| Final | | time | | | 1. Natalia Andrei |  Romania | 4:14.7 | | | 2. Tatyana Kazankina |  Soviet Union | 4:14.8 | | | 3. Ellen Wellmann |  West Germany | 4:16.2 | | | 4. Tamara Pangelova | Soviet Union | 4:16.5 | | | 5. Ulrike Klapezynski |  East Germany | 4:18.4 | | | 6. Mary Stewart |  Great Britain | 4:18.6 | | | 7. Rumyana Chavdarova |  Bulgaria | 4:23.2 | | | 8. Christiane Stoll | East Germany | 4:28.1 | |
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Heats - Saturday, 8th March | | First 2 from each Heat and next Best 2 advanced to Final. |
| Heat 1 | | time | | | 7. Tatyana Kazankina | Soviet Union | 4:23.0 | Q | | 8. Christiane Stoll | East Germany | 4:23.2 | Q | | 9. Natalia Andrei | Romania | 4:23.9 | Q | | 10.Francine Peeters |  Belgium | 4:26.3 | | | 11.Urszula Prasek |  Poland | 4:30.1 | | | 12.Vasilena Amzina | Bulgaria | 4:36.4 | | | 13.Božena Sudická |  Czechoslovakia | 4:38.9 | |
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| Heat 2 | | time | | | 1. Ellen Wellmann | West Germany | 4:17.5 | Q | | 2. Tamara Pangelova | Soviet Union | 4:17.6 | Q | | 3. Rumyana Chavdarova | Bulgaria | 4:17.6 | Q | | 4. Ulrike Klapezynski | East Germany | 4:17.6 | q | | 5. Mary Stewart | Great Britain | 4:21.5 | q | | 6. Marie-Françoise Dubois |  France | 4:22.7 | | | 14.Neşe Çetin |  Turkey | 4:46.8 | |
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