| Final | | time | | gap | L | | 1. Evelyn Stolze |  East Germany | 5:07.9 | ER | | 4 | | 2. Brigitte Schuchardt | East Germany | 5.18.3 | | +10.6s | 5 | | 3. Shelagh Ratcliffe |  Great Britain | 5:19.6 | | +11.7s | 2 | | 4. Nyina Petrova |  Soviet Union | 5:19.9 | NR | +12.0s | 6 | | 5. Ligyija Milenyina | Soviet Union | 5:21.9 | | +14.0s | 8 | | 6. Gerda Lassooij |  Netherlands | 5:21.9 | NR | +14.0s | 7 | | 7. Jaroslava Slavíčková |  Czechoslovakia | 5:23.6 | | +15.7s | 3 | | 8. Hennie Pentermann | Netherlands | 5:24.2 | | +16.3s | 1 |
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| World Record: Claudia Kolb, United States 5:04.7 Los Angeles, United States 24th August 1968 | | European Record: Sabine Steinbach, East Germany 5:14.9 Tallinn, Soviet Union 2 April 1968 | | New European: Evelyn Stolze, East Germany 5:07.9 Barcelona, Spain 6th September 1970 |
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Heats - , --th September | | Best 8 times advanced to Final>. |
| Heat 4 | | time | | | 1. Evelyn Stolze | East Germany | 5:17.2 | Q, ECR | | 4. Nyina Petrova | Soviet Union | 5:20.8 | Q | | 9. Maria Paz Corominas |  Spain | 5:27.0 | NR | | 13.Eva Sigg |  Finland | 5:28.6 | | | 15.Helga Niemann |  West Germany | 5:29.9 | | | 20.Trine Krogh |  Norway | 5:38.4 | | | 25.Martha Beri |  Greece | 5:54.4 | NR |
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| Heat 3 | | time | | | 5. Shelagh Ratcliffe | Great Britain | 5:23.1 | Q | | 7. Hennie Pentermann | Netherlands | 5:25.4 | Q | | 14.Sharon Anslow | Great Britain | 5:29.3 | | | 18.Věra Faitlová | Czechoslovakia | 5:33.4 | | | 19.Franca Maltagliati |  Italy | 5:34.3 | | | 24.Isabel Ortega | Spain | 5:51.6 | | | 27.Zsuzsa Tóth |  Hungary | 6:23.1 | |
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| Heat 2 | | time | | | 2. Brigitte Schuchardt | East Germany | 5:19.8 | Q | | 3. Jaroslava Slavíčková | Czechoslovakia | 5:20.7 | Q, NR | | 6. Gerda Lassooij | Netherlands | 5:24.0 | Q | | 10.Helga Mack | West Germany | 5:27.9 | NR | | 12.Anita Zarnowiecki |  Sweden | 5:28.4 | NR | | 17.Maria Nikolova |  Bulgaria | 5:31.8 | NR | | 22.Mottoulle Béatrice |  Belgium | 5:48.4 | |
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| Heat 1 | | time | | | 8. Ligyija Milenyina | Soviet Union | 5:25.5 | Q | | 11.Novella Calligaris | Italy | 5:28.3 | | | 16.Marjatta Hara | Finland | 5:30.1 | | | 21.Törzs Mária | Hungary | 5:43.7 | | | 23.Emily Bowles |  Ireland | 5:48.8 | | | 26.Eleni Avlanitu | Greece | 6:02.3 | |
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