The three fastest times prior to the championships were all run at the Russian national trials, with Mariya Savinova leading the rankings with 1:56.95 minutes, followed by Yuliya Rusanova and Ekaterina Kostetskaya.

However, Kenia Sinclair of Jamaica and Britain's Jenny Meadows had been the leading athletes on the Diamond League circuit.

[2] Caster Semenya, the 2009 champion, was among the fastest that year, but had been affected by injury and an 11-month career break due to gender verification tests.

[3] Moroccan Halima Hachlaf and American champion Alysia Johnson Montano were highly ranked, while reigning Olympic and World silver medallist Janeth Jepkosgei was another prominent competitor.

[4] On February 10, 2017, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (Cas) officially disqualified Savinova's results backdated to July 2010.