2021 European Athletics Indoor Championships – Women's 400 metres
# 2021 European Athletics Indoor Championships – Women's 400 metres

The women's 400 metres event at the 2021 European Athletics Indoor Championships was held on 5 March 2021 at 11:22 (heats) and at 19:33 (semi-finals), and on 6 March 2021 at 20:25 (final) local time.

## Medalists

| Gold | Silver | Bronze |
| - | - | - |
| Femke Bol Netherlands | Justyna Święty-Ersetic Poland | Jodie Williams Great Britain |

## Records

Standing records prior to the 2021 European Athletics Indoor Championships :

| World record | Jarmila Kratochvílová (TCH) | 49.59 | Milan, Italy | 7 March 1982 |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| European record | Jarmila Kratochvílová (TCH) | 49.59 | Milan, Italy | 7 March 1982 |
| Championship record | Jarmila Kratochvílová (TCH) | 49.59 | Milan, Italy | 7 March 1982 |
| World Leading | Shaunae Miller-Uibo (BAH) | 50.21 | New York City, United States | 13 February 2021 |
| European Leading | Femke Bol (NED) | 50.64 | Apeldoorn, Netherlands | 21 February 2021 |

## Results

Having run 50.64 earlier in the winter, the fastest time by a European woman since 2009, Femke Bol entered the Championships as the overwhelming favorite. Her Dutch teammate, Lieke Klaver, was the second-fastest European woman of the indoor season with 51.21, a top 5 time by a European woman in the last ten years and over half a second faster than the third fastest woman of the season. Other contenders who ran under 52 seconds prior to the Championships included 2019 European indoor and world outdoor finalist Justyna Święty-Ersetic, 2016 European Youth Champion and 2019 European U23 bronze medallist Andrea Miklos and the Irish 100m and 200m outdoor national record holder Phil Healy. The defending 2019 champion Léa Sprunger was the 13th fastest European woman of the indoor season going into the Championships.

All five women who ran under 52 seconds prior to the Championships made the final. The surprise sixth spot went the British 200m specialist Jodie Williams, who was contesting her first 400m at a major Championships. Starting in lane 6, Bol took her first 100m conservatively, and her Dutch teammate Klaver was the first one at the break. Bol took the lead at the back straight of the second lap, and by the 300m mark it was Bol, followed by Klaver and Święty-Ersetic. The last 50m saw Klaver tie up, with Święty-Ersetic moving into second place and Williams into third. Bol's winning time of 50.63 was a 0.01 second improvement of her own National Record and the fastest winning time at the European Indoor Championships since 2007. It was Bol's first international senior individual medal. Three finalists set personal bests in the final.

### Heats

Qualification: First 2 in each heat (Q) and the next fastest 4 (q) advance to the Semifinals.

