| POS | Rank | Heat | ATHLETE | COUNTRY | RESULTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | 1 | Innocent Egbunike |
NGR |
44.26 CR |
| 2 | 1 | 2 | Derek Redmond |
GBR |
44.50 |
| 3 | 2 | 1 | Thomas Schönlebe |
GDR |
44.60 |
| 4 | 2 | 2 | Gabriel Tiacoh |
CIV |
44.69 |
| 5 | 3 | 2 | David Kitur |
KEN |
44.73 |
| 6 | 3 | 1 | Roberto Hernández |
CUB |
44.83 |
| 7 | 4 | 2 | Harry Reynolds |
USA |
44.94 |
| 8 | 5 | 2 | Jens Carlowitz |
GDR |
44.97 |
| 9 | 6 | 2 | Bert Cameron |
JAM |
45.19 |
| 10 | 4 | 1 | Roddie Haley |
USA |
45.21 |
| 11 | 5 | 1 | Marcel Arnold |
SUI |
45.26 NR |
| 12 | 6 | 1 | Anton Skerritt |
CAN |
45.62 NR |
| 13 | 7 | 1 | Mathias Schersing |
GDR |
45.67 |
| 14 | 7 | 2 | Moses Ugbisie |
NGR |
45.72 |
| 15 | 8 | 1 | Aleksandr Kurochkin |
URS |
45.73 |
| 16 | 9 | 1 | Devon Morris |
JAM |
45.76 |
| 17 | 8 | 2 | Darren Clark |
AUS |
45.93 |