| Final | time | | | 1. Yelena Romanova |  United Team | 8:46.04 | | | 2. Tetyana Dorovskikh | United Team | 8:46.85 | | | 3. Angela Chalmers |  Cabada | 8:47.22 | | | 4. Sonia O'Sullivan |  Ireland | 8:47.41 | | | 5. PattiSue Plumer |  United States | 8:48.29 | | | 6. Yelena Kopytova | United Team | 8:49.55 | | | 7. Shelly Steely | United States | 8:52.67 | | | 8. Yvonne Murray |  Great Britain | 8:55.85 | | | 9. Alison Wyeth | Great Britain | 9:00.23 | | | 10.Roberta Brunet |  Italy | 9:01.26 | | | 11.Margareta Keszeg |  Romania | 9:03.16 | | | -. Marie Pierre Duros |  France | DNF | |
|
| | | Venue: Estadi Olímpic de Montjuïc 67,007. | | -- competitors from -- nations. | | Heats |
|
| Heat 1 | time | | | 1. Yelena Kopytova | United Team | 8:47.21 | | | 2. Margareta Keszeg | Romania | 8:47.24 | | | 3. PattiSue Plumer | United States | 8:47.58 | | | 4. Lisa York | Great Britain | 8:47.71 | | | 5. Robyn Meagher | Canada | 8:49.72 | | | 6. Gitte Karlshøj |  Denmark | 8:54.05 | | | 7. Estela Estévez |  Spain | 8:55.70 | | | 8. Jane Ngotho |  Kenya | 9:00.96 | | | 9. Zola Pieterse |  South Africa | 9:07.10 | | | 10.Ana Isabel Elias |  Angola | 9:58.82 | | | -. Sandra Cortez |  Bolivia | DNS | |
|
|
| Heat 2 | time | | | 1. Marie Pierre Duros | France | 8:42.32 | | | 2. Tatyana Dorovskikh | United Team | 8:42.45 | | | 3. Angela Chalmers | Canada | 8:42.85 | | | 4. Alison Wyeth | Great Britain | 8:43.93 | | | 5. Roberta Brunet | Italy | 8:44.21 | | | 6. Shelly Steely | United States | 8:44.22 | | | 7. Esther Kiplagat | Kenya | 8:44.97 | | | 8. Catherina McKiernan | Ireland | 8:57.91 | | | 9. Fernanda Ribeiro |  Portugal | 9:07.69 | | | 10.Inmaculle Naberaho |  Rwanda | 10:02.62 | | | 11.Rosemary Turare |  Papua New Guinea | 11:15.18 | |
|
| Heat 3 | time | | | 1. Sonia O'Sullivan | Ireland | 8:50.08 | | | 2. Yvonne Murray | Great Britain | 8:51.16 | | | 3. Yelena Romanova | United Team | 8:51.18 | | | 4. Annette Peters | United States | 8:52.77 | | | 5. Zohra Graziani-Koullou | France | 8:55.21 | | | 6. Tikkanen Päivi |  Finland | 8:59.60 | | | 7. Krishna Stanton |  Australia | 9:00.62 | | | 8. Pauline Konga | Kenya | 9:02.79 | | | 9. Leah Pells | Canada | 9:13.19 | | | 10.Khin Khin Htwe |  Myanmar | 9:31.70 | | | 11.Janeth Caizalitín |  Ecuador | 9:32.39 | | | 12.Mirsada Burić |  Bosnia Herzegovina | 10:03.34 | |
|
|
| 
