The women's 400 metres at the 2016 European Athletics Championships was held over three rounds at the Olympic Stadium in Amsterdam, Netherlands, on 6, 7, and 8 July 2016. It was the eighteenth time that this event was contested at the European Athletics Championships. Athletes could qualify by achieving the entry standard of 53.40 seconds or by their placement at selected athletics meetings. Thirty-one athletes from eighteen nations competed in the event.

Twenty athletes started in the qualifying round, where thirteen advanced to the semifinals. Eleven athletes, who had a bye in the qualifying round, joined them there. Eight athletes advanced to the final, which was won by defending champion Libania Grenot of Italy in 50.73 seconds, followed by Floria Gueï of France in 51.21 seconds in second place and Anyika Onuora of Great Britain and Northern Ireland in 51.47 seconds in third place.

Background

At the European Athletics Championships, the women's 400 metres had been contested seventeen times before 2016, at every edition since its introduction in 1958."European Athletics Championships 2016 – Statistics Handbook", European Athletics, . Archived 7 July 2016. Retrieved 22 May 2025. In the event, athletes run one lap on a 400-metre athletics track in designated lanes."400 Metres", World Athletics. Retrieved 22 May 2025.

At the start of the 2016 championships, Marita Koch of East Germany held the European and world record of 47.60 s set in 1985 and the championship record of 48.16 s set in 1982."Records – Records by Events — 400 Metres – Women - Senior", World Athletics. Retrieved 22 May 2025."European Athletics Championships – Results – 400m Women – Final", European Athletics, 8 July 2016. Archived 3 December 2016. Retrieved 22 May 2025. Allyson Felix of the United States had set a world leading time of 49.68 s on 3 July 2016 and Antonina Krivoshapka of Russia had set a European leading time of 50.70 s on 21 June 2016."Toplists – All time Top lists – Senior - 400 Metres Women", World Athletics. Retrieved 22 May 2025. Libania Grenot of Italy was the defending champion after winning the 2014 title in 51.10 s."European Athletics Championships – Results – 400m Women", European Athletics, 15 August 20144. Archived 15 October 2014. Retrieved 22 May 2025.

The event was held at the Olympic Stadium in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The stadium was built for the 1928 Summer Olympics and renovated in 1996. During the 2016 European Athletics Championships, it had a capacity of around 20,000 spectators."European Athletics Championships 2016 – Media Guide", European Athletics, . Archived 5 July 2016. Retrieved 22 May 2025.

+ Records before to the 2016 European Athletics Championships Record Athlete (nation) Location Date World record 47.60 Canberra, Australia 6 October 1985 European record Championship record 48.16 Athens, Greece 8 September 1982 World leading 49.68 Eugene, Oregon, United States 3 July 2016 European leading 50.70 Cheboksary, Russia 21 June 2016

Qualification For this event, the qualification period was from 1 January 2015 until 26 June 2016. Athletes could qualify by achieving the entry standard with a performance of 53.40 s or faster, by finishing in the top three at a European Athletics Premium meeting, or by winning at a European Athletics Classic meeting. Up to three athletes from one nation could participate. The host nation could enter one unqualified athlete if no athletes had qualified. There was a target of 32 athletes."European Athletics Championships 2016 – Entry Standards & Conditions", European Athletics, June 2015. Archived 21 May 2021. Retrieved 23 May 2025. European Athletics published a final entry list with 32 athletes on 1 July 2016."European Athletics Championships Amsterdam 2016 – Final Entries – Athletes List by event", European Athletics, , 1 July 2016. Archived 7 July 2016. Retrieved 23 May 2025.

Results Qualifying round Twenty athletes from thirteen nations competed in the three heats of the qualifying round on 6 July 2016, starting at 13:10 (UTC+2). The first three athletes in each heat () and the next fastest four athletes overall () advanced to the semifinals. In the second heat, Benedicte Hauge of Norway set a personal best () of 53.13 s. In the third heat, Indira Terrero of Spain did not finish ()."European Athletics Championships – Results – 400m Women – Qualification Round", European Athletics, 6 July 2016. Archived 3 December 2016. Retrieved 22 May 2025.

