The women's 400 metres at the 2026 European Athletics Championships took place over three rounds at the Alexander Stadium in Birmingham, United Kingdom, from 12 to 15 August 2026."European Athletics Championships Birmingham 2026", European Athletics, 21 April 2026. Retrieved 2 August 2026.
Background
+ Records before the 2026 European Athletics Championships Record Athlete (nation) Location Date World record"All time Top lists – Senior 400 Metres women – World", World Athletics. Retrieved 2 August 2026. 47.60 Canberra, Australia 6 October 1985 European record"All time Top lists – Senior 400 Metres women – Europe", World Athletics. Retrieved 2 August 2026. Championship record"European Athletics Championships Best Performances", European Athletics. Retrieved 2 August 2026. 48.16 Athens, Greece 8 September 1982 World leading"Season Top Lists – Senior 2026 400 Metres women – Europe", World Athletics. Retrieved 2 August 2026.48.48Paris, France28 June 2026 European leading"Season Top Lists – Senior 2026 400 Metres women – World", World Athletics. Retrieved 2 August 2026. 49.15 London, United Kingdom 18 July 2026
Qualification For the women's 400 metres, the qualification period was from 27 July 2025 to 26 July 2026. Athletes qualified by running the entry standard of 51.20 or faster, by wildcard for the 2024 European Athletics Champion, or by their position on the World Athletics Rankings for the event. The target number was 36 athletes."Qualification System and Entry Standards", European Athletics, 14 November 2025. Retrieved 2 August 2026.
+ Qualification standings per 31 July 2026 QP CP Country Athlete Status Details 1 1 Natalia Bukowiecka48.90 50.02 Qualified by Wild Card Defending European Champion 2 1 Henriette Jæger49.15 49.15 Qualified by Entry Standard 49.15 - Olympic Stadium, London (GBR) - 18 JUL 2026 3 1 Amber Anning49.29 50.16 Qualified by Entry Standard 49.36 - National Stadium, Tokyo (JPN) - 18 SEP 2025 4 1 Lurdes Gloria Manuel49.37 49.37 Qualified by Entry Standard 49.37 - Stade Charléty, Paris (FRA) - 28 JUN 2026 5 1 Lieke Klaver49.58 49.58 Qualified by Entry Standard 49.58 - Stade Louis II, Monaco (MON) - 10 JUL 2026 6 2 Yemi Mary John49.85 49.85 Qualified by Entry Standard 49.85 - National Stadium, Tokyo (JPN) - 17 MAY 2026 7 1 Sharlene Mawdsley50.06 50.06 Qualified by Entry Standard 50.06 - Stade Charléty, Paris (FRA) - 28 JUN 2026 8 1 Anna Polinari50.36 50.36 Qualified by Entry Standard 50.36 - Estadio Vallehermoso, Madrid (ESP) - 16 JUL 2026 9 3 Charlotte Henrich50.45 50.45 Qualified by Entry Standard 50.45 - Olympic Stadium, London (GBR) - 18 JUL 2026 10 1 Blanca Hervás50.46 50.46 Qualified by Entry Standard 50.46 - Estadio Vallehermoso, Madrid (ESP) - 16 JUL 2026 11 1 Isabelle Black50.47 50.47 Qualified by Entry Standard 50.47 - Stadium Municipal, Albi (FRA) - 24 JUL 2026 12 1 Johanna Martin50.57 50.57 Qualified by Entry Standard 50.57 - Lohrheidestadion, Wattenscheid, Bochum (GER) - 03 JUL 2026 13 2 Paula Sevilla50.68 50.68 Qualified by Entry Standard 50.68 - Estadio Vallehermoso, Madrid (ESP) - 16 JUL 2026 14 1 Helena Ponette50.80 50.80 Qualified by Entry Standard 50.80 - Atletiekarena Gaston Roelants, Kessel-Lo (BEL) - 25 JUL 2026 15 1 Andrea Eșanu-Miklós50.54 51.79 Qualified by Entry Standard 50.90 - National Stadium, Tokyo (JPN) - 16 SEP 2025 reserve 4 Nicole Yeargin 50.96 50.98 Qualified by Entry Standard 50.98 - Foote Field, Edmonton (CAN) - 12 JUL 2026 reserve 5 Laviai Nielsen 49.87 51.02 Qualified by Entry Standard 51.02 - Cushing Stadium, College Station, TX (USA) - 06 JUN 2026 16 2 Myrte van der Schoot51.05 51.05 Qualified by Entry Standard 51.05 - Stadion De Veen, Heusden-Zolder (BEL) - 18 JUL 2026 17 1 Mette Baas51.42 51.42 Qualified by World Rankings 20th - 1193 points 