# Athletics at the 1979 Summer Universiade – Men's 400 metres hurdles

The men's 400 metres hurdles event at the 1979 Summer Universiade was held at the Estadio Olimpico Universitario in Mexico City on 10, 11 and 12 September 1979.

## Medalists

| Gold | Silver | Bronze |
| Harry Schulting Netherlands | Vasyl Arkhypenko Soviet Union | James Walker United States |

## Results
### Heats

| Rank | Heat | Athlete | Nationality | Time | Notes |
| 1 | 2 | Harry Schulting | Netherlands | 49.78 | Q |
| 2 | 2 | Bart Williams | United States | 50.15 | Q |
| 3 | 2 | Nikolay Vasilyev | Soviet Union | 50.25 | q |
| 4 | 1 | Hugo Pont | Netherlands | 50.60 | Q |
| 5 | 5 | James Walker | United States | 50.78 | Q |
| 6 | 2 | Ian Newhouse | Canada | 50.92 | q |
| 7 | 3 | Rok Kopitar | Yugoslavia | 50.98 | Q |
| 8 | 5 | Fulvio Zorn | Italy | 51.08 | Q |
| 9 | 1 | Peter Haas | Switzerland | 51.15 | Q |
| 9 | 4 | Vasyl Arkhypenko | Soviet Union | 51.15 | Q |
| 11 | 5 | Lloyd Guss | Canada | 51.18 | q |
| 12 | 5 | Donizete Soares | Brazil | 51.29 | q |
| 13 | 5 | José Casabona | Spain | 51.30 | q |
| 14 | 4 | Felix Rümmele | Austria | 51.38 | Q |
| 15 | 4 | Germán Tejada | Spain | 51.47 | q |
| 16 | 1 | Takashi Nagao | Japan | 51.50 | q |
| 17 | 2 | Patrick Chazot | France | 51.81 | |
| 18 | 4 | Robert Williamson | Great Britain | 51.84 | |
| 19 | 1 | Mountage Diakhité | Senegal | 51.85 | |
| 20 | 5 | Peter Allen | New Zealand | 52.02 | |
| 21 | 4 | Jean-Claude Curtil | France | 52.30 | |
| 22 | 3 | Horia Toboc | Romania | 52.41 | Q |
| 23 | 4 | Washington Njiri | Kenya | 52.41 | |
| 24 | 3 | Bernd Herrmann | West Germany | 53.02 | |
| 25 | 5 | Bopaiah Kokkalera | India | 53.03 | |
| 26 | 3 | Jean-Prosper Rajaonarison | Madagascar | 53.28 | |
| 27 | 2 | Carlos Leal | Mexico | 54.21 | |
| 28 | 3 | Mohamed Jasem Al-Yagout | Kuwait | 54.70 | |
| 29 | 3 | Gabriel Leseku | Tanzania | 55.97 | |
| 30 | 2 | Arturo Girón | Guatemala | 56.85 | |

### Semifinals

| Rank | Heat | Athlete | Nationality | Time | Notes |
| 1 | 1 | Vasyl Arkhypenko | Soviet Union | 48.70 | Q |
| 2 | 2 | Nikolay Vasilyev | Soviet Union | 48.98 | Q |
| 3 | 1 | Harry Schulting | Netherlands | 49.06 | Q |
| 4 | 2 | Hugo Pont | Netherlands | 49.40 | Q |
| 5 | 1 | James Walker | United States | 49.79 | Q |
| 6 | 2 | Bart Williams | United States | 49.91 | Q |
| 7 | 1 | Ian Newhouse | Canada | 50.04 | Q |
| 8 | 1 | José Casabona | Spain | 50.06 | NR |
| 8 | 2 | Rok Kopitar | Yugoslavia | 50.06 | Q |
| 10 | 2 | Lloyd Guss | Canada | 50.22 | |
| 11 | 2 | Felix Rümmele | Austria | 50.68 | |
| 12 | 1 | Fulvio Zorn | Italy | 51.54 | |
| 13 | 1 | Donizete Soares | Brazil | 51.85 | |
| 13 | 2 | Germán Tejada | Spain | 51.85 | |
| | 1 | Horia Toboc | Romania | ??.?? | |
| | 2 | Peter Haas | Switzerland | DQ | |

### Final

| Rank | Athlete | Nationality | Time | Notes |
| | Harry Schulting | Netherlands | 48.44 | UR, NR |
| | Vasyl Arkhypenko | Soviet Union | 48.60 | NR |
| | James Walker | United States | 48.88 | |
| 4 | Nikolay Vasilyev | Soviet Union | 49.44 | |
| 5 | Rok Kopitar | Yugoslavia | 49.55 | |
| 6 | Bart Williams | United States | 49.70 | |
| 7 | Hugo Pont | Netherlands | 50.46 | |
| 8 | Ian Newhouse | Canada | 51.47 | |