[1] No preliminary rounds were held at this distance, since the number of competitors allowed a direct final.

[2] Like Fernanda Ribeiro at the 2000 Summer Olympics, defending champion Derartu Tulu was not able to maintain her title, finishing in the third place behind compatriot (and cousin) Ejegayehu Dibaba and the winner Xing Huina.

[3][4] In Athens, Ribeiro did not finish the race due to fatigue, along with British marathon world record holder Paula Radcliffe.

[3] Throughout the race, Xing marked the Ethiopian favorites, not taking the lead until the home stretch with a final kick Dibabba could not match.

For the women's 5000 metres, each National Olympic Committee was permitted to enter up to three athletes that had run the race in 31:45.00 or faster during the qualification period.