| 1 | Catherine Ndereba | KEN | |
2:23:55 | |
| 2 | Mizuki Noguchi | JPN | |
2:24:14 | |
| 3 | Masako Chiba | JPN | |
2:25:09 | |
| 4 | Naoko Sakamoto | JPN | 2:25:25 | ||
| 5 | Bong-Sil Ham | PRK | 2:25:31 | NR | |
| 6 | Elfenesh Alemu | ETH | 2:26:29 | ||
| 7 | Joyce Chepchumba | KEN | 2:26:33 | ||
| 8 | Olivera Jevtic | SCG | 2:26:49 | ||
| 9 | Svetlana Zakharova | RUS | 2:26:53 | ||
| 10 | Shitaye Gemechu | ETH | 2:27:26 | ||
| 11 | Nuta Olaru | ROM | 2:28:24 | ||
| 12 | Shujing Zhang | CHN | 2:29:24 | ||
| 13 | Beatriz Ros | ESP | 2:29:25 | ||
| 14 | Helan Li | CHN | 2:29:46 | ||
| 15 | María Abel | ESP | 2:30:15 | ||
| 16 | Lena Gavelin | SWE | 2:30:39 | NR | |
| 17 | Stine Larsen | NOR | 2:30:44 | ||
| 18 | Luminita Talpos | ROM | 2:30:49 | ||
| 19 | Asha Gigi | ETH | 2:31:01 | ||
| 20 | Ulrike Maisch | GER | 2:31:21 | ||
| 21 | Rakiya Maraoui-Quetier | FRA | 2:31:23 | ||
| 22 | Viktoriya Klimina | RUS | 2:31:45 | ||
| 23 | Annemette Jensen | DEN | 2:31:55 | ||
| 24 | Kum-Sil Ri | PRK | 2:32:08 | ||
| 25 | Larisa Zyusko | RUS | 2:32:26 | ||
| 26 | Marie Söderström-Lundberg | SWE | 2:32:27 | ||
| 27 | Takami Ominami | JPN | 2:32:31 | ||
| 28 | Sandy Jacobson | CAN | 2:33:51 | ||
| 29 | Jong-Sun Kim | PRK | 2:34:12 | ||
| 30 | Meseret Kotu | ETH | 2:34:19 | ||
| 31 | María Teresa Pulido | ESP | 2:34:37 | ||
| 32 | Simona Staicu | HUN | 2:34:51 | ||
| 33 | Jill Gaitenby | USA | 2:34:54 | ||
| 34 | Fatima Yvelain | FRA | 2:36:20 | ||
| 35 | Whahbi Kenza | MAR | 2:36:29 | ||
| 36 | Li Jin | CHN | 2:37:10 | ||
| 37 | Linda Somers Smith | USA | 2:37:14 | ||
| 38 | Svetlana Demidenko | RUS | 2:37:19 | ||
| 39 | Joanna Lodge | GBR | 2:37:56 | ||
| 40 | Irina Timofeyeva | RUS | 2:38:06 | ||
| 41 | Lucilla Andreucci | ITA | 2:38:22 | ||
| 42 | Gloria Marconi | ITA | 2:38:26 | ||
| 43 | Giovanna Volpato | ITA | 2:38:38 | ||
| 44 | Nadia Ejjafini | BRN | 2:38:39 | ||
| 45 | Aurica Buia | ROM | 2:39:04 | ||
| 46 | Workenesh Tola | ETH | 2:39:25 | ||
| 47 | Jane Salumäe | EST | 2:39:36 | ||
| 48 | Zahia Dahmani | FRA | 2:40:34 | ||
| 49 | Banuelia Mrashani | TAN | 2:40:45 | ||
| 50 | Fátima Silva | POR | 2:40:59 | ||
| 51 | Mihaela Botezan | ROM | 2:41:13 | ||
| 52 | Hanan Fahroun | MAR | 2:42:56 | ||
| 53 | Kyung-hee Choi | KOR | 2:43:38 | ||
| 54 | Hafida Gadi | FRA | 2:45:53 | ||
| 55 | Tamara Lave | USA | 2:46:22 | ||
| 56 | Yong-Ok Jong | PRK | 2:50:21 | ||
| 57 | Epiphanie Nyirabarame | RWA | 2:54:16 | ||
| 58 | Simona Viola | ITA | 2:54:27 | ||
| 59 | Kelly Keane | USA | 2:55:26 | ||
| 60 | Sophie Gardon | PYF | 3:00:53 | ||
| 61 | Priscilla Mamba | SWZ | 3:18:35 | ||
| 62 | Sonia Lopes | CPV | 3:21:59 | ||
| Constantina Tomescu | ROM | DNF | |||
| Sylvia Mosqueda | USA | DNF | |||
| Rosaria Console | ITA | DNF | |||
| Rie Matsuoka | JPN | DNF | |||
| Fatima Hajjami | FRA | DNF | |||
| Beatrice Omwanza | KEN | DNF | |||
| Anna Pichrtová | CZE | DNS |