# 2022 European Athletics Championships – Women's 400 metres

The women's 400 metres at the 2022 European Athletics Championships took place in three rounds at the Olympiastadion in Munich, Germany, from 15 to 17 August 2022.
The three heats of round 1 were held on 15 August. The three fastest athletes of each heat plus the next three fastest of the rest qualified for the semi-finals, where they were joined by the twelve highest-ranking athletes, who had a bye in round 1. Janet Richard set a Maltese record of 53.49 seconds. The three heats of the semi-finals were held on 16 August. The two fastest in each heat and the two fastest of the rest advanced to the final.
The final was held on 17 August. Femke Bol won the final in a Dutch record of 49.44 seconds. Natalia Kaczmarek finished second in 49.94 seconds and Anna Kiełbasińska finished third in 50.29 seconds. Rhasidat Adeleke also set an Irish record of 50.53 seconds in the final.

## Background

At the start of the 2022 European Athletics Championships, Marita Koch of Germany held the world and European record of 47.60 seconds and the championship record of 48.16 seconds. Femke Bol of the Netherlands had set a European leading mark of 49.75 seconds and Shaunae Miller-Uibo of the Bahamas a world lead of 49.12 seconds.
Records before the 2022 European Athletics Championships :
| Record | Athlete (Nation) | Time | Location | Date |
| World record | Marita Koch (GDR) | 47.60 | Canberra, Australia | 6 October 1985 |
| European record | Marita Koch (GDR) | 47.60 | Canberra, Australia | 6 October 1985 |
| Championship record | Marita Koch (GDR) | 48.16 | Athens, Greece | 8 September 1982 |
| World Leading | Shaunae Miller-Uibo (BAH) | 49.11 | Eugene, United States | 25 July 2022 |
| Europe Leading | Femke Bol (NED) | 49.75 | Chorzów, Poland | 6 August 2022 |

## Rounds
### Round 1

The three heats of round 1 were held on 15 August, starting at 19:35 (UTC+2). The first three athletes in each heat (Q) and the next three fastest of the rest (q) advanced to the semi-finals. The twelve highest-ranked athletes received a bye into the semi-finals. Janet Richard improved the Maltese record (NR) to 53.49 seconds, although she didn't advance to the next round.
Results of round 1 :
| Rank | Heat | Lane | Name | Nation | Time | Note |
| 1 | 2 | 5 | Iga Baumgart-Witan | Poland | 51.09 | Q, SB |
| 2 | 2 | 4 | Amandine Brossier | France | 51.26 | Q, SB |
| 3 | 1 | 7 | Laviai Nielsen | Great Britain | 51.60 | Q, SB |
| 4 | 3 | 3 | Cátia Azevedo | Portugal | 51.63 | Q |
| 5 | 2 | 3 | Susanne Walli | Austria | 51.73 | Q, SB |
| 6 | 1 | 5 | Eveline Saalberg | Netherlands | 51.81 | Q |
| 7 | 2 | 8 | Camille Laus | Belgium | 51.91 | q |
| 8 | 2 | 7 | Alice Mangione | Italy | 51.92 | q |
| 9 | 3 | 4 | Gunta Vaičule | Latvia | 52.26 | Q |
| 10 | 1 | 4 | Silke Lemmens | Switzerland | 52.27 | Q |
| 11 | 2 | 2 | Tereza Petržilková | Czech Republic | 52.35 | q |
| 12 | 3 | 5 | Alica Schmidt | Germany | 52.52 | Q |
| 13 | 3 | 8 | Anna Polinari | Italy | 52.60 | |
| 14 | 3 | 2 | Sokhna Lacoste | France | 52.62 | |
| 15 | 3 | 6 | Sharlene Mawdsley | Ireland | 52.63 | |
| 16 | 3 | 1 | Naomi Van Den Broeck | Belgium | 52.80 | |
| 17 | 1 | 6 | Virginia Troiani | Italy | 52.83 | |
| 18 | 1 | 2 | Mette Baas | Finland | 53.02 | |
| 19 | 1 | 3 | Phil Healy | Ireland | 53.10 | |
| 20 | 1 | 8 | Linn Oppegaard | Norway | 53.29 | |
| 21 | 2 | 6 | Janet Richard | Malta | 53.49 | NR |
| 22 | 2 | 1 | Milja Thureson | Finland | 53.63 | |
| 23 | 3 | 7 | Norcady Reyes | Gibraltar | 59.59 | |

