# 2009 World Championships in Athletics – Women's javelin throw

The Women's Javelin Throw at the 2009 World Championships in Athletics will be held at the Olympic Stadium on August 16 and August 18. The event featured four athletes whose ability was so much better than the opposition that Mirko Jalava of the IAAF said it would be a "major surprise" should another athlete beat them to the podium.
The Olympic champion and world record holder Barbora Špotáková, and Beijing silver medallist Mariya Abakumova, had not matched their Olympic form of the previous year but remained strong contenders for the competition. The other two athletes came from the German team, which was headed by world-leader and two-time World medallist Christina Obergföll, as well as the veteran Steffi Nerius who won silver in 2003, 2005 and 2007. Osleidys Menéndez, Sunette Viljoen and Madara Palameika were the outside contenders.
A modest qualifying round was highlighted by Abakumova's world-leading throw of 68.92 m, while German number three Linda Stahl and Slovenian Martina Ratej threw season's bests to qualify as the second and third best throwers. The first round saw the elimination of two of the season's top-six athletes, Palameika and Viljoen. On the final day, Nerius opened the competition in style with a season's best 67.30 m on her first throw, while Špotáková and Monica Stoian completed the top three with 64.94 and 64.51 m respectively. With a throw of 65.39 m Mariya Abakumova moved into the bronze medal position, and she would remain there for the rest of the event. Obergföll and Stahl moved into the top six in round three, but the positions remained static thereafter. Neither Špotáková nor Abakumova (whose qualifying throw would have won the final) could find the form to dislodge Nerius from the gold medal spot. The 37-year-old German won her first ever World Championship gold medal in Berlin, in what was her final year in competitive athletics.

## Medalists

| Gold | Steffi Nerius Germany (GER) |
| Silver | Barbora Špotáková Czech Republic (CZE) |
| Bronze | Monica Stoian Romania (ROM) |

## Schedule

* All times are Central European Time (UTC+1)
Qualification Round :
| Group A | Group B |
| 16.08.2009 – 10:45h | 16.08.2009 – 10:45h |
| Final Round ||
| 18.08.2009 – 19:25h ||

## Qualification standards

| A standard | B standard |
| 61.00 metres | 59.00 metres |

## Records

Standing records prior to the 2009 World Athletics Championships :
| World record | Barbora Špotáková (CZE) | 72.28 m | 13 September 2008 | Stuttgart, Germany |
| Event record | Osleidys Menéndez (CUB) | 71.70 m | 14 August 2005 | Helsinki, Finland |
| Season Best | Christina Obergföll (GER) | 68.59 m | 20 June 2009 | Leiria, Portugal |
| African record | Sunette Viljoen (RSA) | 65.43 m | 7 July 2009 | Belgrade, Serbia |
| Asian record | Wei Jianhua (CHN) | 63.92 m | 18 August 2000 | Beijing, PR China |
| North American record | Osleidys Menéndez (CUB) | 71.70 m | 14 August 2005 | Helsinki, Finland |
| South American record | Sabina Moya (COL) | 62.62 m | 12 May 2002 | Guatemala City, Guatemala |
| European record | Barbora Špotáková (CZE) | 72.28 m | 13 September 2008 | Stuttgart, Germany |
| Oceanian record | Louise Currey (AUS) | 66.80 m | 5 August 2000 | Runaway Bay, Australia |

