Athletics at the 1961 Summer Universiade – Men's 400 metres

The men's 400 metres event at the 1961 Summer Universiade was held at the Vasil Levski National Stadium in Sofia, Bulgaria, in September 1961.

Medalists

Gold	Silver	Bronze
Josef Trousil Czechoslovakia	Jacques Pennewaert Belgium	Otto Grasshoff West Germany

Results

Heats

Rank	Heat	Name	Nationality	Time	Notes
1	1	Carl-Gustaf Johansson	Sweden	48.28	Q
2	1	Bogusław Gierajewski	Poland	48.31	Q
3	1	Peter Hoppe	West Germany	48.73
4	1	Ming Campbell	Great Britain	49.3
5	1	Georgi Latchev	Bulgaria	50.5
1	2	Jacques Pennewaert	Belgium	47.78	Q
2	2	Bruno Bianchi	Italy	48.84	Q
3	2	Anton Antonov	Bulgaria	50.2
1	3	Josef Trousil	Czechoslovakia	47.46	Q
2	3	Otto Grasshoff	West Germany	48.06	Q
3	3	Hirotada Hayase	Japan	48.59
4	3	Janusz Ludka	Poland	49.33
5	3	Hubert Figeys	Belgium	50.4

Final

Rank	Athlete	Nationality	Time	Notes
	Josef Trousil	Czechoslovakia	47.51
	Jacques Pennewaert	Belgium	48.06
	Otto Grasshoff	West Germany	48.53
4	Carl-Gustaf Johansson	Sweden	48.61
5	Bogusław Gierajewski	Poland	48.74
6	Bruno Bianchi	Italy	49.30