| POS | Rank | Heat | ATHLETE | COUNTRY | RESULTS | 
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | 2 | Germany |  GER | 41.91 Q | 
| 2 | 1 | 1 | Jamaica |  JAM | 42.63 Q | 
| 3 | 2 | 1 | Nigeria |  NGR | 42.72 Q | 
| 4 | 3 | 1 | USSR |  URS | 42.78 | 
| 5 | 4 | 1 | France |  FRA | 43.05 q | 
| 6 | 2 | 2 | Cuba |  CUB | 43.31 Q | 
| 7 | 5 | 1 | Australia |  AUS | 43.34 q | 
| 8 | 6 | 1 | Great Britain & NI |  GBR | 43.43 | 
| 9 | 3 | 2 | Italy |  ITA | 43.71 Q | 
| 10 | 4 | 2 | Finland |  FIN | 43.73 | 
| 11 | 5 | 2 | Spain |  ESP | 44.08 | 
| 12 | 7 | 1 | Bulgaria |  BUL | 44.17 | 
| 13 | 6 | 2 | Japan |  JPN | 44.85 | 
| 2 | United States |  USA | DNF |