| Final | time |   |  | 1. Derartu Tulu |   Ethiopia | 31:06.02 |   |  | 2. Elana Meyer |   South Africa | 31:11.75 |   |  | 3. Lynn Jennings |   United States | 31:19.89 |   |  | 4. Zhong Huandi |   China | 31:21.08 |   |  | 5. Liz McColgan |   Great Britain | 31:26.11 |   |  | 6. Wang Xiuting |   China | 31:28.06 |   |  | 7. Uta Pippig |   Germany | 31:36.45 |   |  | 8. Judi St. Hilaire |   United States | 31:38.04 |   |  | 9. Hellen Kimaiyo |   Kenya | 31:38.91 |   |  | 10.Jill Hunter |   Great Britain | 31:46.49 |   |  | 11.Christien Toonstra |   Netherlands | 31:47.38 |   |  | 12.Izumi Maki |   Japan | 31:55.06 |   |  | 13.Albertina Dias |   Portugal | 32:03.93 |   |  | 14.Miki Igarashi |   Japan | 32:09.58 |   |  | 15.Lieve Slegers |   Belgium | 32:14.17 |   |  | 16.Rosanna Munerotto |   Italy | 32:37.91 |   |  | 17.Tegla Loroupe |   Kenya | 32:53.09 |   |  | 18.Tigist Moreda |   Ethiopia | 34:05.56 |   |  | -. Fernanda Marques |   Portugal | DNF |   |  | -. Conceição Ferreira |   Portugal | DNF |   |   
 | 
|   |  | Venue: Estadi Olímpic de Montjuïc 67,007. |  | 50 competitors from -- nations. |   
 |  
                     
| Heat 1 | time |   |  | 1. Hellen Kimaiyo |   Kenya | 31:58.63 |   |  | 2. Zhong Huandi |   China | 32:04.46 |   |  | 3. Liz McColgan |   Great Britain | 32:07.25 |   |  | 4. Uta Pippig |   Germany | 32:07.28 |   |  | 5. Christien Toonstra |   Netherlands | 32:07.42 |   |  | 6. Izumi Maki |   Japan | 32:07.91 |   |  | 7. Judi St. Hilaire |   United States | 32:13.99 |   |  | 8. Tigist Moreda |   Ethiopia | 32:14.42 |   |  | 9. Conceição Ferreira |   Portugal | 32:15.05 |   |  | 10.Rosanna Munerotto |   Italy | 32:17.01 |   |  | 11.Carole Rouillard |   Canada | 32:52.83 |   |  | 12.Marcianne Mukamurenzi |   Rwanda | 33:00.66 |   |  | 13.Gwynneth Coogan |   United States | 33:13.13 |   |  | 14.Rosario Murcia |   France | 33:16.96 |   |  | 15.Dorthe Rasmussen |   Denmark | 33:22.43 |   |  | 16.Lyudmila Matveyeva |   United Team | 33:23.02 |   |  | 17.Martha Tenorio |   Ecuador | 34:29.03 |   |  | 18.Hiromi Suzuki |   Japan | 34:29.64 |   |  | 19.Carmem de Oliveira |   Brazil | 34:48.21 |   |  | 20.Rosemary Turare |   Papua New Guinea | 42:02.79 |   |  | -. Olga Bondarenko |   United Team | DNF |   |  | -. Collard Véronique |   Belgium | DNF |   |  | -. Anita Klapote |   Latvia | DNF |   |  | -. Tikkanen Päivi |   Finland | DNF |   |  | -. Gutierrez Wittmann A. |   US Virgin Islands | DNS |   |   
 | 
 | 
| Heat 2 | time |   |  | 1. Derartu Tulu |   Ethiopia | 31:55.67 |   |  | 2. Elana Meyer |   South Africa | 32:05.45 |   |  | 3. Lynn Jennings |   United States | 32:18.06 |   |  | 4. Jill Hunter |   Great Britain | 32:18.34 |   |  | 5. Wang Xiuting |   China | 32:31.91 |   |  | 6. Albertina Dias |   Portugal | 32:31.95 |   |  | 7. Tegla Loroupe |   Kenya | 32:34.07 |   |  | 8. Fernanda Marques |   Portugal | 32:38.16 |   |  | 9. Lieve Slegers |   Belgium | 32:40.59 |   |  | 10.Miki Igarashi |   Japan | 32:45.47 |   |  | 11.Susan Hobson |   Australia | 32:53.61 |   |  | 12.Annette Sergent |   France | 32:57.29 |   |  | 13.Kerstin Preßler |   Germany | 33:17.88 |   |  | 14.Lydia Cheromei |   Kenya | 33:34.05 |   |  | 15.Suzana Ciric |   individual | 33:42.26 |   |  | 16.María Luisa Servín |   Mexico | 33:42.74 |   |  | 17.Lesley Morton |   New Zealand | 33:51.06 |   |  | 18.Lisa Harvey |   Canada | 33:55.93 |   |  | 19.Andri Avraam |   Cyprus | 34:06.66 |   |  | 20.Griselda González |   Argentina | 34:09.42 |   |  | 21.Luchia Yeshak |   Ethiopia | 34:12.16 |   |  | 22.Andrea Wallace |   Great Britain | 34:29.47 |   |  | -. Yelena Zhupiyeva-Vyazova |   United Team | DNF |   |  | -. Kathrin Ullrich |   Germany | DNF |   |  | -. Silvia Cortez Tancara |   Bolivia | DNS |   |   
 |  
     
 |