1971 European Athletics Indoor Championships – Men's 400 metres

The men's 400 metres event at the 1971 European Athletics Indoor Championships was held on 13 and 14 March in Sofia.

Medalists

Gold	Silver	Bronze
Andrzej Badeński Poland	Boris Savchuk Soviet Union	Aleksandr Bratchikov Soviet Union

Results

Heats

Held on 13 March

First 2 from each heat (Q) qualified directly for the semifinals.

Rank	Heat	Name	Nationality	Time	Notes
1	1	Andrzej Badeński	Poland	48.4	Q
2	1	Lionel Malingre	France	48.6	Q
3	1	Luis Sarría	Spain	48.8
1	2	Yevgeniy Borisenko	Soviet Union	48.6	Q
2	2	Peter Bernreuther	West Germany	48.7	Q
3	2	Krestyu Khristov	Bulgaria	49.0
1	3	Aleksandr Bratchikov	Soviet Union	48.4	Q
2	3	Jan Balachowski	Poland	48.4	Q
3	3	Ramon Magariños	Spain	50.3
1	4	Boris Savchuk	Soviet Union	48.3	Q
2	4	Manuel Gayoso	Spain	48.7	Q
3	4	Gilles Bertould	France	49.0

Semifinals

Held on 13 March

First 2 from each heat (Q) qualified directly for the final.

Rank	Heat	Name	Nationality	Time	Notes
1	1	Andrzej Badeński	Poland	47.8	Q
2	1	Boris Savchuk	Soviet Union	48.2	Q
3	1	Peter Bernreuther	West Germany	48.9
4	1	Lionel Malingre	France	51.2
1	2	Jan Balachowski	Poland	48.6	Q
2	2	Aleksandr Bratchikov	Soviet Union	48.8	Q
3	2	Manuel Gayoso	Spain	48.9
4	2	Yevgeniy Borisenko	Soviet Union	49.9

Final

Held on 14 March

Rank	Name	Nationality	Time	Notes
	Andrzej Badeński	Poland	46.8	=AR
	Boris Savchuk	Soviet Union	47.4
	Aleksandr Bratchikov	Soviet Union	47.6
	Jan Balachowski	Poland	DNS