| Final | | time | | | 1. Fernanda Ribeiro |  Portugal | 8:39.49 | CR | | 2. Sara Wedlund |  Sweden | 8:50.32 | NR | | 3. Marta Domínguez |  Spain | 8:53.34 | | | 4. Blandine Bitzner |  France | 8:54.86 | | | 5. Mariya Pantyukhova |  Russia | 8:55.40 | | | 6. Luminita Gogîrlea |  Romania | 8:56.29 | | | 7. Roberta Brunet |  Italy | 8:57.66 | | | 8. Elisa Rea | Italy | 8:59.23 | | | 9. Laurence Duquénoy | France | 9:00.36 | | | 10.Lyudmila Petrova | Russia | 9:00.53 | | | 11.Stela Olteanu | Romania | 9:04.30 | |
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| | | First 3 from each Heat and next Best 6 advanced to Final. |
| Heat 1 | | time | | | 7. Luminita Gogîrlea | Romania | 9:07.69 | Q | | 8. Blandine Bitzner | France | 9:08.03 | Q | | 9. Roberta Brunet | Italy | 9:08.06 | Q | | 10.Mariya Pantyukhova | Russia | 9:08.22 | q | | 11.Marta Domínguez | Spain | 9:08.35 | q | | 12.Pilar Sisniega | Spain | 9:11.93 | | | 13.Teresa Duffy |  Ireland | 9:16.23 | | | 15.Jeļena Ŭelnova |  Latvia | 9:17.23 | |
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| Heat 2 | | time | | | 1. Fernanda Ribeiro | Portugal | 8:58.08 | Q | | 2. Sara Wedlund | Sweden | 8:59.00 | Q | | 3. Lyudmila Petrova | Russia | 8:59.15 | Q | | 4. Laurence Duquénoy | France | 8:59.15 | q | | 5. Stela Olteanu | Romania | 9:02.18 | q | | 6. Elisa Rea | Italy | 9:03.18 | q | | 14.María Abel | Spain | 9:17.01 | | | 16.Anita Philpott | Ireland | 9:18.20 | |
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