| POS | Rank | Heat | ATHLETE | COUNTRY | RESULTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | 2 | Andrea Lange-Hahmann |
GDR |
4:05.18 |
| 2 | 1 | 1 | Doina Melinte |
ROU |
4:05.41 |
| 3 | 2 | 1 | Hildegard Ullrich-Körner |
GDR |
4:05.42 |
| 4 | 3 | 1 | Tatyana Samolenko-Dorovskikh |
URS |
4:05.48 |
| 5 | 2 | 2 | Marina Yachmenyova |
URS |
4:05.51 |
| 6 | 4 | 1 | Elly van Hulst |
NED |
4:05.57 |
| 7 | 3 | 2 | Mitica Junghiatu-Constantin |
ROU |
4:05.60 |
| 8 | 4 | 2 | Debbie Scott-Bowker |
CAN |
4:05.90 |
| 9 | 5 | 1 | Linda Sheskey |
USA |
4:06.03 |
| 10 | 5 | 2 | Diana Richburg |
USA |
4:07.10 |
| 11 | 6 | 1 | Fatima Aouam |
MAR |
4:07.38 |
| 12 | 6 | 2 | Brigitte Kraus |
FRG |
4:07.40 |
| 13 | 7 | 1 | Yvonne Murray |
GBR |
4:07.83 |
| 14 | 1 | 3 | Ulrike Bruns |
GDR |
4:08.36 |
| 15 | 8 | 1 | Brit Lind-Petersen-McRoberts |
CAN |
4:08.37 |
| 16 | 2 | 3 | Cornelia Bürki |
SUI |
4:08.39 |
| 17 | 3 | 3 | Svetlana Kitova |
URS |
4:08.64 |
| 18 | 7 | 2 | Agnese Possamai |
ITA |
4:08.84 |
| 19 | 4 | 3 | Kirsty Wade |
GBR |
4:09.06 |
| 20 | 8 | 2 | Florence Giolitti |
FRA |
4:09.08 |
| 21 | 5 | 3 | Paula Ivan |
ROU |
4:09.28 |
| 22 | 6 | 3 | Vera Michallek |
FRG |
4:09.89 |
| 23 | 9 | 1 | Annika Ericson |
SWE |
4:11.59 |
| 24 | 7 | 3 | Regina Jacobs |
USA |
4:12.52 |
| 25 | 8 | 3 | Christine Pfitzinger |
NZL |
4:13.59 |
| 26 | 9 | 3 | Maite Zúñiga |
ESP |
4:16.21 |
| 27 | 10 | 3 | Evelyn Adiru |
UGA |
4:17.72 |
| 28 | 11 | 3 | Krisia L. GarcÃa |
ESA |
4:34.76 |
| 29 | 9 | 2 | Alphocinah Simelane |
SWZ |
4:35.64 |
| 30 | 10 | 1 | Maria Lomba |
STP |
5:01.43 |
| 31 | 10 | 2 | Georgine Tomisato |
ASA |
5:49.52 |
| 2 | Sandra Gasser |
SUI |
DQ | ||
| 1 | Selina Chirchir |
KEN |
DNS |