2011 World Championships in Athletics – Women's 1500 metres
The Women's 1500 metres at the 2011 World Championships in Athletics was held at the Daegu Stadium on August 28 & 30, and September 1.
Maryam Yusuf Jamal of Bahrain, the gold medallist in 2009, had the two fastest times of the year prior to the competition. American Morgan Uceny entered as the Diamond League leader and her compatriot Shannon Rowbury was also present. The 2010 World Indoor champion Kalkidan Gezahegne, Russia's Ekaterina Gorbunova and Btissam Lakhouad of Morocco completed the top four fastest runners that year. Other prominent entrants included 2008 Olympic champion Nancy Jebet Langat, 2009 runner-up Lisa Dobriskey and world indoor medallists Natalia Rodríguez and Gelete Burka.
The [|final] was a tight pack, disrupted in the turn less than a lap and a half before the finish when Hellen Onsando Obiri fell taking out Uceny along with her. With a pack of 9 remaining, the competitors jockeyed for position on the final lap. As they entered the final straightaway Natalia Rodríguez had a slight edge on the pack almost four wide. Jennifer Barringer Simpson and Hannah England were trailing the pack but Simpson went wide and passed the field as Rodríguez started to falter. England followed Simpson in full sprint across the finish line.
Nataliya Tobias was disqualified for doping in 2012 after further analysis of a sample of hers from the Daegu Championships. Olesya Syreva, Anzhela Shevchenko and Natallia Kareiva have later had their results disqualified after they were found to be doping based on abnormalities in their biological passport profiles.
| Athlete | Nation | Rank | Anti-doping rule violation |
| Nataliya Tobias | 9 | Post event test positive for testosterone | |
| Olesya Syreva | 18 sf | Biological passport | |
| Yekaterina Martynova | 10 sf | Biological passport | |
| Natallia Kareiva | 19 h | Biological passport | |
| Anzhela Shevchenko | 32 h | Biological passport |
Records
Prior to the competition, the records were as follows:| World record | 3:50.46 | Beijing, China | 11 September 1993 | |
| Championship record | 3:58.52 | Paris, France | 31 August 2003 | |
| World Leading | 4:00.33 | Hengelo, Netherlands | 29 May 2011 | |
| African Record | 3:55.30 | Barcelona, Spain | 8 August 1992 | |
| Asian Record | 3:50.46 | Beijing, China | 11 September 1993 | |
| North, Central American and Caribbean record | 3:57.12 | Stockholm, Sweden | 26 July 1983 | |
| South American record | 4:05.67 | Tokyo, Japan | 31 August 1991 | |
| European Record | 3:52.47 | Zürich, Switzerland | 13 August 1980 | |
| Oceanian record | 4:00.93 | Stockholm, Sweden | 25 July 2006 |
Qualification standards
Schedule
Results
Heats
Qualification: First 6 in each heat and the next 6 fastest advance to the [|semifinals].| Rank | Heat | Name | Nationality | Time | Notes |