| Rank | Heat | Athlete | Nationality | Time | Note |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | 5 | Phil Healy | Ireland | 52.00 | Q |
| 2 | 3 | Justyna Święty-Ersetic | Poland | 52.06 | Q |
| 3 | 3 | Jessie Knight | Great Britain | 52.17 | Q, SB |
| 4 | 5 | Léa Sprunger | Switzerland | 52.25 | Q |
| 5 | 3 | Cynthia Bolingo Mbongo | Belgium | 52.27 | q, SB |
| 6 | 4 | Jodie Williams | Great Britain | 52.35 | Q |
| 7 | 5 | Modesta Justė Morauskaitė | Lithuania | 52.52 | q, PB |
| 8 | 4 | Andrea Miklós | Romania | 52.57 | Q |
| 9 | 6 | Ama Pipi | Great Britain | 52.63 | Q, SB |
| 10 | 3 | Kateryna Klymyuk | Ukraine | 52.70 | q, PB |
| 11 | 5 | Rebecca Borga | Italy | 52.72 | q |
| 12 | 4 | Alice Mangione | Italy | 52.73 | PB |
| 13 | 2 | Lieke Klaver | Netherlands | 52.74 | Q |
| 14 | 7 | Irini Vasiliou | Greece | 52.76 | Q, PB |
| 15 | 2 | Anna Ryzhykova | Ukraine | 52.76 | Q |
| 16 | 1 | Femke Bol | Netherlands | 52.77 | Q |
| 17 | 6 | Lisanne de Witte | Netherlands | 52.82 | Q, =SB |
| 18 | 6 | Lada Vondrová | Czech Republic | 52.83 | |
| 19 | 1 | Hanna Mikhailava | Belarus | 52.96 | Q |
| 20 | 7 | Agnė Šerkšnienė | Lithuania | 53.00 | Q |
| 21 | 1 | Laura Müller | Germany | 53.03 | |
| 22 | 6 | Corinna Schwab | Germany | 53.06 | |
| 23 | 7 | Amandine Brossier | France | 53.23 | |
| 24 | 3 | Cátia Azevedo | Portugal | 53.28 | SB |
| 25 | 3 | Maja Ćirić | Serbia | 53.28 | SB |
| 26 | 2 | Sophie Becker | Ireland | 53.31 | |
| 27 | 4 | Susanne Walli | Austria | 53.41 | PB |
| 28 | 1 | Tereza Petržilková | Czech Republic | 53.46 | |
| 29 | 7 | Anastasiia Bryzgina | Ukraine | 53.50 | |
| 30 | 5 | Hanne Maudens | Belgium | 53.63 | |
| 31 | 4 | Aauri Lorena Bokesa | Spain | 53.64 | |
| 32 | 2 | Camille Laus | Belgium | 53.68 | |
| 33 | 7 | Sharlene Mawdsley | Ireland | 53.68 | |
| 34 | 4 | Iveta Putalová | Slovakia | 53.69 | SB |
| 35 | 2 | Eleonora Marchiando | Italy | 53.70 | |
| 36 | 2 | Krystsina Muliarchik | Belarus | 53.93 | |
| 37 | 1 | Andrea Jiménez | Spain | 54.34 | |
| 38 | 1 | Silke Lemmens | Switzerland | 54.48 | |
| 39 | 6 | Evelin Nádházy | Hungary | 55.11 | |

### Semifinals

Qualification: First 2 in each heat (Q) advance to the Final.

| Rank | Heat | Athlete | Nationality | Time | Note |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | 3 | Femke Bol | Netherlands | 51.17 | Q |
| 2 | 2 | Justyna Święty-Ersetic | Poland | 51.34 | Q, NR |
| 3 | 2 | Lieke Klaver | Netherlands | 52.09 | Q |
| 4 | 3 | Jodie Williams | Great Britain | 52.09 | Q, PB |
| 5 | 2 | Anna Ryzhykova | Ukraine | 52.11 | PB |
| 6 | 2 | Jessie Knight | Great Britain | 52.22 | |
| 7 | 1 | Phil Healy | Ireland | 52.41 | Q |
| 8 | 1 | Andrea Miklós | Romania | 52.41 | Q |
| 9 | 1 | Amarachi Pipi | Great Britain | 52.54 | SB |
| 10 | 3 | Léa Sprunger | Switzerland | 52.64 | |
| 11 | 2 | Agnė Šerkšnienė | Lithuania | 53.09 | |
| 12 | 1 | Lisanne de Witte | Netherlands | 53.10 | |
| 13 | 1 | Kateryna Klymyuk | Ukraine | 53.10 | |
| 14 | 1 | Hanna Mikhailava | Belarus | 53.10 | |
| 15 | 3 | Modesta Justė Morauskaitė | Lithuania | 53.20 | |
| 16 | 3 | Irini Vasiliou | Greece | 53.31 | |
| 17 | 3 | Cynthia Bolingo Mbongo | Belgium | 53.74 | |
| 18 | 2 | Rebecca Borga | Italy | 54.23 | |

### Final

| Rank | Lane | Athlete | Nationality | Time | Note |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| | 6 | Femke Bol | Netherlands | 50.63 | EL, NR |
| | 5 | Justyna Święty-Ersetic | Poland | 51.41 | |
| | 1 | Jodie Williams | Great Britain | 51.73 | PB |
| 4 | 4 | Phil Healy | Ireland | 51.94 | PB |
| 5 | 3 | Lieke Klaver | Netherlands | 52.03 | |
| 6 | 2 | Andrea Miklós | Romania | 52.10 | |
