The men's 400 metres at the 2026 European Athletics Championships took place over three rounds at the Alexander Stadium in Birmingham, United Kingdom, from 10 to 12 August 2026."European Athletics Championships Birmingham 2026", European Athletics, 21 April 2026. Retrieved 2 August 2026.
Background
+ Records before the 2026 European Athletics Championships Record Athlete (nation) Location Date World record"All time Top lists – Senior 400 Metres men – World", World Athletics. Retrieved 2 August 2026. 43.03 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 14 August 2016 European record"All time Top lists – Senior 400 Metres men – Europe", World Athletics. Retrieved 2 August 2026.43.44Saint-Denis, France7 August 2024 Championship record"European Athletics Championships Best Performances", European Athletics. Retrieved 2 August 2026. 44.15 Rome, Italy 10 June 2024 World leading"Season Top Lists – Senior 2026 400 Metres men – Europe", World Athletics. Retrieved 2 August 2026.43.38Eugene, United States12 June 2026 European leading"Season Top Lists – Senior 2026 400 Metres men – World", World Athletics. Retrieved 2 August 2026. 44.09 Paris, France 28 June 2026
Qualification For the men's 400 metres, the qualification period was from 27 July 2025 to 26 July 2026. Athletes qualified by running the entry standard of 45.25 or faster, by wildcard for the 2024 European Athletics Champion (not used since Alexander Doom chose not to participate), or by their position on the World Athletics Rankings for the event. The target number was 36 athletes."Qualification System and Entry Standards", European Athletics, 14 November 2025. Retrieved 2 August 2026.
+ Qualification standings per 31 July 2026 QP CP Country Athlete Status Details 1 1 Matthew Hudson-Smith43.4444.09 Qualified by Entry Standard 44.09 - Stade Charléty, Paris (FRA) - 28 JUN 2026 2 1 Samuel Vessat44.2444.24 Qualified by Entry Standard 44.24 - Stadium Municipal, Albi (FRA) - 26 JUL 2026 3 1 Edoardo Scotti44.4544.96 Qualified by Entry Standard 44.45 - National Stadium, Tokyo (JPN) - 14 SEP 2025 4 1 Attila Molnár44.4744.47 Qualified by Entry Standard 44.47 - Stade Louis II, Monaco (MON) - 10 JUL 2026 5 2 Muhammad Abdallah Kounta44.5544.55 Qualified by Entry Standard 44.55 - Stadium Municipal, Albi (FRA) - 26 JUL 2026 6 2 Ben Jefferies44.6644.66 Qualified by Entry Standard 44.66 - Alexander Stadium, Birmingham (GBR) - 21 JUN 2026 7 3 Charlie Dobson44.1444.69 Qualified by Entry Standard 44.69 - Alexander Stadium, Birmingham (GBR) - 21 JUN 2026 8 1 Jonas Phijffers44.7144.72 Qualified by Entry Standard 44.71 - FBK Stadium, Hengelo (NED) - 03 AUG 2025 9 1 Jean Paul Bredau44.7244.72 Qualified by Entry Standard 44.72 - Lohrheidestadion, Wattenscheid, Bochum (GER) - 26 JUL 2026 10 1 Daniel Segers44.6344.81 Qualified by Entry Standard 44.81 - Mestský Stadion, Ostrava (CZE) - 16 JUN 2026 11 1 George John Franks44.8844.88 Qualified by Entry Standard 44.88 - Un. of Kentucky Outdoor Track Facility, Lexington, KY (USA) - 29 MAY 2026 12 1 Rok Ferlan44.7045.78 Qualified by Entry Standard 44.91 - National Stadium, Tokyo (JPN) - 14 SEP 2025 13 3 Yann Spillmann44.9244.92 Qualified by Entry Standard 44.92 - Stadium Municipal, Albi (FRA) - 26 JUL 2026 14 2 Dylan Borlée44.9445.49 Qualified by Entry Standard 44.94 - Boudewijnstadion, Bruxelles (BEL) - 22 AUG 2025 15 1 Maksymilian Szwed44.9444.94 Qualified by Entry Standard 44.94 - Miejski Stadion, Opole (POL) - 27 JUN 2026 16 3 Jonathan Sacoor44.9845.03 Qualified by Entry Standard 45.03 - Stade Jean Delbert, Montreuil (FRA) - 17 JUN 2026 17 2 Eugene Omalla45.0345.03 Qualified by Entry Standard 45.03 - FBK Stadium, Hengelo (NED) - 21 JUN 2026 18 2 Thorben Finke45.0845.08 Qualified by Entry Standard 45.08 - Lohrheidestadion, Wattenscheid, Bochum (GER) - 26 JUL 2026 19 2 Mohamed