| 1 | 3 | Maryam Yusuf Jamal | 4:07.04 | Q | |
| 2 | 3 | Nuria Fernández | 4:07.29 | Q | |
| 3 | 3 | Morgan Uceny | 4:07.43 | Q | |
| 4 | 3 | Hellen Onsando Obiri | 4:07.59 | Q, PB | |
| 5 | 3 | Yekaterina Martynova | 4:07.76 | Q | |
| 6 | 3 | Gelete Burka | 4:07.91 | Q | |
| 7 | 3 | Aslı Çakır | 4:08.05 | q | |
| 8 | 3 | Ingvill Måkestad Bovim | 4:08.26 | q | |
| 9 | 3 | Kaila McKnight | 4:08.74 | q | |
| 10 | 3 | Renata Pliś | 4:08.83 | q | |
| 11 | 3 | Anna Mishchenko | 4:09.02 | q | |
| 12 | 2 | Tugba Karakaya | 4:10.38 | Q | |
| 13 | 2 | Btissam Lakhouad | 4:10.71 | Q | |
| 14 | 2 | Viola Kibiwot | 4:10.74 | Q | |
| 15 | 2 | Natalia Rodríguez | 4:10.76 | Q | |
| 16 | 2 | Jennifer Barringer Simpson | 4:10.84 | Q | |
| 17 | 2 | Nataliya Tobias | 4:10.99 | Q | |
| 18 | 2 | Olesya Syreva | 4:11.24 | q | |
| 2 | DQ | ||||
| 19 | 2 | Genzeb Shumi | 4:12.32 | ||
| 20 | 2 | Meskerem Assefa | 4:12.43 | ||
| 21 | 2 | Lisa Dobriskey | 4:12.70 | ||
| 22 | 1 | Hannah England | 4:13.45 | Q | |
| 23 | 1 | Mimi Belete | 4:13.50 | Q | |
| 24 | 1 | Siham Hilali | 4:13.59 | Q | |
| 25 | 1 | Natalya Yevdokimova | 4:14.36 | Q | |
| 26 | 1 | Nancy Lagat | 4:14.37 | Q | |
| 27 | 1 | Shannon Rowbury | 4:14.43 | Q | |
| 28 | 1 | Kalkidan Gezahegne | 4:14.45 | q * | |
| 29 | 1 | Isabel Macías | 4:14.75 | ||
| 30 | 3 | Malika Akkaoui | 4:14.79 | ||
| 31 | 1 | Anzhela Shevchenko | 4:16.22 | ||
| 32 | 2 | Gladys Landaverde | 4:28.50 | SB | |
| 33 | 1 | Tandiwe Nyathi | 4:32.79 | PB | |
| 34 | 1 | Nikki Hamblin | 4:36.70 |
- Following a protest lodged by the Ethiopian federation, due to a crash by New Zealand's Nikki Hamblin who caused Gezahegne to stagger onto the infield.
Semifinals
| Rank | Heat | Name | Nationality | Time | Notes |
| 1 | 2 | Natalia Rodríguez | 4:07.88 | Q | |
| 2 | 2 | Jennifer Barringer Simpson | 4:07.90 | Q | |
| 3 | 2 | Nataliya Tobias | 4:07.99 | Q | |
| 4 | 2 | Ingvill Måkestad Bovim | 4:08.03 | Q | |
| 5 | 2 | Btissam Lakhouad | 4:08.10 | Q | |
| 6 | 2 | Hannah England | 4:08.31 | q | |
| 7 | 2 | Mimi Belete | 4:08.42 | q | |
| 8 | 1 | Tugba Karakaya | 4:08.58 | Q | |
| 9 | 2 | Viola Kibiwot | 4:08.64 | ||
| 11 | 1 | Hellen Onsando Obiri | 4:08.93 | Q | |
| 12 | 1 | Kalkidan Gezahegne | 4:08.96 | Q | |
| 13 | 1 | Maryam Yusuf Jamal | 4:08.96 | Q | |
| 14 | 1 | Morgan Uceny | 4:09.03 | Q | |
| 15 | 1 | Nuria Fernández | 4:09.53 | ||
| 16 | 1 | Siham Hilali | 4:09.64 | ||
| 17 | 1 | Anna Mishchenko | 4:09.78 | ||
| 18 | 1 | Olesya Syreva | 4:09.83 | ||
| 19 | 1 | Kaila McKnight | 4:10.83 | ||
| 20 | 1 | Renata Pliś | 4:11.12 | ||
| 21 | 1 | Shannon Rowbury | 4:11.49 | ||
| 22 | 2 | Aslı Çakır | 4:11.51 | ||
| 23 | 1 | Natalya Yevdokimova | 4:11.70 | ||
| 24 | 2 | Nancy Lagat | 4:12.92 | ||
| 2 | Gelete Burka | ||||
| DSQ | 2 | Yekaterina Martynova |