| 1 | Tatyana Samolenko-Dorovskikh | URS | |
8:38,73 | |
| 2 | Maricica Puica | ROM | |
8:39,45 | |
| 3 | Ulrike Bruns | GDR | |
8:40,30 | |
| 4 | Cornelia Bürki | SUI | 8:40,31 | ||
| 5 | Yelena Romanova | URS | 8:41,33 | ||
| 6 | Elly Van Hulst | NED | 8:42,56 | NR | |
| 7 | Yvonne Murray | GBR | 8:43,94 | ||
| 8 | Wendy Smith-Sly | GBR | 8:45,85 | ||
| 9 | Lynn Kanuka-Williams | CAN | 8:49,91 | ||
| 10 | Mary Knisely | USA | 8:50,99 | ||
| 11 | Vera Michallek | FRG | 8:55,16 | ||
| 12 | Christine Tranter-Benning | GBR | 8:57,92 | ||
| 13 | Debbie Scott-Bowker | CAN | 8:58,63 | ||
| 14 | Marie-Pierre Duros | FRA | 9:14,61 | ||
| Olga Bondarenko | URS | DNF |