18 1 Susanne Gogl-Walli50.60 51.77 Qualified by World Rankings 22nd - 1187 points 19 2 Josefine Tomine Eriksen Aks51.43 51.43 Qualified by World Rankings 23rd - 1187 points 20 3 Eveline Saalberg50.95 51.52 Qualified by World Rankings 25th - 1182 points 21 2 Barbora Malíková51.23 51.59 Qualified by World Rankings 28th - 1176 points 22 1 Veronika Drljačić51.22 51.90 Qualified by World Rankings 31st - 1174 points 23 2 Alessandra Bonora51.70 51.70 Qualified by World Rankings 33rd - 1173 points 24 3 Alice Mangione51.07 51.49 Qualified by World Rankings 34th - 1171 points 25 3 Astri Ertzgaard51.92 52.37 Qualified by World Rankings 37th - 1163 points 26 2 Sophie Becker51.13 52.36 Qualified by World Rankings 38th - 1159 points 27 3 Ana Prieto51.62 51.62 Qualified by World Rankings 42nd - 1153 points 28 1 Modesta Justė Morauskaitė50.49 52.66 Qualified by World Rankings 48th - 1141 points 29 1 Elna Wester52.32 52.66 Qualified by World Rankings 54th - 1135 points 30 1 Melanie Roland52.15 52.15 Qualified by World Rankings 55th - 1132 points 31 3 Rachel McCann52.89 52.89 Qualified by World Rankings 56th - 1132 points reserve 4 Sara Cirillo 51.86 51.86 Qualified by World Rankings 57th - 1132 points 32 1 Sila Koloğlu52.41 52.41 Qualified by World Rankings 71st - 1121 points 33 2 Elif Polat53.03 53.03 Qualified by World Rankings 73rd - 1120 points reserve 5 Ilaria Elvira Accame51.98 52.34 Qualified by World Rankings 76th - 1119 points reserve 4 Kaitesi Ertzgaard 52.30 52.30 Qualified by World Rankings 78th - 1119 points 34 1 Aleksandra Pešić52.69 52.69 Qualified by World Rankings 84th - 1116 points 35 1 Carina Vanessa52.62 53.42 Qualified by World Rankings 93rd - 1109 points 36 1 Kalliopi Kountouri52.58 53.54 Qualified by World Rankings 95th - 1108 points
Bye to semi-finals Reserve activated Withdrawal / reserve unused
Schedule DateTimeRound12 August 202611:05Round 113 August 202612:45Semi-finals15 August 202620:50Final
Results Round 1 Round 1 was held on 12 August 2026, at 11:05 in the morning. 13 best performers (q) advanced to the semi-finals.
Heat 1 PlaceLaneAthleteNationTimeNotes16Eveline Saalberg51.6525Paula Sevilla51.7837Sophie Becker52.28, 48Melanie Roland52.3554Barbora Malíková52.4362Carina Vanessa54.2073Kalliopi Kountouri54.45
Heat 2 PlaceLaneAthleteNationTimeNotes14Helena Ponette51.5623Ana Prieto51.8135Alice Mangione51.9648Veronika Drljačić52.0757Aleksandra Pešić52.5566Astri Ertzgaard52.71
Heat 3 PlaceLaneAthleteNationTimeNotes16Josefine Tomine Eriksen Aks50.83, 27Myrte van der Schoot51.2134Alessandra Bonora51.27, 43Modesta Justė Morauskaitė51.64, 58Susanne Gogl-Walli52.1265Elna Wester52.28,
Semi-finals The semi-finals were held on 13 August 2026, at 12:45 in the afternoon. First 2 in each heat (Q) and the next 2 fastest (q) advanced to the final.
Heat 1 PlaceLaneAthleteNationTimeNotes16Lieke Klaver49.7128Yemi Mari John50.3337Isabelle Black50.7245Blanca Hervás51.1254Alessandra Bonora51.4269Josefine Tomine Eriksen Aks51.6173Veronika Drljačić51.6182Susanne Gogl-Walli52.29
Heat 2 PlaceLaneAthleteNationTimeNotes15Natalia Bukowiecka49.57, 27Lurdes Gloria Manuel49.8138Charlotte Henrich50.5149Myrte van der Schoot50.7556Johanna Martin51.3464Alice Mangione51.4773Ana Prieto51.6982Sophie Becker52.47
Heat 3 PlaceLaneAthleteNationTimeNotes16Henriette Jæger49.8025Amber Anning49.96, 37Paula Sevilla50.21, 48Helena Ponette50.31, 54Anna Polinari50.6262Eveline Saalberg50.8473Modesta Justė Morauskaitė51.7282Elna Wester52.02
Final The final was held on 15 August 2026, at 20:10 in the evening. PlaceLaneAthleteNationTimeNotes7Henriette Jæger49.04, 6Natalia Bukowiecka50.045Lieke Klaver50.1548Lurdes Gloria Manuel50.8654Yemi Mari John51.1269Charlotte Henrich51.2973Helena Ponette51.4382Paula Sevilla52.039Amber Anning
References