| POS | Rank | Heat | BIB | ATHLETE | COUNTRY | RESULTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | 1 | United States |
USA |
2:57.77 Q SB | |
| 2 | 2 | 1 | Botswana |
BOT |
2:58.33 Q AR | |
| 3 | 1 | 2 | Poland |
POL |
2:58.55 Q SB | |
| 4 | 3 | 1 | Trinidad and Tobago |
TTO |
2:58.60 Q SB | |
| 5 | 4 | 1 | Italy |
ITA |
2:58.91 q NR | |
| 6 | 5 | 1 | Netherlands |
NED |
2:59.06 q NR | |
| 7 | 2 | 2 | Jamaica |
JAM |
2:59.29 Q SB | |
| 8 | 3 | 2 | Belgium |
BEL |
2:59.37 Q SB | |
| 9 | 4 | 2 | India |
IND |
3:00.25 AR | |
| 10 | 5 | 2 | Japan |
JPN |
3:00.76 =NR | |
| 11 | 6 | 2 | France |
FRA |
3:00.81 PB | |
| 12 | 7 | 2 | South Africa |
RSA |
3:01.18 SB | |
| 13 | 8 | 2 | Colombia |
COL |
3:03.20 SB | |
| 14 | 6 | 1 | Great Britain & NI |
GBR |
3:03.29 SB | |
| 15 | 7 | 1 | Czech Republic |
CZE |
3:03.61 | |
| 16 | 8 | 1 | Germany |
GER |
3:03.62 |