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

The men's 400 metres event at the 1979 Summer Universiade was held at the Estadio Olimpico Universitario in Mexico City on 8, 9 and 11 September 1979.

## Medalists

| Gold | Silver | Bronze |
| Harald Schmid West Germany | Franz-Peter Hofmeister West Germany | Walter McCoy United States |

## Results
### Heats

| Rank | Heat | Athlete | Nationality | Time | Notes |
| 1 | 4 | Nikolay Chernetsky | Soviet Union | 45.45 | Q |
| 2 | 2 | Walter McCoy | United States | 46.00 | Q |
| 3 | 1 | Harald Schmid | West Germany | 46.12 | Q |
| 4 | 6 | Horia Toboc | Romania | 46.15 | Q |
| 5 | 7 | Koen Gijsbers | Netherlands | 46.19 | Q |
| 6 | 6 | Isidoro Hornillos | Spain | 46.24 | Q, NR |
| 7 | 2 | Jens Smedegaard | Denmark | 46.32 | Q |
| 7 | 7 | Remigijus Valiulis | Soviet Union | 46.32 | Q |
| 9 | 6 | Roberto Tozzi | Italy | 46.34 | Q, PB |
| 10 | 4 | Lew Davis | Jamaica | 46.39 | Q |
| 11 | 1 | Geraldo José Pegado | Brazil | 46.49 | Q |
| 12 | 6 | Rolf Gisler | Switzerland | 46.69 | q |
| 13 | 5 | Leslie Kerr | United States | 46.79 | Q |
| 14 | 3 | Franz-Peter Hofmeister | West Germany | 46.93 | Q |
| 15 | 3 | Robert Froissart | France | 47.06 | Q |
| 16 | 7 | Eiji Natori | Japan | 47.15 | Q |
| 17 | 2 | Alan Bell | Great Britain | 47.22 | Q |
| 18 | 3 | Avognan Nogboum | Ivory Coast | 47.23 | Q |
| 19 | 4 | Jenaro Iritia | Spain | 47.45 | Q |
| 20 | 4 | Marcel Klarenbeek | Netherlands | 47.54 | q |
| 21 | 5 | Alexander Fortelny | Austria | 47.66 | Q |
| 22 | 5 | Chum Darvall | Australia | 47.96 | Q |
| 23 | 7 | Jean-Prosper Rajaonarison | Madagascar | 48.13 | q |
| 24 | 1 | Takashi Nagao | Japan | 48.45 | Q |
| 25 | 4 | Gabriel Leseku | Tanzania | 48.46 | |
| 26 | 2 | Antonis Georgallidis | Cyprus | 48.61 | |
| 27 | 7 | Alfonso Pérez | Mexico | 49.17 | |
| 28 | 3 | António Mota Gomes | Angola | 49.23 | |
| 29 | 4 | Adodo Djobokou | Togo | 49.68 | |
| 30 | 1 | Patrick Kagwisagne | Uganda | 49.75 | |
| 31 | 5 | David Martínez | Mexico | 49.86 | |
| 32 | 6 | Ngare Kinywa | Kenya | 50.26 | |
| 33 | 7 | Orlando Ruano | Guatemala | 50.39 | |
| 34 | 2 | Lauwi Adjambao | Togo | 50.47 | |
| 35 | 2 | David Beylon | Kenya | 50.50 | |
| 36 | 2 | Nelson González | Guatemala | 50.75 | |
| 37 | 3 | E. N. Quargraine | Ghana | 50.90 | |
| 38 | 5 | Roberto Prado | Bolivia | 51.23 | |
| 39 | 6 | Ibrahim Rashed | Saudi Arabia | 51.69 | |
| 40 | 7 | Jorge Camacho | Costa Rica | 51.92 | |
| 41 | 1 | Fahad Abdullah | Saudi Arabia | 52.56 | |
| 42 | 5 | Miguel Banegas | Honduras | 53.05 | |
| 43 | 6 | Manuel Machado | Costa Rica | 53.56 | |
| 44 | 6 | José Guillermo Brenes | Honduras | 55.30 | |
| | 7 | Stefano Malinverni | Italy | DNF | |

### Semifinals

| Rank | Heat | Athlete | Nationality | Time | Notes |
| 1 | 1 | Nikolay Chernetsky | Soviet Union | 45.12 | Q |
| 2 | 2 | Walter McCoy | United States | 45.16 | Q |
| 3 | 2 | Franz-Peter Hofmeister | West Germany | 45.40 | Q |
| 4 | 3 | Harald Schmid | West Germany | 45.72 | Q |
| 5 | 2 | Remigijus Valiulis | Soviet Union | 45.73 | q |
| 6 | 1 | Leslie Kerr | United States | 45.79 | Q |
| 7 | 1 | Horia Toboc | Romania | 45.87 | q |
| 8 | 2 | Koen Gijsbers | Netherlands | 46.17 | |
| 9 | 2 | Geraldo José Pegado | Brazil | 46.18 | |
| 10 | 3 | Robert Froissart | France | 46.24 | Q |
| 11 | 3 | Avognan Nogboum | Ivory Coast | 46.25 | |
| 12 | 3 | Roberto Tozzi | Italy | 46.28 | PB |
| 13 | 3 | Isidoro Hornillos | Spain | 46.51 | |
| 14 | 2 | Alan Bell | Great Britain | 46.53 | |
| 15 | 1 | Eiji Natori | Japan | 46.64 | |
| 16 | 1 | Marcel Klarenbeek | Netherlands | 46.68 | NJR |
| 17 | 3 | Rolf Gisler | Switzerland | 46.76 | |
| 18 | 1 | Jens Smedegaard | Denmark | 46.89 | |
| 19 | 3 | Takashi Nagao | Japan | 47.49 | |
| 20 | 2 | Genaro Iritia | Spain | 47.61 | |
| 21 | 3 | Alexander Fortelny | Austria | 47.74 | |
| 22 | 2 | Jean-Prosper Rajaonarison | Madagascar | 47.83 | |
| 23 | 1 | Lew Davis | Jamaica | 48.62 | |
| | 1 | Chum Darvall | Australia | DNS | |

### Final

| Rank | Athlete | Nationality | Time |
| | Harald Schmid | West Germany | 44.98 |
| | Franz-Peter Hofmeister | West Germany | 45.12 |
| | Walter McCoy | United States | 45.90 |
| 4 | Leslie Kerr | United States | 45.94 |
| 5 | Horia Toboc | Romania | 46.56 |
| 6 | Remigijus Valiulis | Soviet Union | 48.40 |
| | Nikolay Chernetskiy | Soviet Union | DNS |
| | Robert Froissart | France | DNS |