[1] The top three runners in each of the initial ten heats automatically qualified for the second round.

The top four runners in each of the four second round heats automatically qualified for the semi-final.

The gold medal was originally won by Marion Jones of the United States.

The IOC did not initially decide to regrade the results, as silver medalist Ekaterini Thanou had herself been subsequently involved in a doping scandal in the run-up to the 2004 Summer Olympics.

After two years of deliberation, in late 2009 the IOC decided to upgrade Lawrence and Ottey to silver and bronze respectively, and leave Thanou as a silver medallist, with the gold medal withheld.