| POS | Rank | Heat | ATHLETE | COUNTRY | RESULTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | 1 | Maria de Lurdes Mutola |
MOZ |
1:57.49 Q SB |
| 2 | 2 | 1 | Yelena Afanasyeva |
RUS |
1:59.05 Q |
| 3 | 3 | 1 | Stella Jongmans |
NED |
1:59.32 Q SB |
| 4 | 4 | 1 | Joetta Clark-Diggs |
USA |
1:59.34 Q |
| 5 | 1 | 2 | Ana Fidelia Quirot |
CUB |
1:59.37 Q |
| 6 | 5 | 1 | Luciana Mendes |
BRA |
1:59.45 |
| 7 | 2 | 2 | Letitia Vriesde |
SUR |
1:59.62 Q |
| 8 | 3 | 2 | Ludmila Formanová |
CZE |
1:59.71 Q |
| 9 | 4 | 2 | Toni Hodgkinson |
NZL |
2:00.25 Q |
| 10 | 5 | 2 | Natalya Dukhnova |
BLR |
2:00.91 |
| 11 | 6 | 2 | Nouria Mérah-Benida |
ALG |
2:01.08 |
| 12 | 7 | 2 | Petya Strashilova |
BUL |
2:01.44 |
| 13 | 6 | 1 | Olena Buzhenko-Sergeyeva |
UKR |
2:02.62 |
| 14 | 7 | 1 | Hasna Benhassi |
MAR |
2:03.70 |
| 15 | 8 | 1 | Malgorzata Rydz |
POL |
2:05.00 |
| 16 | 2 | Lyubov Kiryukhina-Tsyoma |
RUS |
DQ |