## Results
### Qualification

Qualification: Qualifying distance 62.00 (Q) or the least 12 best athletes and ties (q) advance to the final.
| Rank | Group | Athlete | Nationality | #1 | #2 | #3 | Result | Notes |
| 1 | A | Linda Stahl | Germany (GER) | 63.86 | | | 63.86 | Q, SB |
| 2 | A | Martina Ratej | Slovenia (SLO) | 53.13 | 63.42 | | 63.42 | Q, SB |
| 3 | A | Barbora Špotáková | Czech Republic (CZE) | 63.27 | | | 63.27 | Q |
| 4 | B | Osleidys Menéndez | Cuba (CUB) | 59.86 | 61.94 | x | 61.94 | q |
| 5 | A | Steffi Nerius | Germany (GER) | 61.00 | x | 61.73 | 61.73 | q |
| 6 | B | Christina Obergföll | Germany (GER) | 60.04 | 59.86 | 60.74 | 60.74 | q |
| 7 | A | Monica Stoian | Romania (ROM) | 59.45 | 60.29 | 55.57 | 60.29 | q |
| 8 | A | Vira Rebryk | Ukraine (UKR) | 59.68 | 59.70 | 58.27 | 59.70 | q |
| 9 | A | Savva Lika | Greece (GRE) | 57.26 | x | 59.64 | 59.64 | q |
| 10 | B | Rachel Yurkovich | United States (USA) | 59.57 | 53.84 | 59.55 | 59.57 | q |
| 11 | B | Maria Nicoleta Negoita | Romania (ROM) | 59.46 | x | 56.32 | 59.46 | q |
| 12 | A | Goldie Sayers | Great Britain & N.I. (GBR) | 56.44 | 58.58 | 58.98 | 58.98 | |
| 13 | B | Mikaela Ingberg | Finland (FIN) | 53.86 | 57.88 | x | 57.88 | |
| 14 | B | Kimberley Mickle | Australia (AUS) | 57.46 | x | 56.85 | 57.46 | |
| 15 | A | Yainelis Ribeaux | Cuba (CUB) | 57.26 | 57.38 | 56.48 | 57.38 | |
| 16 | B | Olha Ivankova | Ukraine (UKR) | 56.91 | 54.86 | 54.85 | 56.91 | |
| 17 | B | Sunette Viljoen | South Africa (RSA) | x | 56.83 | 49.45 | 56.83 | |
| 18 | A | Mercedes Chilla | Spain (ESP) | 56.68 | x | x | 56.68 | |
| 19 | B | Urszula Piwnicka | Poland (POL) | 56.33 | 56.49 | 55.74 | 56.49 | |
| 20 | A | Maryna Novik | Belarus (BLR) | 51.56 | 56.44 | 55.01 | 56.44 | |
| 21 | B | Yanet Cruz | Cuba (CUB) | 55.50 | 56.19 | x | 56.19 | |
| 22 | B | Ásdís Hjálmsdóttir | Iceland (ISL) | 55.86 | 55.27 | x | 55.86 | |
| 23 | A | Indrė Jakubaitytė | Lithuania (LTU) | 55.86 | x | x | 55.86 | |
| 24 | B | Yuki Ebihara | Japan (JPN) | 49.14 | 53.30 | 54.81 | 54.81 | |
| 25 | B | Moonika Aava | Estonia (EST) | 49.49 | 52.69 | 53.86 | 53.86 | |
| 26 | B | Madara Palameika | Latvia (LAT) | 51.80 | 52.98 | x | 52.98 | |
| 27 | B | Valeriya Zabruskova | Russia (RUS) | 47.31 | 52.87 | 51.13 | 52.87 | |
| 28 | A | Kara Patterson | United States (USA) | 50.60 | x | 52.71 | 52.71 | |
| 29 | A | Elisabeth Pauer | Austria (AUT) | x | 49.32 | 50.88 | 50.88 | |
| 30 | A | Serafina Akeli | Samoa (SAM) | 49.58 | x | x | 49.58 | |
| DSQ | A | Mariya Abakumova | Russia (RUS) | 68.92 | | | 68.92 | Q, WL |
Key: Q = qualification by place in heat, q = qualification by overall place, SB = Seasonal best, WL = World leading (in a given season)

### Final

| Rank | Athlete | Nationality | #1 | #2 | #3 | #4 | #5 | #6 | Result | Notes |
| | Steffi Nerius | Germany (GER) | 67.30 | 62.79 | 65.81 | x | 62.27 | x | 67.30 | SB |
| | Barbora Špotáková | Czech Republic (CZE) | 64.94 | 64.26 | 66.42 | 61.29 | 62.25 | 59.74 | 66.42 | |
| | Monica Stoian | Romania (ROM) | 64.51 | x | 61.90 | 59.62 | 61.84 | 61.53 | 64.51 | PB |
| 4 | Christina Obergföll | Germany (GER) | x | 60.37 | 64.34 | x | 63.02 | x | 64.34 | |
| 5 | Linda Stahl | Germany (GER) | 61.64 | 63.23 | 63.18 | 59.00 | 61.33 | 60.90 | 63.23 | |
| 6 | Osleidys Menéndez | Cuba (CUB) | 63.11 | x | x | x | 61.56 | 58.27 | 63.11 | SB |
| 7 | Savva Lika | Greece (GRE) | 56.55 | 57.33 | 58.80 | 57.29 | x | 60.29 | 60.29 | |
| 8 | Vira Rebryk | Ukraine (UKR) | 58.25 | 56.78 | 57.50 | | | | 58.25 | |
| 9 | Maria Nicoleta Negoita | Romania (ROM) | 57.59 | 57.65 | x | | | | 57.65 | |
| 10 | Martina Ratej | Slovenia (SLO) | 57.57 | x | x | | | | 57.57 | |
| 11 | Rachel Yurkovich | United States (USA) | 51.15 | 50.05 | x | | | | 51.15 | |
| DSQ | Mariya Abakumova | Russia (RUS) | 63.01 | x | 65.39 | x | 59.71 | 66.06 | 66.06 | |
Key: PB = Personal best, SB = