| Date | 20 September 2000 | |
|---|---|---|
| Location | Sydney International Aquatic Centre, Olympic Park, Sydney, New South Wales | |
| Format | Fastest eight advanced to the final. | |
| Pos | Lane | Competitor | NOC | Time | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | Ágnes Kovács | HUN | 2:24.03 | |||
| 2 | 5 | Qi Hui | CHN | 2:24.21 | |||
| 3 | 2 | Olga Bakaldina | RUS | 2:25.41 | |||
| 4 | 4 | Kristy Kowal | USA | 2:25.46 | |||
| 5 | 6 | Sarah Poewe | RSA | 2:25.54 | |||
| 6 | 7 | Luo Xuejuan | CHN | 2:25.86 | |||
| 7 | 3 | Masami Tanaka | JPN | 2:26.24 | |||
| 8 | 6 | Amanda Beard | USA | 2:26.62 | |||
| 9 | 5 | Karine Brémond | FRA | 2:27.86 | |||
| 10 | 3 | Caroline Hildreth | AUS | 2:28.30 | |||
| 11 | 2 | Gu Hyo-Jin | KOR | 2:28.50 | |||
| 12 | 1 | Anne Poleska | GER | 2:28.99 | |||
| 13 | 1 | Christin Petelski | CAN | 2:29.43 | |||
| 14 | 7 | Rebecca Brown | AUS | 2:29.90 | |||
| 15 | 8 | Alicja Pęczak | POL | 2:30.02 | |||
| 16 | 8 | Junko Isoda | JPN | 2:31.71 |
| Time | 20:08 |
|---|
| Pos | Lane | Competitor | NOC | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | Kristy Kowal | USA | 2:25.46 | ||
| 2 | 6 | Sarah Poewe | RSA | 2:25.54 | ||
| 3 | 7 | Luo Xuejuan | CHN | 2:25.86 | ||
| 4 | 5 | Karine Brémond | FRA | 2:27.86 | ||
| 5 | 3 | Caroline Hildreth | AUS | 2:28.30 | ||
| 6 | 2 | Gu Hyo-Jin | KOR | 2:28.50 | ||
| 7 | 1 | Anne Poleska | GER | 2:28.99 | ||
| 8 | 8 | Junko Isoda | JPN | 2:31.71 |
| Time | 20:14 |
|---|
| Pos | Lane | Competitor | NOC | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | Ágnes Kovács | HUN | 2:24.03 | ||
| 2 | 5 | Qi Hui | CHN | 2:24.21 | ||
| 3 | 2 | Olga Bakaldina | RUS | 2:25.41 | ||
| 4 | 3 | Masami Tanaka | JPN | 2:26.24 | ||
| 5 | 6 | Amanda Beard | USA | 2:26.62 | ||
| 6 | 1 | Christin Petelski | CAN | 2:29.43 | ||
| 7 | 7 | Rebecca Brown | AUS | 2:29.90 | ||
| 8 | 8 | Alicja Pęczak | POL | 2:30.02 |