1. Doina Melinte | Romania | 4:09.73 | | 2. Sandra Gasser | Switzerland | 4:10.13 | | 3. Violeta Beclea | Romania | 4:10.44 | | 4. Natalya Artyomova | Soviet Union | 4:11.09 | | 5. Lyudmila Rogachova | Soviet Union | 4:11.87 | | 6. Veronique Pongérard | France | 4:19.36 | | 7. Diane Edwards | Great Britain | 4:21.27 | | 8. Montserrat Pujol | Spain | 4:33.87 | |
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| First - from each Heat and next Best - advanced to Final. |
1. Doina Melinte | Romania | 4:09.95 | Q | 2. Sandra Gasser | Switzerland | 4:10.93 | Q | 3. Lyudmila Rogachova | Soviet Union | 4:11.17 | Q | 4. Montserrat Pujol | Spain | 4:14.51 | q | 5. Veronique Pongérard | France | 4:15.23 | q | 10.Lynne MacIntyre | Great Britain | 4:22.79 | |
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6. Violeta Beclea | Romania | 4:20.58 | Q | 7. Diane Edwards | Great Britain | 4:20.77 | Q | 8. Natalya Artyomova | Soviet Union | 4:21.45 | Q | 9. Małgorzata Rydz | Poland | 4:22.75 | | 11.Irene Theodoridou | Greece | 4:26.55 | | -. Róisín Smyth | Ireland | DNS | | -. Elly van Hulst | Netherlands | DNS | |
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