+ Results of the qualifying round Rank Heat Lane Athlete Nation Note 1 2 5 52.45 2 1 4 52.69 3 2 3 52.79 4 3 2 52.84 5 2 6 53.03 , 6 2 8 53.13 , 7 1 6 53.36 , 8 1 5 53.46 9 1 7 53.51 10 3 6 53.86 11 3 4 53.95 12 1 8 53.96 13 2 4 53.98 14 2 7 54.01 15 1 2 54.33 16 3 5 54.58 17 3 3 54.85 18 1 3 55.66 19 2 2 56.04 3 7

Semifinals Twenty-four athletes from sixteen nations – thirteen who advanced from the qualifying round plus eleven who had a bye in that round because they had the highest season ranking – competed in the three heats of the semifinals on 7 July 2016, starting at 17:35 (UTC+2)."European Athletics Championships – Results – 400m Women – Semifinal", European Athletics, 7 July 2016. Archived 23 September 2016. Retrieved 22 May 2025. The first two athletes of each heat () and the next two fastest athletes overall () qualified for the final. In the first heat, Nicky van Leuveren of the Netherlands ran a personal best () of 52.02 s. In the third heat, Libania Grenot of Italy ran a European leading time () of 50.43 s and Małgorzata Hołub ran a person best of 51.67 s.

+ Results of the semifinals Rank Heat Lane Athlete Nation Note 1 3 3 * 50.43 , 2 1 4 * 51.01 3 1 5 51.35 , 4 3 6 * 51.67 , 5 2 5 * 51.84 6 1 7 52.02 , 7 2 6 * 52.27 8 1 3 * 52.34 9 2 7 52.37 10 3 7 52.39 11 2 3 * 52.40 12 3 4 * 52.46 13 3 5 * 52.54 14 2 4 * 52.58 14 3 8 52.58 16 1 8 52.69 17 3 2 52.90 18 2 8 52.92 19 1 6 * 53.02 20 1 2 53.11 21 3 1 53.27 22 1 1 53.77 23 2 2 54.04 24 2 1 54.50 *Athletes who received a bye to the semifinals

Final

Eight athletes from six nations competed in the final on 8 July 2016, starting at 20:25 (UTC+2). Libania Grenot of Italy came off the second bend in the lead.Thomas Byrne, "Schippers wins second European 100m gold in Amsterdam", World Athletics, 9 July 2016. Retrieved 23 May 2025. Floria Gueï of France and Anyika Onuora of Great Britain and Northern Ireland were gaining ground in the last 100 metres, but they didn't overtake the Italian.Daniele Perboni, "Atletica, Europei: Grenot vince i 400, secondo oro continentale consecutivo" (in Italian), La Gazzetta dello Sport, 8 July 2016. Retrieved 24 May 2025. Grenot won the race in 50.73 s, followed by Gueï in 51.21 s in second place and Onuora in 51.47 s in third place. While Grenot and Gueï were 0.30 s and 0.20 s slower than in the semifinals, Onuora was 0.37 s faster resulting in her season's best ().

According to Steve Smythe of Athletics Weekly, Grenot won "comfortably".Steve Smythe, "Martyn Rooney and Dafne Schippers retain European titles", Athletics Weekly, 10 February 2025. Retrieved 23 May 2025. Thomas Byrne of the IAAF wrote that Grenot was "a cut above in the final". Daniele Perboni of the Italian La Gazzetta dello Sport described Grenot's victory as: "A European title strongly desired and sought, with determination, anger, and courage." Grenot became the first athlete to successfully defend her 400 metres title since world record holder Marita Koch in 1986."Two-time European champion Grenot hangs up her spikes", European Athletics, 26 April 2019. Retrieved 23 May 2025.

The medalists were each interviewed about the race. Grenot said: "I'm more determined than ever, finally number 1 in front of my name." Gueï said: "I gave my all. The medal is what I dreamt of, and now I've got it.""European Athletics Championships – Amsterdam 2016 – 400m Women – Semifinals – Flash Interviews", European Athletics. Archived 10 July 2016. Retrieved 23 May 2025. And Onuora said: "This means the world to me. I have been competing for 15 years. This is the first time I have had the chance to compete for an individual medal.""European Athletics Championships – Amsterdam 2016 – 400m Women – Final – Flash Interviews", European Athletics. Archived 10 July 2016. Retrieved 23 May 2025.

+ Results of the final Rank Lane Athlete Nation Note 6 50.73 4 51.21 3 51.47 4 5 51.55 5 8 51.89 6 2 51.96 7 7 52.23 8 1 52.76

References

External links