| POS | Rank | Heat | BIB | ATHLETE | COUNTRY | RESULTS | ms* |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | 1 | USA | United States |
USA |
3:10.18 Q | |
| 2 | 2 | 1 | GBR | Great Britain & NI |
GBR |
3:10.22 Q | |
| 3 | 1 | 2 | BEL | Belgium |
BEL |
3:10.37 Q SB | |
| 4 | 2 | 2 | NED | Netherlands |
NED |
3:11.11 Q SB | |
| 5 | 3 | 2 | POL | Poland |
POL |
3:11.15 Q | |
| 6 | 3 | 1 | RSA | South Africa |
RSA |
3:11.16 Q AR | |
| 7 | 4 | 1 | ITA | Italy |
ITA |
3:11.20 q | |
| 8 | 5 | 1 | JPN | Japan |
JPN |
3:12.08 q NR | |
| 9 | 4 | 2 | ESP | Spain |
ESP |
3:12.57 | |
| 10 | 5 | 2 | AUS | Australia |
AUS |
3:13.46 | |
| 11 | 6 | 1 | IRL | Ireland |
IRL |
3:13.59 | |
| 12 | 7 | 1 | GER | Germany |
GER |
3:13.61 | |
| 13 | 8 | 1 | JAM | Jamaica |
JAM |
3:13.96 | .953 |
| 14 | 6 | 2 | CHN | PR of China |
CHN |
3:13.96 | .958 |
| 15 | 7 | 2 | FRA | France |
FRA |
3:14.02 | |
| 16 | 9 | 1 | CAN | Canada |
CAN |
3:18.94 | |
| 2 | KEN | Kenya |
KEN |
DQ |
ms - Milliseconds - shown when two or more competitors finish with the same time down to hundredths of a second