| Final 17:00 | time | | | 1. Gunhild Hoffmeister |  East Germany | 4:02.3/25 | CR NR | | 2. Lilyana Todorova |  Bulgaria | 4:04.0/97 | NR | | 3. Grete Andersen |  Norway | 4:05.2/21 | NR | | 4. Tatyana Kazankina |  Soviet Union | 4:05.9/94 | | | 5. Tamara Pangelova | Soviet Union | 4:09.9/93 | | | 6. Ulrike Klapezynski | East Germany | 4:10.5/54 | | | 7. Carmen Valero |  Spain | 4:11.6/61 | NJR NR | | 8. Joyce Smith |  Great Britain | 4:12.3/26 | | | 9. Gabriella Dorio |  Italy | 4:12.7 | | | 10.Ellen Wellmann |  West Germany | 4:16.3 | | | 11.Gunilla Lindh |  Sweden | 4:17.5 | | | -. Karin Burneleit | East Germany | DNS | |
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Heats - Friday 06.09 18:15 | | Firdt 3 and Best 3 progress to Final. |
| Heat 1 | time | | | 1. Gunhild Hoffmeister | East Germany | 4:11.7 | Q | | 2. Gabriella Dorio | Italy | 4:12.1 | Q | | 3. Tamara Pangelova | Soviet Union | 4:12.8 | Q | | 4. Natalia Mărăşescu |  Romania | 4:14.1 | | | 5. Rumyana Chavdarova | Bulgaria | 4:15.1 | | | 6. Czesława Surdel |  Poland | 4:18.7 | | | 7. Wenche Sorum | Norway | 4:19.3 | | | 8. Loa Olafsson |  Denmark | 4:28.0 | | | 9. Sylvia Schenk | West Germany | 4:30.1 | |
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| Heat 2 | time | | | 1. Tatyana Kazankina | Soviet Union | 4:11.4 | Q | | 2. Lilyana Todorova | Bulgaria | 4:11.5 | Q | | 3. Ellen Wellmann | West Germany | 4:11.5 | Q | | 4. Gunilla Lindh | Sweden | 4:11.5 | q | | 5. Ulrike Klapezynski | East Germany | 4:11.7 | q | | 6. Carmen Valero | Spain | 4:13.0 | NR q | | 7. Sonja Castelein |  Belgium | 4:13.2 | NR | | 8. Nina Holmén |  Finland | 4:14.6 | |
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| Heat 3 | time | | | 1. Grete Andersen | Norway | 4:11.5 | Q | | 2. Joyce Smith | Great Britain | 4:12.0 | Q | | 3. Karin Burneleit | East Germany | 4:13.2 | Q | | 4. Nikolina Shtereva | Bulgaria | 4:14.7 | | | 5. Mary Purcell |  Ireland | 4:15.1 | NR | | 6. Lyudmila Bragina | Soviet Union | 4:17.8 | | | 7. Silvana Cruciata | Italy | 4:22.6 | |
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