Athletics at the 1996 Summer Games: Previous Summer Games ▪ Next Summer Games
Host City: Atlanta, United States
Venue(s): Centennial Olympic Stadium, Atlanta, Georgia
Date Started: July 27, 1996
Date Finished: July 27, 1996
Format: Top eight in each heat and next four fastest advanced to the final.
| Gold: | Fernanda Ribeiro |
| Silver: | Wang Junxia |
| Bronze: | Gete Wami |
| Rank | Athlete | Age | Team | NOC | T(A) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gete Wami | 21 | Ethiopia | ETH | 32:20.92 | QU |
| 2 | Berhane Adere | 22 | Ethiopia | ETH | 32:21.09 | QU |
| 3 | Julia Vaquero | 25 | Spain | ESP | 32:27.05 | QU |
| 4 | Tegla Loroupe | 25 | Kenya | KEN | 32:28.73 | QU |
| 5 | Yuko Kawakami | 20 | Japan | JPN | 32:31.69 | QU |
| 6 | Catherina McKiernan | 26 | Ireland | IRL | 32:32.10 | QU |
| 7 | Wang Junxia | 33 | China | CHN | 32:36.53 | QU |
| 8 | Colleen de Reuck | 32 | South Africa | RSA | 32:39.19 | QU |
| 9 | Kate Fonshell | 26 | United States | USA | 32:48.05 | |
| 10 | Nyla Carroll | 30 | New Zealand | NZL | 32:50.64 | |
| 11 | Silvia Sommaggio | 26 | Italy | ITA | 32:59.40 | |
| 12 | Klara Kashapova | 26 | Russia | RUS | 33:28.34 | |
| 13 | Kathrin Ullrich-Weßel | 28 | Germany | GER | 33:31.67 | |
| 14 | Conceição Ferreira | 34 | Portugal | POR | 33:40.76 | |
| 15 | Farida Fatès | 34 | France | FRA | 34:38.49 | |
| AC | Ursula Jeitziner | 24 | Switzerland | SUI | DNF | |
| AC | Kylie Risk | 22 | Australia | AUS | DNF |
| Rank | Athlete | Age | Team | NOC | T(A) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Derartu Tulu | 24 | Ethiopia | ETH | 31:35.90 | QU |
| 2 | Sally Barsosio | 18 | Kenya | KEN | 31:36.00 | QU |
| 3 | Fernanda Ribeiro | 27 | Portugal | POR | 31:36.32 | QU |
| 4 | Masako Chiba | 20 | Japan | JPN | 31:37.03 | QU |
| 5 | Iulia Negură | 29 | Romania | ROU | 31:40.16 | QU |
| 6 | Annemari Sandell | 19 | Finland | FIN | 31:40.42 | QU |
| 7 | Hiromi Suzuki | 27 | Japan | JPN | 31:54.89 | QU |
| 8 | Maria Guida | 30 | Italy | ITA | 31:55.35 | QU |
| 9 | Lyudmila Petrova | 27 | Russia | RUS | 31:58.84 | QC |
| 10 | Wang Mingxia | 24 | China | CHN | 32:10.26 | QC |
| 11 | Yang Siju | 23 | China | CHN | 32:22.77 | QC |
| 12 | Sue Hobson | 38 | Australia | AUS | 32:25.13 | QC |
| 13 | Joan Nesbit | 34 | United States | USA | 32:33.48 | |
| 14 | Firaya Sultanova | 35 | Russia | RUS | 32:40.91 | |
| 15 | Chantal Dällenbach | 33 | France | FRA | 33:22.35 | |
| 16 | Daria Nauer | 30 | Switzerland | SUI | 33:56.95 | |
| 17 | Olga Avalos-Appell | 32 | United States | USA | 34:12.54 | |
| 18 | Justine Nahimana | 16 | Burundi | BDI | 35:58.51 |