| Final | | time | | gap | L | | 1. Andrea Gyarmati |  Hungary | 2:25.5 | ER | | 5 | | 2. Barbara Hofmeister |  East Germany | 2:26.6 | NR | 1.1s | 3 | | 3. Tinatin Lekveisvili |  Soviet Union | 2:27.1 | NR | 1.6s | 6 | | 4. Wendy Burrell |  Great Britain | 2:27.5 | | 2.0s | 4 | | 5. Sylvia Platt | Great Britain | 2:28.2 | | 2.7s | 8 | | 6. Christine Herbst | East Germany | 2:28.3 | | 2.8s | 2 | | 7. Angelika Kraus |  West Germany | 2:29.6 | | 4.1s | 7 | | 8. Eva Folkesson |  Sweden | 2:32.2 | | 6.7s | 1 |
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| World Record: Sue Atwood, United States 2:21.5 Louisville, United States 14th August 1969 | | European Record: Andrea Gyarmati, Hungary 2:26.9 Budapest, Hungary 22nd August 1970 | | New European Record: Andrea Gyarmati, Hungary 2:25.5 Barcelona, Spain 10th September 1970 |
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Heats Wednesday, 9th September | | Best 8 times advanced to Final>. |
| Heat 4 | | time | | | 5. Christine Herbst | East Germany | 2:29.5 | Q | | 6. Angelika Kraus | West Germany | 2:29.8 | Q | | 9. Maria Corominas |  Spain | 2:31.1 | NR | | 11.Silke Pielen | West Germany | 2:31.5 | | | 12.Susanne Nisner |  Switzerland | 2:31.8 | NR | | 19.Vera Kibkova |  Czechoslovakia | 2:35.1 | NR | | 23.Argiri Berisztianu |  Greece | 2:47.3 | |
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| Heat 3 | | time | | | 2. Andrea Gyarmati | Hungary | 2:27.3 | Q | | 4. Tinatin Lekveisvili | Soviet Union | 2:28.7 | Q, NR | | 9. Tatyjana Asztaskina | Soviet Union | 2:31.1 | | | 13.Els Droog |  Netherlands | 2:32.1 | | | 17.Ewa Kobielska |  Poland | 2:33.9 | | | 20.Berit Hafstad |  Norway | 2:36.2 | NR |
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| Heat 2 | | time | | | 3. Barbara Hofmeister | East Germany | 2:28.0 | Q | | 8. Sylvia Platt | Great Britain | 2:30.6 | Q | | 15.Zdenka Gašparač |  Yugoslavia | 2:32.7 | | | 16.Gordona Pilic | Czechoslovakia | 2:32.8 | | | 22.Vasziliki Eliopulu | Greece | 2:44.8 | |
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| Heat 1 | | time | | | 1. Wendy Burrell | Great Britain | 2:26.2 | Q, ER | | 7. Eva Folkesson | Sweden | 2:30.2 | Q, NR | | 14.Annamarie Groen | Netherlands | 2:32.2 | | | 18.Baranyi Judit | Hungary | 2:34.4 | | | 21.Szvetoszara Ignatova |  Bulgaria | 2:37.8 | | | 24.Christine Fulcher |  Ireland | 2:48.5 | NR |
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