1986 European Athletics Championships
Track events
100 m	men	women
200 m	men	women
400 m	men	women
800 m	men	women
1500 m	men	women
3000 m		women
5000 m	men
10,000 m	men	women
100 m hurdles		women
110 m hurdles	men
400 m hurdles	men	women
3000 m steeplechase	men
4 × 100 m relay	men	women
4 × 400 m relay	men	women
Road events
Marathon	men	women
10 km walk		women
20 km walk	men
50 km walk	men
Field events
High jump	men	women
Pole vault	men
Long jump	men	women
Triple jump	men
Shot put	men	women
Discus throw	men	women
Hammer throw	men
Javelin throw	men	women
Combined events
Heptathlon		women
Decathlon	men

The women's 400 metres event at the 1986 European Athletics Championships was held in Stuttgart, then West Germany, at Neckarstadion on 26, 27, and 28 August 1986.^[1]

Gold	Marita Koch  East Germany
Silver	Olga Vladykina  Soviet Union
Bronze	Petra Müller  East Germany

28 August

Rank	Name	Nationality	Time	Notes
	Marita Koch	East Germany	48.22
	Olga Vladykina	Soviet Union	49.67
	Petra Müller	East Germany	49.88
4	Kirsten Emmelmann	East Germany	50.43
5	Ute Thimm	West Germany	51.15
6	Taťána Kocembová	Czechoslovakia	51.50
7	Fabienne Ficher	France	51.91
8	Karin Lix	West Germany	52.89

27 August

Rank	Name	Nationality	Time	Notes
1	Petra Müller	East Germany	49.84	Q
2	Olga Vladykina	Soviet Union	50.23	Q
3	Kirsten Emmelmann	East Germany	50.79	Q
4	Ute Thimm	West Germany	51.60	Q
5	Olga Nazarova	Soviet Union	52.11
6	Marzena Wojdecka	Poland	53.26
7	Cosetta Campana	Italy	53.89
8	Anne Gundersen	Norway	53.98

Rank	Name	Nationality	Time	Notes
1	Marita Koch	East Germany	50.74	Q
2	Taťána Kocembová	Czechoslovakia	51.91	Q
3	Fabienne Ficher	France	52.14	Q
4	Karin Lix	West Germany	52.46	Q
5	Helen Barnett	United Kingdom	52.47
6	Erika Rossi	Italy	53.22
	Gisela Kinzel	West Germany	DQ
	Mariya Pinigina	Soviet Union	DNS

26 August

Rank	Name	Nationality	Time	Notes
1	Marita Koch	East Germany	52.34	Q
2	Mariya Pinigina	Soviet Union	52.43	Q
3	Karin Lix	West Germany	52.86	Q
4	Fabienne Ficher	France	52.91	Q
5	Blanca Lacambra	Spain	54.51
6	Patricia Walsh	Ireland	54.65

Rank	Name	Nationality	Time	Notes
1	Marzena Wojdecka	Poland	52.79	Q
2	Kirsten Emmelmann	East Germany	52.81	Q
3	Olga Vladykina	Soviet Union	52.92	Q
4	Gisela Kinzel	West Germany	53.02	Q
5	Cosetta Campana	Italy	53.30	q
6	Anne Gundersen	Norway	54.35	q

Rank	Name	Nationality	Time	Notes
1	Olga Nazarova	Soviet Union	52.26	Q
2	Petra Müller	East Germany	52.36	Q
3	Taťána Kocembová	Czechoslovakia	52.39	Q
4	Ute Thimm	West Germany	52.39	Q
5	Helen Barnett	United Kingdom	52.46	q
6	Erika Rossi	Italy	53.31	q

According to an unofficial count, 18 athletes from 11 countries participated in the event.