# 1971 European Athletics Championships – Women's 200 metres

The women's 200 metres at the 1971 European Athletics Championships was held in Helsinki, Finland, at Helsinki Olympic Stadium on 12 and 13 August 1971.

## Medalists

| Gold | Renate Stecher East Germany |
| Silver | Györgyi Balogh Hungary |
| Bronze | Irena Szewińska Poland |

## Results
### Final

13 August Wind: 0.0 m/s
| Rank | Name | Nationality | Time | Notes |
| | Renate Stecher | East Germany | 22.70 | CR |
| | Györgyi Balogh | Hungary | 23.26 | |
| | Irena Szewińska | Poland | 23.32 | |
| 4 | Nadezhda Besfamilnaya | Soviet Union | 23.42 | |
| 5 | Annegret Kroniger | West Germany | 23.62 | |
| 6 | Rita Wilden | West Germany | 23.62 | |
| 7 | Ellen Stropahl | East Germany | 23.63 | |
| 8 | Christina Heinich | East Germany | 23.73 | |

### Semi-finals

12 August

#### Semi-final 1

Wind: 0 m/s
| Rank | Name | Nationality | Time | Notes |
| 1 | Annegret Kroniger | West Germany | 23.37 | Q |
| 2 | Györgyi Balogh | Hungary | 23.42 | Q |
| 3 | Rita Wilden | West Germany | 23.50 | Q |
| 4 | Christina Heinich | East Germany | 23.62 | Q |
| 5 | Urszula Jóźwik | Poland | 24.01 | |
| 6 | Wilma van den Berg | Netherlands | 24.02 | |
| 7 | Gabrielle Meyer | France | 24.31 | |

#### Semi-final 2

Wind: 0 m/s
| Rank | Name | Nationality | Time | Notes |
| 1 | Renate Stecher | East Germany | 23.26 | Q |
| 2 | Irena Szewińska | Poland | 23.54 | Q |
| 3 | Nadezhda Besfamilnaya | Soviet Union | 23.60 | Q |
| 4 | Ellen Stropahl | East Germany | 23.68 | Q |
| 5 | Margaret Critchley | Great Britain | 23.91 | |
| 6 | Trudy Ruth | Netherlands | 23.92 | |
| 7 | Helga Kapfer | Austria | 24.11 | |
| 8 | Annelie Wilden | West Germany | 24.46 | |

### Heats

12 August

#### Heat 1

Wind: 0 m/s
| Rank | Name | Nationality | Time | Notes |
| 1 | Renate Stecher | East Germany | 23.83 | Q |
| 2 | Wilma van den Berg | Netherlands | 24.13 | Q |
| 3 | Helga Kapfer | Austria | 24.15 | Q |
| 4 | Margaret Critchley | Great Britain | 24.21 | Q |
| 5 | Barbara Bakulin | Poland | 24.57 | |

#### Heat 2

Wind: -0.2 m/s
| Rank | Name | Nationality | Time | Notes |
| 1 | Annegret Kroniger | West Germany | 23.83 | Q |
| 2 | Ellen Stropahl | East Germany | 23.85 | Q |
| 3 | Irena Szewińska | Poland | 25.61 | Q |

#### Heat 3

Wind: 0 m/s
| Rank | Name | Nationality | Time | Notes |
| 1 | Christina Heinich | East Germany | 23.82 | Q |
| 2 | Trudy Ruth | Netherlands | 23.98 | Q |
| 3 | Györgyi Balogh | Hungary | 24.32 | Q |
| 4 | Annelie Wilden | West Germany | 24.51 | Q |
| 5 | Elisabeth Randerz | Sweden | 24.81 | |

#### Heat 4

Wind: 0 m/s
| Rank | Name | Nationality | Time | Notes |
| 1 | Rita Wilden | West Germany | 23.64 | Q |
| 2 | Nadezhda Besfamilnaya | Soviet Union | 23.74 | Q |
| 3 | Urszula Jóźwik | Poland | 24.14 | Q |
| 4 | Gabrielle Meyer | France | 24.25 | Q |
| 5 | Karin Lundgren | Sweden | 24.61 | |
| 6 | Della Pascoe | Great Britain | 24.66 | |

## Participation

According to an unofficial count, 20 athletes from 10 countries participated in the event.
* Austria (1)
* East Germany (3)
* France (1)
* Hungary (1)
* Netherlands (2)
* Poland (4)
* Soviet Union (1)
* Sweden (2)
* Great Britain (2)
* West Germany (3)