The men's 400 metres event at the 1988 European Athletics Indoor Championships was held on 5 and 6 March.
Medalists
| Gold | Silver | Bronze |
Jens Carlowitz East Germany
|
Brian Whittle Great Britain
|
Ralf Lübke West Germany
|
Results
Heats
First 2 from each heat (Q) and the next 4 fastest (q) qualified for the semifinals.
| Rank | Heat | Name | Nationality | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Ralf Lübke | West Germany |
46.83 | Q |
| 2 | 2 | Brian Whittle | Great Britain |
46.93 | Q |
| 3 | 2 | Thomas Schönlebe | East Germany |
46.96 | Q |
| 4 | 2 | Ángel Heras |  Spain |
46.98 | q |
| 5 | 3 | Gusztáv Menczer |  Hungary |
47.06 | Q |
| 6 | 3 | Jens Carlowitz | East Germany |
47.07 | Q |
| 7 | 1 | Željko Knapić |  Yugoslavia |
47.15 | Q |
| 8 | 4 | Vito Petrella |  Italy |
47.28 | Q |
| 9 | 3 | Ulf Sedlacek |  Sweden |
47.29 | q |
| 10 | 4 | Antonio Sánchez | Spain |
47.32 | Q |
| 11 | 4 | Klaus Ehrle |  Austria |
47.39 | q |
| 12 | 1 | Danilo Bertaggia | Italy |
47.45 | q |
| 13 | 2 | Ervin Katona | Hungary |
47.46 | |
| 14 | 3 | Alessandro Pinna | Italy |
47.50 | |
| 15 | 4 | Mark Thomas | Great Britain |
47.83 | |
| 16 | 3 | José Alonso | Spain |
47.84 | |
| 17 | 1 | Peter Sinclair |  Ireland |
48.62 | |
| 18 | 4 | Manlio Molinari |  San Marino |
49.14 | =NR |
| 1 | Fethi Bildirici |  Turkey |
DQ |
Semifinals
First 3 from each semifinal qualified directly (Q) for the final.
| Rank | Heat | Name | Nationality | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Ralf Lübke | West Germany |
46.66 | Q |
| 2 | 1 | Jens Carlowitz | East Germany |
46.77 | Q |
| 3 | 2 | Brian Whittle | Great Britain |
46.86 | Q |
| 4 | 2 | Thomas Schönlebe | East Germany |
46.86 | Q |
| 5 | 2 | Antonio Sánchez | Spain |
46.97 | Q |
| 6 | 1 | Vito Petrella | Italy |
47.09 | Q |
| 7 | 2 | Gusztáv Menczer | Hungary |
47.13 | |
| 8 | 1 | Klaus Ehrle | Austria |
47.36 | |
| 9 | 2 | Danilo Bertaggia | Italy |
47.55 | |
| 10 | 2 | Željko Knapić | Yugoslavia |
47.56 | |
| 11 | 1 | Ulf Sedlacek | Sweden |
47.60 | |
| 12 | 1 | Ángel Heras | Spain |
47.70 |
Final
| Rank | Lane | Name | Nationality | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
4 | Jens Carlowitz | East Germany |
45.63 | |
 |
5 | Brian Whittle | Great Britain |
45.98 | |
 |
3 | Ralf Lübke | West Germany |
45.98 | |
| 4 | 6 | Antonio Sánchez | Spain |
46.49 | |
| 5 | 1 | Vito Petrella | Italy |
47.73 | |
| 2 | Thomas Schönlebe | East Germany |
DNS |
References
- Results (p. 516–517)
| 400 metres at the European Athletics Indoor Championships | |
|---|---|
| Men | |
| Women | |
