These are the official results of the women's shot put event at the 1997 IAAF World ChampionshipsinAthens, Greece. There were a total number of 25 participating athletes, with the final held on Thursday, August 7, 1997. The qualification mark was set at 19.00 metres.
| Gold |  Astrid KumbernussGermany (GER) |
| Silver |  Vita PavlyshUkraine (UKR) |
| Bronze | Stephanie Storp Germany (GER) |
| Qualification Round | |
|---|---|
| Group A | Group B |
| 05.08.1997 – 19:45h | 05.08.1997 – 19:45h |
| Final Round | |
| 07.08.1997 – 18:30h | |
| Q | automatic qualification |
| q | qualification by rank |
| DNS | did not start |
| NM | no mark |
| WR | world record |
| AR | area record |
| NR | national record |
| PB | personal best |
| SB | season best |
| Standing records prior to the 1997 World Athletics Championships | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| World Record |  Natalya Lisovskaya (URS) |
22.63 m | June 7, 1987 | Moscow, Soviet Union
|
| Event Record | Natalya Lisovskaya (URS) |
21.24 m | September 5, 1987 |  Rome, Italy
|
| Rank | Overall | Athlete | Attempts | Distance | Note | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | |||||
| 1 | 5 |  Connie Price-Smith (USA) |
18.00 | 18.35 | X | 18.35 m | |
| 2 | 6 | Nadine Kleinert (GER) |
16.89 | 17.87 | 18.26 | 18.26 m | |
| 3 | 7 | Stephanie Storp (GER) |
18.12 | X | X | 18.12 m | |
| 4 | 12 | Valeyta Althouse (USA) |
17.89 | 17.03 | 17.36 | 17.89 m | |
| 5 | 13 | Mara Rosolen (ITA) |
16.49 | 16.84 | 17.87 | 17.87 m | |
| 6 | 15 |  Zhang Liuhong (CHN) |
17.82 | 17.68 | 17.67 | 17.82 m | |
| 7 | 16 |  Irina Korzhanenko (RUS) |
X | X | 17.80 | 17.80 m | |
| 8 | 19 |  Elisângela Adriano (BRA) |
X | 17.38 | 17.71 | 17.71 m | |
| 9 | 20 | Valentina Fedyushina (UKR) |
17.31 | X | 17.19 | 17.31 m | |
| 10 | 21 |  Laurence Manfredi (FRA) |
X | 16.92 | 17.02 | 17.02 m | |
| 11 | 23 |  Lee Myung-Sun (KOR) |
16.38 | 16.39 | X | 16.39 m | |
| — | — |  Kalliopi Ouzouni (GRE) |
X | X | X | NM | |
| Rank | Overall | Athlete | Attempts | Distance | Note | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | |||||
| 1 | 1 | Astrid Kumbernuss (GER) |
20.69 | — | — | 20.69 m | |
| 2 | 2 | Vita Pavlysh (UKR) |
20.48 | — | — | 20.48 m | |
| 3 | 3 | Huang Zhihong (CHN) |
19.05 | — | — | 19.05 m | |
| 4 | 4 | Svetlana Krivelyova (RUS) |
X | 18.41 | X | 18.41 m | |
| 5 | 8 |  Svetla Mitkova (BUL) |
17.60 | 18.07 | 18.04 | 18.07 m | |
| 6 | 9 | Tressa Thompson (USA) |
16.37 | 18.07 | X | 18.07 m | |
| 7 | 10 |  Krystyna Danilczyk-Zabawska (POL) |
X | X | 18.05 | 18.05 m | |
| 8 | 11 | Li Meisu (CHN) |
17.72 | X | 17.99 | 17.99 m | |
| 9 | 14 |  Judy Oakes (GBR) |
17.78 | X | 17.84 | 17.84 m | |
| 10 | 17 | Anna Romanova (RUS) |
17.79 | 17.79 | X | 17.79 m | |
| 11 | 18 |  Yanina Korolchik (BLR) |
17.44 | 17.42 | 17.75 | 17.75 m | |
| 12 | 22 | Eleni Tsentemeidou (GRE) |
16.62 | X | X | 16.62 m | |
| 13 | 24 |  Nada Kawar (JOR) |
15.76 | 15.45 | 15.14 | 15.76 m | |
| Rank | Athlete | Attempts | Distance | Note | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | ||||
 |
Astrid Kumbernuss (GER) |
20.59 | 20.71 | 20.52 | 20.24 | X | 20.70 | 20.71 m | |
 |
Vita Pavlysh (UKR) |
X | 20.57 | X | 20.51 | 20.36 | 20.66 | 20.66 m | |
 |
Stephanie Storp (GER) |
19.22 | 18.84 | X | 18.67 | X | 18.92 | 19.22 m | |
| 4 | Huang Zhihong (CHN) |
18.63 | 18.64 | 18.72 | 19.15 | X | 19.07 | 19.15 m | |
| 5 | Connie Price-Smith (USA) |
19.00 | 18.17 | 18.64 | X | 18.53 | X | 19.00 m | |
| 6 | Li Meisu (CHN) |
17.30 | 18.62 | 18.21 | 18.58 | 18.10 | 18.50 | 18.62 m | |
| 7 | Nadine Kleinert (GER) |
18.33 | 18.42 | X | 17.91 | 18.22 | X | 18.42 m | |
| 8 | Krystyna Danilczyk-Zabawska (POL) |
X | X | 17.83 | X | 17.55 | X | 17.83 m | |
| 9 | Svetla Mitkova (BUL) |
17.75 | 17.51 | 17.62 | 17.75 m | ||||
| 10 | Svetlana Krivelyova (RUS) |
X | 17.08 | 17.38 | 17.38 m | ||||
| 11 | Valeyta Althouse (USA) |
16.92 | X | 16.78 | 16.92 m | ||||
| 12 | Tressa Thompson (USA) |
X | 16.48 | X | 16.48 m | ||||