| Final | | time | | gap | L | | 1. Ada den Haan |  Netherlands | 2:52.0 | ECR | | 4 | | 2. Anita Lonsbrough |  Great Britain | 2:53.5 | | +1.5s | 7 | | 3. Wiltrud Urselmann |  West Germany | 2:53.8 | | +1.8s | 5 | | 4. Walter Bärbel |  East Germany | 2:55.5 | | +3.5s | 6 | | 5. Eve Maurer |  Soviet Union | 2:56.3 | | +4.3s | 3 | | 6. Eleonore Lehmann | East Germany | 2:57.6 | | +5.6s | 1 | | 7. Alla Kovalenko | Soviet Union | 2:59.0 | | +7.0s | 2 | | 8. Vinka Jeričević |  Yugoslavia | 3:00.4 | | +8.4s | 8 |
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| World and European Record: Ada den Haan, Netherlands 2:51.3 Los Rhenen 4th August 1957 | | Championship Record: |
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| | Best 8 times advanced to Final. |
| Heat 3 | | time | | | 1. Ada den Haan | Netherlands | 2:54.9 | Q | | 4. Walter Bärbel | East Germany | 2:57.3 | Q | | 5. Alla Kovalenko | Soviet Union | 2:57.4 | Q | | 11.Christl Filippovits |  Austria | 3:02.8 | | | 12.Michele Pialat |  France | 3:07.0 | |
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| Heat 2 | | time | | | 6. Anita Lonsbrough | Great Britain | 3:00.0 | Q | | 8. Vinka Jeričević | Yugoslavia | 3:01.0 | Q | | 9. Jacqueline Dyson | Great Britain | 3:01.7 | | | 14.Uzdi Réka |  Hungary | 3:07.8 | |
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| Heat 1 | | time | | | 2. Wiltrud Urselmann | West Germany | 2:56.6 | Q | | 3. Eve Maurer | Soviet Union | 2:57.1 | Q | | 7. Eleonore Lehmann | East Germany | 3:00.7 | Q | | 9. Colette Gossens |  Belgium | 3:01.7 | | | 13.Vera Kárpáti | Hungary | 3:07.4 | | | 15.Elena Zennaro |  Italy | 3:08.9 | | | 16.Elżbieta Dobrzynska |  Poland | 3:12.7 | |
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