Soudassi45.1045.10 Qualified by Entry Standard 45.10 - Stadio M.S. Cozzoli, Molfetta (ITA) - 11 JUL 2026 reserve 4 Sam Lunt 45.1645.16 Qualified by Entry Standard 45.16 - Boudewijnstadion, Bruxelles (BEL) - 23 MAY 2026 20 1 Haydn Brotschi45.2045.20 Qualified by Entry Standard 45.20 - Weaver Stadium, Princeton, NJ (USA) - 17 MAY 2026 21 1 Mihai Sorin Dringo44.7445.57 Qualified by Entry Standard 45.21 - National Stadium, Tokyo (JPN) - 14 SEP 2025 22 3 Lorenzo Benati45.2145.21 Qualified by Entry Standard 45.21 - Stadio Luigi Ridolfi, Firenze (ITA) - 26 JUL 2026 23 2 Lionel Spitz45.0145.34 Qualified by Entry Standard 45.24 - Kleine Allmend, Frauenfeld (SUI) - 24 AUG 2025 reserve 5 Brodie Young45.2445.24 Qualified by Entry Standard 45.24 - John McDonnell Field, Fayetteville, AR (USA) - 08 MAY 2026 24 2 Patrik Simon Enyingi44.8445.27 Qualified by Entry Standard 45.25 - National Stadium, Tokyo (JPN) - 14 SEP 2025 reserve 4 Luca Sito 44.7545.39 Qualified by World Rankings 15th - 1210 points 25 1 Omar Elkhatib45.4245.45 Qualified by World Rankings 18th - 1199 points 26 1 Kubilay Ençü45.2745.27 Qualified by World Rankings 22nd - 1182 points 27 1 Oleksandr Pohorilko44.8145.76 Qualified by World Rankings 24th - 1179 points 28 2 João Coelho44.7945.64 Qualified by World Rankings 31st - 1171 points 29 3 Ericsson Tavares45.6345.63 Qualified by World Rankings 37th - 1167 points 30 1 Gustav Lundholm Nielsen45.4145.57 Qualified by World Rankings 42nd - 1165 points 31 1 Jack Raftery44.9845.72 Qualified by World Rankings 45th - 1161 points 32 3 Ricky Petrucciani45.0245.65 Qualified by World Rankings 47th - 1157 points 33 1 Håvard Bentdal Ingvaldsen44.3945.86 Qualified by World Rankings 51st - 1153 points 34 2 Lovro Mesec Košir45.7845.78 Qualified by World Rankings 58th - 1148 points 35 1 Ángel González45.5345.53 Qualified by World Rankings 60th - 1145 points 36 1 Franko Burraj45.8545.85 Qualified by World Rankings 70th - 1133 points reserve 2 Andreas Grimerud 45.9046.59 Next best by World Rankings 76th - 1127 points reserve 2 Andrew Egan45.8646.16 Next best by World Rankings 85th - 1122 points reserve 4 André Franco46.6746.67 Next best by World Rankings 156th - 1079 points
Bye to semi-finals Reserve activated Withdrawal / reserve unused
Schedule DateTimeRound10 August 202611:55Round 111 August 202621:00Semi-finals12 August 202620:50Final
Results
Round 1 Round 1 was held on 10 August 2026, at 11:15 in the morning. 12 best performers (q) advanced to the semi-finals.
Heat 1 Place Lane Athlete Nation Time Notes15Patrik Simon Enyingi44.87, 27Omar Elkhatib45.4939Maksymilian Szwed45.534845.7952Mihai Dringo46.0363Ricky Petrucciani46.1474Håvard Bentdal Ingvaldsen46.1686Oleksandr Pohorilko46.55
Heat 2 Place Lane Athlete Nation Time Notes19Yann Spillman45.5423Jack Raftery45.8136João Coelho46.0644Dylan Borlée46.1757Lorenzo Benati46.236546.537846.89
Heat 3 Place Lane Athlete Nation Time Notes14Jonathan Sacoor45.6022Lionel Spitz45.7037Eugene Omalla45.744845.8356Ericsson Tavares45.926546.137946.6683Franko Burraj46.96
Semi-finals The semi-finals were held on 11 August 2026, at 21:00 in the evening. The twelve qualifiers from round 1 are joined by the twelve seeded athletes. First 2 in each heat (Q) and the next 2 fastest (q) advanced to the final.
Heat 1 Place Lane Athlete Nation Time Notes 1 6 44.63 , 2 7 44.78 3 8 45.03 4 9 45.10 5 3 45.22 6 5 45.56 7 4 45.66 8 2 46.09
Heat 2 Place Lane Athlete Nation Time Notes 1 7 44.86 2 8 45.02 3 9 45.32 4 4 45.34 = 5 5 45.38 6 6 45.40 7 3 45.81 8 2 46.91
Heat 3 Place Lane Athlete Nation Time Notes 1 8 44.38 , 2 6 44.60 3 5 45.15 4 7 45.18 5 9 45.19 6 3 45.63 = 7 2 45.65 8 4 46.14
Final The final was held on 12 August 2026, at 20:50 in the evening.
Place Lane Athlete Nation Time Notes 9 44.17 8 44.40 5 44.41 4 7 44.45 5 6 44.93 6 3 45.06 7 4 45.36 8 2 45.48
References