1972 European Athletics Indoor Championships – Women's 400 metres
# 1972 European Athletics Indoor Championships – Women's 400 metres

The women's 400 metres event at the 1972 European Athletics Indoor Championships was held on 11 and 12 March in Grenoble.

## Medalists

| Gold | Silver | Bronze |
| - | - | - |
| Christel Frese West Germany | Inge Bödding West Germany | Erika Weinstein West Germany |

## Results

### Heats

First 2 from each heat (Q) and the next 2 fastest (q) qualified for the semifinals.

Held on 11 March

| Rank | Heat | Name | Nationality | Time | Notes |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | 1 | Colette Besson | France | 54.74 | Q |
| 2 | 2 | Christel Frese | West Germany | 54.83 | Q |
| 3 | 1 | Erika Weinstein | West Germany | 54.90 | Q |
| 4 | 2 | Verona Bernard | Great Britain | 55.11 | Q |
| 5 | 1 | Margaretha Larsson | Sweden | 55.43 | q |
| 6 | 2 | Bernadette Martin | France | 55.88 | q |
| 7 | 3 | Lyubov Zavyalova | Soviet Union | 55.96 | Q |
| 8 | 3 | Inge Bödding | West Germany | 55.96 | Q |
| 9 | 3 | Birgitte Jennes | Denmark | 57.37 | |

### Semifinals

First 2 from each heat (Q) qualified directly for the final.

Held on 11 March

| Rank | Heat | Name | Nationality | Time | Notes |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | 2 | Christel Frese | West Germany | 54.57 | Q |
| 2 | 1 | Colette Besson | France | 54.61 | Q |
| 3 | 2 | Inge Bödding | West Germany | 54.85 | Q |
| 4 | 1 | Erika Weinstein | West Germany | 55.06 | Q |
| 5 | 1 | Lyubov Zavyalova | Soviet Union | 55.12 | |
| 6 | 1 | Verona Bernard | Great Britain | 55.25 | |
| 7 | 2 | Margaretha Larsson | Sweden | 55.75 | |
| 8 | 2 | Bernadette Martin | France | 56.75 | |

### Final

Held on 12 March

| Rank | Name | Nationality | Time |
| - | - | - | - |
| | Christel Frese | West Germany | 53.36 |
| | Inge Bödding | West Germany | 54.60 |
| | Erika Weinstein | West Germany | 54.73 |
| 4 | Colette Besson | France | 55.64 |
