The men's 400 metres event at the 1981 European Athletics Indoor Championships was held on 21 and 22 February.
Medalists
| Gold | Silver | Bronze |
Andreas Knebel East Germany
|
Martin Weppler West Germany
|
Stefano Malinverni Italy
|
Results
Heats
First 2 from each heat (Q) qualified directly for the semifinals.
| Rank | Heat | Name | Nationality | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Dinko Penev |  Bulgaria |
47.58 | Q |
| 2 | 2 | Andreas Knebel | East Germany |
47.86 | Q |
| 3 | 1 | Didier Dubois |  France |
47.93 | Q |
| 4 | 2 | Martin Weppler | West Germany |
48.11 | Q |
| 5 | 3 | Jacques Fellice | France |
48.17 | Q |
| 6 | 3 | Koen Gijsbers |  Netherlands |
48.21 | Q, NR |
| 7 | 3 | Ainsley Bennett |  Great Britain |
48.23 | |
| 8 | 2 | Benjamín González |  Spain |
48.37 | |
| 9 | 4 | Stefano Malinverni | Italy |
48.44 | Q |
| 10 | 4 | Paul Bourdin | France |
48.49 | Q |
| 11 | 4 | Rolf Gisler |  Switzerland |
48.86 | |
| 12 | 1 | Roberto Ribaud | Italy |
49.53 | |
| 1 | Hartmut Weber | West Germany |
DNF |
Semifinals
First 2 from each semifinal qualified directly (Q) for the final.
| Rank | Heat | Name | Nationality | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | Andreas Knebel | East Germany |
47.10 | Q |
| 2 | 2 | Paul Bourdin | France |
47.43 | Q |
| 3 | 2 | Didier Dubois | France |
47.68 | |
| 4 | 1 | Martin Weppler | West Germany |
48.04 | Q |
| 5 | 2 | Koen Gijsbers | Netherlands |
48.23 | |
| 6 | 1 | Stefano Malinverni | Italy |
48.27 | Q |
| 7 | 1 | Dinko Penev | Bulgaria |
48.50 | |
| 8 | 1 | Jacques Fellice | France |
48.61 |
Final
| Rank | Lane | Name | Nationality | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
2 | Andreas Knebel | East Germany |
46.52 | |
 |
1 | Martin Weppler | West Germany |
46.88 | |
 |
3 | Stefano Malinverni | Italy |
46.96 | |
| 4 | 4 | Paul Bourdin | France |
47.69 |
References
- Results (p. 460–461)
| 400 metres at the European Athletics Indoor Championships | |
|---|---|
| Men | |
| Women | |
