1978 European Athletics Indoor Championships – Men's 400 metres
The men's 400 metres event at the 1978 European Athletics Indoor Championships was held on 11 and 12 March in Milan.[1][2]
Medalists
| Gold | Silver | Bronze |
Pietro Mennea Italy
|
Ryszard Podlas Poland
|
Nikolay Chernetskiy Soviet Union
|
Results
Heats
First 2 from each heat (Q) qualified directly for the semifinals.
| Rank | Heat | Name | Nationality | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | Nikolay Chernetskiy | Soviet Union |
47.20 | Q |
| 2 | 2 | Ryszard Podlas | Poland |
47.80 | Q |
| 3 | 3 | Alfonso Di Guida | Italy |
47.96 | Q |
| 4 | 3 | Karel Kolář |  Czechoslovakia |
47.96 | Q |
| 5 | 3 | Narzis Popov |  Bulgaria |
48.19 | |
| 6 | 2 | Eddy De Leeuw |  Belgium |
48.34 | |
| 7 | 4 | Pietro Mennea | Italy |
48.40 | Q |
| 8 | 4 | Željko Knapić |  Yugoslavia |
48.55 | Q |
| 9 | 1 | Nándor Hornyacsek |  Hungary |
48.64 | Q |
| 9 | 2 | Yanko Bratanov | Bulgaria |
48.64 | |
| 11 | 1 | Vasiliy Arkhipenko | Soviet Union |
48.79 | Q |
| 12 | 1 | Giovanni Bongiorni | Italy |
48.79 | |
| 13 | 4 | Pavel Pavlov | Bulgaria |
48.83 |
Semifinals
First 2 from each heat (Q) qualified directly for the final.
| Rank | Heat | Name | Nationality | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | Ryszard Podlas | Poland |
47.08 | Q |
| 2 | 2 | Pietro Mennea | Italy |
47.16 | Q |
| 3 | 1 | Nikolay Chernetskiy | Soviet Union |
47.29 | Q |
| 4 | 1 | Željko Knapić | Yugoslavia |
47.61 | Q |
| 5 | 2 | Vasiliy Arkhipenko | Soviet Union |
47.71 | |
| 6 | 1 | Alfonso Di Guida | Italy |
47.86 | |
| 7 | 1 | Nándor Hornyacsek | Hungary |
48.06 | |
| 8 | 2 | Karel Kolář | Czechoslovakia |
48.62 |
Final
| Rank | Name | Nationality | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
Pietro Mennea | Italy |
46.51 | |
 |
Ryszard Podlas | Poland |
46.55 | |
 |
Nikolay Chernetskiy | Soviet Union |
46.72 | |
| 4 | Željko Knapić | Yugoslavia |
47.83 |