1971 European Athletics Championships – Women's 4 × 100 metres relay

The women's 4 × 100 metres relay at the 1971 European Athletics Championships was held in Helsinki, Finland, at Helsinki Olympic Stadium on 14 and 15 August 1971.^[1]

Women's 4 × 100 metres relay at the European Athletics Championships

Medalists

Gold	Elfgard Schittenhelm Inge Helten Annegret Richter Ingrid Mickler  West Germany
Silver	Karin Balzer Renate Stecher Petra Vogt Ellen Stropahl  East Germany
Bronze	Lyudmila Zharkova Galina Bukharina Marina Sidorova Nadezhda Besfamilnaya  Soviet Union

Results

Final

15 August

Rank	Nation	Competitors	Time	Notes
	West Germany	Elfgard Schittenhelm Inge Helten Annegret Richter Ingrid Mickler	43.28	AR
	East Germany	Karin Balzer Renate Stecher Petra Vogt Ellen Stropahl	43.62
	Soviet Union	Lyudmila Zharkova Galina Bukharina Marina Sidorova Nadezhda Besfamilnaya	44.45
4	Poland	Danuta Jędrejek Barbara Bakulin Urszula Jóźwik Helena Fliśnik	44.75
5	Hungary	Ilona Bruzsenyák Margit Nemesházi Györgyi Balogh Katalin Papp	44.78
6	Great Britain	Val Peat Margaret Critchley Madeleine Cobb Elizabeth Johns	44.87
7	France	Gabrielle Meyer Michèle Beugnet Nicole Pani Odette Ducas	45.50
8	Sweden	Anneli Olsson Gun Olsson Karin Lundgren Elisabeth Randerz	46.12

Heats

14 August

Heat 1

Rank	Nation	Competitors	Time	Notes
1	West Germany	Elfgard Schittenhelm Inge Helten Annegret Richter Ingrid Mickler	44.37	Q
2	Soviet Union	Lyudmila Zharkova Galina Bukharina Marina Sidorova Nadezhda Besfamilnaya	44.62	Q
3	Poland	Danuta Jędrejek Barbara Bakulin Urszula Jóźwik Helena Fliśnik	44.75	Q
4	Sweden	Anneli Olsson Gun Olsson Karin Lundgren Elisabeth Randerz	45.30	NR Q
5	Italy	Maddalena Grassano Alessandra Orselli Laura Nappi Cecilia Molinari	45.71

Heat 2

Rank	Nation	Competitors	Time	Notes
1	East Germany	Karin Balzer Renate Stecher Petra Vogt Ellen Stropahl	44.13	Q
2	Hungary	Ilona Bruzsenyák Margit Nemesházi Györgyi Balogh Katalin Papp	44.87	Q
3	Great Britain	Val Peat Margaret Critchley Madeleine Cobb Elizabeth Johns	45.09	Q
4	France	Gabrielle Meyer Michèle Beugnet Nicole Pani Odette Ducas	45.63	Q
5	Austria	Karoline Käfer Christine Kepplinger Monika Holzschuster Helga Kapfer	45.82	NR

Participation

According to an unofficial count, 40 athletes from 10 countries participated in the event.

•  Austria (4)
•  East Germany (4)
•  France (4)
•  Hungary (4)
•  Italy (4)
•  Poland (4)
•  Soviet Union (4)
•  Sweden (4)
•  Great Britain (4)
•  West Germany (4)