| Order / Lane | ATHLETE | COUNTRY | PB | SB 1991 | 
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Iulia Ionescu |  ROU | ||
| 2 | Leah Pells |  CAN | ||
| 3 | Mirna El Hagg |  LBN | ||
| 4 | Khin Khin Htwe |  MYA | ||
| 5 | Minori Hayakari |  JPN | ||
| 6 | Yelena Romanova |  URS | 8:30.45 | |
| 7 | Catherina McKiernan |  IRL | ||
| 8 | Anke Schäning |  GER | ||
| 9 | Daria Nauer |  SUI | ||
| 10 | Vilma Peña |  CRC | ||
| 11 | Roberta Brunet |  ITA | ||
| 12 | Susan Sirma |  KEN | ||
| 13 | Shelly Steely |  USA | 
| Order / Lane | ATHLETE | COUNTRY | PB | SB 1991 | 
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Annette Peters |  USA | ||
| 2 | Lyudmila Borisova |  URS | 9:04.75i | |
| 3 | Päivi Tikkanen |  FIN | ||
| 4 | Lijuan Zheng |  CHN | ||
| 5 | Priscilla Mamba |  SWZ | ||
| 6 | Carmen de Oliveira |  BRA | ||
| 7 | Jane Wanjiku Ngotho |  KEN | ||
| 8 | Derartu Tulu |  ETH | ||
| 9 | Roisin Smyth |  IRL | ||
| 10 | Robyn Meagher |  CAN | ||
| 11 | Jana Kucerikova |  TCH | 8:54.61 | |
| 12 | Ama Amewo |  TOG | ||
| 13 | Yvonne Murray |  GBR | 8:29.02 | 
| Order / Lane | ATHLETE | COUNTRY | PB | SB 1991 | 
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Margareta Keszeg |  ROU | 8:48.70i | 8:51.51i | 
| 2 | Marie-Pierre Duros |  FRA | 8:38.97 | 8:50.69i | 
| 3 | Alison Wyeth |  GBR | ||
| 4 | Julia Vaquero |  ESP | 9:12.87 | |
| 5 | Marie Phoebe Juillet |  HAI | ||
| 6 | Pauline Konga |  KEN | ||
| 7 | Fernanda Ribeiro |  POR | 8:56.33 | 8:57.64 | 
| 8 | Bigna Samuel |  VIN | ||
| 9 | Tatyana Samolenko-Dorovskikh |  URS | 8:26.53 | |
| 10 | Jenny Lund |  AUS | ||
| 11 | Ana Isabel Elias |  ANG | ||
| 12 | Gitte Karlshøj |  DEN | ||
| 13 | Judi St. Hilaire |  USA | ||
| 14 | Jen Allred |  GUM |