| Final | | time | | gap | L | | 1. Galina Prozumenscsikova |  Soviet Union | 2:40.7 | ER | | 4 | | 2. Alla Grebennyikova | Soviet Union | 2:43.5 | | 3.8s | 5 | | 3. Dorothy Harrison |  Great Britain | 2:45.6 | NR | 4.9s | 3 | | 4. Hannelore Putz |  East Germany | 2:48.8 | | 8.1s | 6 | | 5. Yvonne Brage |  Sweden | 2:49.4 | | 8.7s | 7 | | 6. Uta Frommater |  West Germany | 2:49.6 | | 9.4s | 1 | | 7. Monica Sobeck | West Germany | 2:49.9 | | 9.2s | 2 | | 8. Amanda Rednage | Great Britain | 2:50.7 | | 10.0s | 8 |
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| World Record: Catie Ball, United States 2:38.5<,b> Los Angeles, United States 26th August 1968 | | European Record: Galina Prozumenscsikova, Soviet Union 2:40.8 Utrecht 22nd August 1966 | | New European Record: Galina Prozumenchikova, Soviet Union 2:40.7 Barcelona, 11th September 1970 |
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Heats Thursday, 10th September | | Best 8 times advanced to Final>. |
| Heat 3 | | time | | | 2. Alla Grebennyikova | Soviet Union | 2:43.5 | Q | | 3. Dorothy Harrison | Great Britain | 2:46.8 | Q | | 7. Uta Frommater | West Germany | 2:50.0 | Q | | 8. Amanda Rednage | Great Britain | 2:50.2 | Q | | 13.Jaroslava Slavíčková |  Czechoslovakia | 2:54.5 | | | 15.Mary Ionnidu |  Greece | 2:57.8 | |
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| Heat 2 | | time | | | 4. Hannelore Putz | East Germany | 2:48.4 | Q | | 9. Bjedov Ðurđica |  Yugoslavia | 2:50.5 | | | 10.Brigitte Schuchardt | East Germany | 2:50.6 | | | 11.Monica Bergquist | Sweden | 2:52.5 | | | 16.Elizaveta Kaleseva |  Bulgaria | 3:02.2 | |
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| Heat 1 | | time | | | 1. Galina Prozumenscsikova | Soviet Union | 2:43.3 | Q | | 5. Monica Sobeck | West Germany | 2:49.8 | Q | | 6. Yvonne Brage | Sweden | 2:49.9 | Q | | 12.Ann O’Connor |  Ireland | 2:52.6 | | | 14.Erika Ruegg |  Switzerland | 2:57.2 | | | 17.Zsuzsa Tóth |  Hungary | 3:28.4 | |
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