| POS | Rank | Heat | BIB | ATHLETE | COUNTRY | RESULTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | 2 | BOT | Botswana |
BOT |
2:57.68 Q SB |
| 2 | 2 | 2 | BEL | Belgium |
BEL |
2:57.98 Q SB |
| 3 | 3 | 2 | GBR | Great Britain & NI |
GBR |
2:58.11 Q SB |
| 4 | 1 | 3 | USA | United States |
USA |
2:58.48 qR SB |
| 5 | 1 | 1 | RSA | South Africa |
RSA |
2:58.81 Q |
| 6 | 4 | 2 | JAM | Jamaica |
JAM |
2:59.13 q SB |
| 7 | 5 | 2 | POR | Portugal |
POR |
2:59.70 q NR |
| 8 | 6 | 2 | JPN | Japan |
JPN |
2:59.74 SB |
| 9 | 2 | 1 | QAT | Qatar |
QAT |
3:00.15 Q NR |
| 10 | 3 | 1 | NED | Netherlands |
NED |
3:00.23 Q SB |
| 10 | 4 | 1 | KEN | Kenya |
KEN |
3:00.76 |
| 11 | 2 | 3 | KEN | Kenya |
KEN |
3:00.39 |
| 13 | 5 | 1 | CHN | PR of China |
CHN |
3:00.77 NR |
| 12 | 6 | 1 | USA | United States |
USA |
3:01.06 |
| 15 | 7 | 1 | FRA | France |
FRA |
3:01.64 |
| 2 | AUS | Australia |
AUS |
DQ | ||
| 2 | BRA | Brazil |
BRA |
DQ | ||
| 1 | ZAM | Zambia |
ZAM |
DQ |