# 2009 in the sport of athletics

This article contains an overview of the year 2009 in athletics.
The major competition of the year was the 2009 World Championships in Athletics. At the event, Usain Bolt reaffirmed himself as one of the world's foremost athletes with world records in the 100 and 200 metres. Caster Semenya won 800 m gold at the championships, but a request that she submit to a gender verification test was made public, sparking widespread controversy and debate. Yelena Isinbayeva, a clear favourite, finished last in the pole vault competition, but rebounded with a world record a week later.
Kenenisa Bekele, Sanya Richards and Isinbayeva were the winners of the last IAAF Golden League jackpot, as the series was replaced by the IAAF Diamond League in 2010.

## Major events
### World

* World Championships in Athletics
* World Half Marathon Championships
* World Cross Country Championships
* World Athletics Final
* World Youth Championships
* Golden League
* World Student Games

### Regional

* African Junior Championships
* CAC Championships
* South American Championships
* Pan American Junior Championships
* Jeux de la Francophonie
* Lusophony Games
* European Team Championships
* European Indoor Championships
* European Junior Championships
* European U23 Championships
* European Cross Country Championships
* European Mountain Running Championships
* European Race Walking Cup
* Mediterranean Games
* Asian Championships
* Asian Indoor Games
* East Asian Games
* Southeast Asian Games
* Asian Youth Games
* Maccabiah Games

### National

* China National Games
* German Championships
* Finnish Championships
* Lithuanian Championships
* USA Outdoor Championships

## World records
### Men

| Event | Athlete | Nation | Performance | Place | Date |
| 100 m | Usain Bolt | Jamaica | 9.58 | Berlin, Germany | August 16 |
| 200 m | Usain Bolt | Jamaica | 19.19 | Berlin, Germany | August 20 |
| 10 km (road) | Micah Kogo | Kenya | 27:01 | Brunssum, Netherlands | March 29 |
| 15 km (road) | Deriba Merga | Ethiopia | 41.29+ =WR | Ras Al Khaimah, United Arab Emirates | February 20 |
| 30 km (road) | Haile Gebrselassie | Ethiopia | 1:27:49+ | Berlin Marathon, Germany | September 20 |
| 4×1500 metres relay | William Biwott Tanui Gideon Gathimba Geoffrey Kipkoech Rono Augustine Kiprono Choge | Kenya | 14:36.23 | Brussels, Belgium | September 4 |

### Women

| Event | Athlete | Nation | Performance | Place | Date |
| 5000 m (indoor) | Meseret Defar | Ethiopia | 14:24.37 | Stockholm, Sweden | February 18 |
| 15 km (road) | Tirunesh Dibaba | Ethiopia | 46:28 | Nijmegen, Netherlands | November 15 |
| Pole vault | Yelena Isinbayeva | Russia | 5.06 m | Zürich, Switzerland | August 28 |
| Pole vault (indoor) | Yelena Isinbayeva | Russia | 4.97 m | Donetsk, Ukraine | February 15 |
| Pole vault (indoor) | Yelena Isinbayeva | Russia | 5.00 m | Donetsk, Ukraine | February 15 |
| Hammer throw | Anita Wlodarczyk | Poland | 77.96 m | Berlin, Germany | August 22 |

