| 1 | Dong Liu | CHN | |
4:00,50 |
| 2 | Sonia O'Sullivan | IRL | |
4:03,48 |
| 3 | Hassiba Boulmerka | ALG | |
4:04,29 |
| 4 | Yi Lu | CHN | 4:06,06 | |
| 5 | Angela Chalmers | CAN | 4:07,95 | |
| 6 | Theresia Kiesl | AUT | 4:08,04 | |
| 7 | Anna Brzezinska | POL | 4:08,11 | |
| 8 | Fabia Trabaldo | ITA | 4:08,23 | |
| 9 | Violeta Beclea-Szekely | ROM | 4:08,57 | |
| 10 | Wei Yan | CHN | 4:09,05 | |
| 11 | Carla Sacramento | POR | 4:09,15 | |
| 12 | Maite Zúñiga | ESP | 4:10,79 | |
| 13 | Lyudmila Rogachova | RUS | 4:12,14 | |
| 14 | Leah Pells | CAN | 4:13,87 | |
| 15 | Oksana Mernikova | BLR | 4:18,93 |