### Semi-finals

The three heats of the semi-finals were held on 16 August, starting at 13:00 (UTC+2) in the afternoon. The first two athletes in each semi-final (Q) and the next two fastest athletes of the rest (q) advance to the final. Victoria Ohuruogu, Amandine Brossier, and Gunta Vaičule set personal bests (PB) in this round, although only Ohuruogu advanced to the next round.
Results of the semi-finals :
| Rank | Heat | Lane | Name | Nation | Time | Note |
| 1 | 2 | 6 | Natalia Kaczmarek | Poland | 50.40 | Q |
| 2 | 1 | 3 | Anna Kiełbasińska | Poland | 50.45 | Q |
| 3 | 2 | 5 | Victoria Ohuruogu | Great Britain | 50.50 | Q, PB |
| 4 | 1 | 6 | Lieke Klaver | Netherlands | 50.59 | Q |
| 5 | 3 | 6 | Femke Bol | Netherlands | 50.60 | Q |
| 6 | 3 | 8 | Cynthia Bolingo | Belgium | 50.83 | Q |
| 7 | 3 | 4 | Rhasidat Adeleke | Ireland | 51.08 | q |
| 8 | 1 | 5 | Iga Baumgart-Witan | Poland | 51.17 | q |
| 9 | 3 | 7 | Amandine Brossier | France | 51.21 | PB |
| 10 | 1 | 1 | Gunta Vaičule | Latvia | 51.25 | PB |
| 11 | 1 | 8 | Cátia Azevedo | Portugal | 51.42 | |
| 12 | 1 | 7 | Laviai Nielsen | Great Britain | 51.53 | SB |
| 13 | 2 | 4 | Modesta Justė Morauskaitė | Lithuania | 51.70 | |
| 14 | 2 | 3 | Lada Vondrová | Czech Republic | 51.83 | |
| 15 | 2 | 7 | Alice Mangione | Italy | 52.02 | |
| 16 | 3 | 5 | Nicole Yeargin | Great Britain | 52.09 | |
| 17 | 3 | 3 | Justyna Święty-Ersetic | Poland | 52.17 | |
| 18 | 1 | 2 | Tereza Petržilková | Czech Republic | 52.38 | |
| 19 | 2 | 8 | Eveline Saalberg | Netherlands | 52.45 | |
| 20 | 3 | 1 | Susanne Walli | Austria | 52.58 | |
| 21 | 1 | 4 | Corinna Schwab | Germany | 52.70 | |
| 22 | 2 | 2 | Silke Lemmens | Switzerland | 53.08 | |
| 23 | 3 | 2 | Alica Schmidt | Germany | 53.12 | |
| 24 | 2 | 1 | Camille Laus | Belgium | 54.28 | |

### Final

The final was held on 17 August, starting at 22:02 (UTC+2). The race was won by Femke Bol of the Netherlands, winning in a new Dutch record (NR) of 49.44 seconds. Two days later, she would also win the women's 400 metres hurdles in an unprecedented double at the European Athletics Championships. In the 400 metres final, Natalia Kaczmarek of Poland won a silver medal finishing 0.5 seconds after Bol in 49.94 seconds followed by Anna Kiełbasińska of Poland who won bronze in 50.29 seconds. Rhasidat Adeleke set an Irish record (NR) of 50.53 seconds.
Results of the final :
| Rank | Lane | Name | Nation | Time | Note |
| | 5 | Femke Bol | Netherlands | 49.44 | EL, NR |
| | 6 | Natalia Kaczmarek | Poland | 49.94 | |
| | 4 | Anna Kiełbasińska | Poland | 50.29 | |
| 4 | 3 | Victoria Ohuruogu | Great Britain | 50.51 | |
| 5 | 1 | Rhasidat Adeleke | Ireland | 50.53 | NR |
| 6 | 8 | Lieke Klaver | Netherlands | 50.56 | |
| 7 | 7 | Cynthia Bolingo | Belgium | 50.94 | |
| 8 | 2 | Iga Baumgart-Witan | Poland | 51.28 | |