## Season's bests

Best marks of the year :
| Event | Men | Men | Men | Women | Women | Women |
| Event | Athlete | Mark | Notes | Athlete | Mark | Notes |
| 60 metres | Dwain Chambers (GBR) | 6.42 s | AR | Carmelita Jeter (USA) | 7.11 s | |
| 100 metres | Usain Bolt (JAM) | 9.58 s | WR | Carmelita Jeter (USA) | 10.64 s | |
| 200 metres | Usain Bolt (JAM) | 19.19 s | WR | Allyson Felix (USA) | 21.88 s | |
| 400 metres | LaShawn Merritt (USA) | 44.06 s | | Sanya Richards (USA) | 48.83 | |
| 800 metres | David Rudisha (KEN) | 1:42.01 | AR | Caster Semenya (RSA) | 1:55.45 | |
| 1500 metres | Augustine Choge (KEN) | 3:29.47 | | Maryam Yusuf Jamal (BHR) | 3:56.55 | |
| 3000 metres | Eliud Kipchoge (KEN) | 7:28.37 | | Meseret Defar (ETH) | 8:26.99 i | |
| 5000 metres | Kenenisa Bekele (ETH) | 12:52.32 | | Meseret Defar (ETH) | 14:24.37 i | |
| 10,000 metres | Kenenisa Bekele (ETH) | 26:46.31 | | Meselech Melkamu (ETH) | 29:53.80 | |
| 60 metres hurdles | Terrence Trammell (USA) | 7.37 | | Lolo Jones (USA) | 7.82 | |
| 100/110 metres hurdles | Dayron Robles (CUB) | 13.04 s | | Brigitte Foster-Hylton (JAM) | 12.46 | |
| 400 metres hurdles | Kerron Clement (USA) | 47.91 s | | Melaine Walker (JAM) | 52.42 | |
| 3000 metres steeplechase | Ezekiel Kemboi (KEN) | 7:58.85 | | Marta Domínguez (ESP) | 9:07.32 | |
| 10 kilometres | Micah Kogo (KEN) | 27:01 | WR | Mary Keitany (KEN) | 31:04 | |
| 15 kilometres | Deriba Merga (ETH) | 41:29+ | WR | Tirunesh Dibaba (ETH) | 46:28 | WR |
| 20 kilometres | Haile Gebrselassie (ETH) Sammy Kitwara (KEN) | 56:48+ | | Mary Keitany (KEN) | 1:02:59+ | |
| Half marathon | Patrick Makau (KEN) | 58:52 | | Mary Keitany (KEN) | 1:06:36 | |
| 25 kilometres | Haile Gebrselassie (ETH) John Kales (KEN) Samuel Kosgei (KEN) | 1:13:09+ | | Peninah Jerop Arusei (KEN) | 1:22:31 | |
| 30 kilometres | Haile Gebrselassie (ETH) Samuel Kosgei (KEN) | 1:27:49+ | WR | Irina Mikitenko (GER) Mara Yamauchi (GBR) | 1:41:14 | |
| Marathon | Duncan Kibet (KEN) James Kwambai (KEN) | 2:04:27 | | Irina Mikitenko (GER) | 2:22:11 | |
| 20 kilometres race walk | Valeriy Borchin (RUS) | 1:17:38 | | Olga Kaniskina (RUS) | 1:24:56 | |
| 50 kilometres race walk | Sergey Kirdyapkin (RUS) | 3:38:35 | | — | | |
| Pole vault | Steven Hooker (AUS) | 6.06 i | | Yelena Isinbayeva (RUS) | 5.06 | |
| High jump | Ivan Ukhov (RUS) | 2.40 i | | Blanka Vlašić (CRO) | 2.08 | |
| Long jump | Dwight Phillips (USA) | 8.74 | | Brittney Reese (USA) | 7.10 | |
| Triple jump | Phillips Idowu (GBR) | 17.73 | | Nadezhda Alekhina (RUS) | 15.14 | |
| Shot put | Christian Cantwell (USA) | 22.16 | | Valerie Vili (NZL) | 21.07 | |
| Discus throw | Gerd Kanter (EST) | 71.64 | | Yanfeng Li (CHN) | 66.40 | |
| Javelin throw | Andreas Thorkildsen (NOR) | 91.28 | | Maria Abakumova (RUS) | 68.92 | |
| Hammer throw details | Primož Kozmus (SLO) | 82.58 | | Anita Wlodarczyk (POL) | 77.96 | WR |
| Heptathlon | — | | | Jessica Ennis (GBR) | 6731 | |
| Decathlon details | Trey Hardee (USA) | 8790 | | — | | |
| 4×100 metres relay | Jamaica Steve Mullings Michael Frater Usain Bolt Asafa Powell | 37.31 | | United States Lauryn Williams Allyson Felix Muna Lee Carmelita Jeter | 41.58 | |
| 4×400 metres relay | United States Angelo Taylor Jeremy Wariner Kerron Clement LaShawn Merritt | 2:57.86 | | United States Debbie Dunn Allyson Felix Lashinda Demus Sanya Richards | 3:17.83 | |

## Awards
### Men

| Award | Winner |
| IAAF World Athlete of the Year | Usain Bolt (JAM) |
| Track & Field Athlete of the Year | Usain Bolt (JAM) |
| European Athlete of the Year | Phillips Idowu (GBR) |
| European Athletics Rising Star | Christophe Lemaitre (FRA) |

### Women

| Award | Winner |
| IAAF World Athlete of the Year | Sanya Richards (USA) |
| Track & Field Athlete of the Year | Sanya Richards (USA) |
| European Athlete of the Year | Marta Domínguez (ESP) |
| European Athletics Rising Star | Karoline Bjerkeli Grøvdal (NOR) |

## Doping

Incidents of athletes testing positive for banned substances were low-key compared to previous years. The IAAF conducted their largest ever anti-doping program at the 2009 World Championships in Athletics, and Jamel Chatbi and Nigerian hurdler Amaka Ogoegbunam were the only athletes who tested positive. Five Jamaican sprint athletes, including Yohan Blake and Sheri-Ann Brooks, tested positive for Methylhexanamine prior to the world championships. Four of the athletes received three-month bans, while Brooks was cleared on a technicality.
A Brazilian coach, Jayme Netto, admitted that he had administered the banned drug recombinant EPO on five of his athletes without their knowledge. South American champion Lucimar Teodoro was another high-profile Brazilian athlete to be banned.

## Retirements

* Kim Collins, 100 m gold medallist at the 2003 World Championships. (returned to competition in 2010)
* Stacy Dragila, Olympic gold medallist, two-time World Champion, and former world record holder in the pole vault.
* Yulia Pechonkina, 2005 World Champion in the 400 m hurdles, and current world record holder.

## Deaths

* February 18 — Kamila Skolimowska (26), Polish hammer thrower (born 1982)
* April 6 — Svetlana Ulmasova (56), Uzbekistani long-distance runner (born 1953)
* May 8 — Fons Brydenbach (54), Belgian sprinter (born 1954)
* June 27 — Nanae Nagata (53), Japanese long-distance runner (born 1956)
* October 2 — Jørgen Jensen (65), Danish long-distance runner (born 1944)
* October 25 — Ingeborg Mello (90), Argentine discus thrower and shot putter (born 1919)