 | 
| 12 | MarÃa Protópappa |  GRE | 15:35.07 | 
| 13 | Volha Krautsova |  BLR | 15:44.01 | 
| 14 | Restituta Joseph |  TAN | 15:45.11 | 
| 15 | Catherine Chikwakwa |  MAW | 15:46.17 | 
| 16 | Courtney Babcock |  CAN | 15:47.35 | 
| 17 | Krisztina Papp |  HUN | 15:58.44 | 
| 18 | Inês Monteiro |  POR | 16:03.75 | 
| 19 | Supriyati Sutono |  INA | 16:34.14 SB | 
| 20 | Nebiat Habtemariam |  ERI | 16:49.01 | 
| 21 | Inés Melchor |  PER | 17:08.07 |