| Event: | Women's 400 metres |
| Competition: | European Athletics Championships |
The women's 400 metres at the 1969 European Athletics Championships was held in Athens, Greece, at Georgios Karaiskakis Stadium on 16, 17, and 18 September 1969.
| Gold | Nicole Duclos | |
| Silver | Colette Besson | |
| Bronze | Maria Sykora |
18 September
| Rank | Name | Nationality | Time | Notes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| align=left | align=left | | 51.7 (51.72) | WR | |||
| align=left | align=left | | 51.7 (51.74) | WR | |||
| align=left | align=left | | 53.0 | NR | |||
| 4 | align=left | align=left | 53.1 | NR | |||
| 5 | align=left | align=left |  | 53.4 | |||
| 6 | align=left | align=left |  | 53.6 | |||
| 7 | align=left | align=left |  | 53.8 | |||
| 8 | align=left | align=left | | 54.6 |
17 September
| Rank | Name | Nationality | Time | Notes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | align=left | align=left | | 52.2 | Q | ||
| 2 | align=left | align=left | 53.3 | NR Q | |||
| 3 | align=left | align=left | | 53.6 | Q | ||
| 4 | align=left | align=left | | 53.7 | NR Q | ||
| 5 | align=left | align=left | 54.1 | ||||
| 6 | align=left | align=left | | 54.8 | |||
| 7 | align=left | align=left |  | 55.3 | |||
| align=left | align=left |  | DNS |
| Rank | Name | Nationality | Time | Notes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | align=left | align=left | | 53.2 | NR Q | ||
| 2 | align=left | align=left | | 53.2 | Q | ||
| 3 | align=left | align=left | | 54.2 | Q | ||
| 4 | align=left | align=left | | 54.3 | Q | ||
| 5 | align=left | align=left | | 54.7 | |||
| 6 | align=left | align=left | | 54.7 | |||
| 7 | align=left | align=left | 54.9 | ||||
| 8 | align=left | align=left | 56.3 |
16 September
| Rank | Name | Nationality | Time | Notes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | align=left | align=left | | 53.2 | Q | ||
| 2 | align=left | align=left | | 54.5 | Q | ||
| 3 | align=left | align=left | | 54.6 | Q | ||
| 4 | align=left | align=left | | 54.7 | Q | ||
| 5 | align=left | align=left | 55.2 |
| Rank | Name | Nationality | Time | Notes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | align=left | align=left | | 52.1 | CR Q | ||
| 2 | align=left | align=left | | 53.6 | NR Q | ||
| 3 | align=left | align=left | | 54.1 | Q | ||
| 4 | align=left | align=left | 54.2 | Q | |||
| 5 | align=left | align=left | | 55.5 | |||
| 6 | align=left | align=left |  | 55.8 |
| Rank | Name | Nationality | Time | Notes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | align=left | align=left | | 54.8 | Q | ||
| 2 | align=left | align=left | | 54.9 | Q | ||
| 3 | align=left | align=left | 55.0 | Q | |||
| 4 | align=left | align=left | | 55.4 | Q | ||
| 5 | align=left | align=left | 55.5 |
| Rank | Name | Nationality | Time | Notes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | align=left | align=left | 55.0 | Q | |||
| 2 | align=left | align=left | | 55.2 | Q | ||
| 3 | align=left | align=left | 55.5 | Q | |||
| 4 | align=left | align=left | | 55.6 | Q |
According to an unofficial count, 20 athletes from 12 countries participated in the event.
(1) (1) (3) (1) (1) (2) (2) (3)