| Final | time | | 1. Sonia O'Sullivan |  IRL | 8:31.84 | | 2. Yvonne Murray |  GBR | 8:36.48 | | 3. Gabriela Szabo |  ROU | 8:40.08 | | 4. Olga Churbanova |  RUS | 8:40.48 | | 5. Lyudmila Borisova | RUS | 8:41.71 | | 6. Alison Wyeth | GBR | 8:45.76 | | 7. Farida Fates |  FRA | 8:46.04 | | 8. Nadia Dandolo |  ITA | 8:49.42 | | 9. Cristina Misaros | ROU | 8:49.69 | | 10.Roberta Brunet | ITA | 8:50.76 | | 11.Sonia Mcgeorge | GBR | 8:51.55 | | 12.Anita Philpott | IRL | 8:54.79 | | 13.Brynhild Synstnes |  NOR | 8:59.17 | | 14.Paivi Tikkanen |  FIN | 9:06.93 | | 15.Grete Koens |  NED | 9:14.35 |
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| Round | H | Athl. | date | | Heats | 2 | 28 | 07.08 |
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| Heat 1 | time | | 1. Sonia O'Sullivan | IRL | 8:51.30 | | 2. Olga Churbanova | RUS | 8:52.47 | | 3. Alison Wyeth | GBR | 8:52.68 | | 4. Sonia Mcgeorge | GBR | 8:52.73 | | 5. Roberta Brunet | ITA | 8:52.80 | | 6. Cristina Misaros | ROU | 8:52.98 | | 7. Farida Fates | FRA | 8:55.17 | | 8. Grete Koens | NED | 8:56.21 | | 9. Anita Philpott | IRL | 8:57.74 | | 10.Yelena Kaledina | RUS | 8:58.86 | | 11.Gunhild Halle | NOR | 8:59.11 | | 12.Renata Sobiesiak |  POL | 9:01.95 | | 13.Estela Estevez |  ESP | 9:03.02 | | 14.Serop Aktas |  TUR | 9:07.04 |
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| Heat 2 | time | | 1. Yvonne Murray | GBR | 8:54.46 | | 2. Lyudmila Borisova | RUS | 8:54.99 | | 3. Gabriela Szabo | ROU | 8:55.83 | | 4. Paivi Tikkanen | FIN | 8:56.99 | | 5. Nadia Dandolo | ITA | 8:57.38 | | 6. Brynhild Synstnes | NOR | 8:58.75 | | 7. Hilde Stavik | NOR | 8:58.80 | | 8. Silvia Sommaggio | ITA | 8:59.58 | | 9. Aniko Javos |  HUN | 9:01.98 | | 10.Milka Mikhailova |  BUL | 9:02.74 | | 11.Andrea Karhoff |  GER | 9:07.64 | | 12.Julia Vaquero | ESP | 9:11.76 | | 13.Geraldine Hendricken | IRL | 9:30.81 | | -. Marina Bastos |  POR | DNF |
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