| POS | Rank | Heat | BIB | ATHLETE | COUNTRY | RESULTS | 
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | 1 | JAM | Jamaica | 
 JAM                 | 
                3:22.74 Q WL | 
| 2 | 2 | 1 | CAN | Canada | 
 CAN                 | 
                3:23.29 Q SB | 
| 3 | 1 | 2 | GBR | Great Britain & NI | 
 GBR                 | 
                3:23.33 Q SB | 
| 4 | 2 | 2 | BEL | Belgium | 
 BEL                 | 
                3:23.63 Q SB | 
| 5 | 3 | 1 | NED | Netherlands | 
 NED                 | 
                3:23.75 Q SB | 
| 6 | 3 | 2 | ITA | Italy | 
 ITA                 | 
                3:23.86 Q NR | 
| 7 | 4 | 1 | POL | Poland | 
 POL                 | 
                3:24.05 q SB | 
| 8 | 4 | 2 | IRL | Ireland | 
 IRL                 | 
                3:26.18 q SB | 
| 9 | 5 | 1 | FRA | France | 
 FRA                 | 
                3:27.50 qR SB | 
| 10 | 6 | 1 | GER | Germany | 
 GER                 | 
                3:27.74 SB | 
| 11 | 5 | 2 | HUN | Hungary | 
 HUN                 | 
                3:27.79 NR | 
| 12 | 6 | 2 | SUI | Switzerland | 
 SUI                 | 
                3:29.07 SB | 
| 13 | 7 | 2 | CUB | Cuba | 
 CUB                 | 
                3:29.70 | 
| 14 | 8 | 2 | BOT | Botswana | 
 BOT                 | 
                3:31.85 | 
| 15 | 7 | 1 | ESP | Spain | 
 ESP                 | 
                3:31.91 | 
| 2 | USA | United States | 
 USA                 | 
                DQ | ||
| 1 | NGR | Nigeria | 
 NGR                 | 
                DQ |