| Final | | time | | | 1. Aleksandr Bratchikov |  Soviet Union | 46.8s | | | 2. Andrzej Badeński |  Poland | 46.9s | | | 3. Yuriy Zorin | Soviet Union | 48.4s | | | 4. Jan Balachowski | Poland | DNF | |
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| | | First 2 from each Heat advanced to Final. |
| Heat 1 | | time | | | 1. Andrzej Badeński | Poland | 46.6s | Q | | 2. Aleksandr Bratchikov | Soviet Union | 46.6s | q | | 3. Ingo Röper |  West Germany | 47.3s | |
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| Heat 2 | | time | | | 1. Jan Balachowski | Poland | 47.3s | Q | | 2. Boris Savchuk | Soviet Union | 47.5s | | | 3. Ramon Magariños |  Spain | 48.9s | |
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| Heat 3 | | time | | | 1. Yuriy Zorin | Soviet Union | 46.9s | Q | | 2. Wolfgang Müller |  East Germany | 46.9s | | | 3. Fanahan McSweeney |  Ireland | 47.0s | |
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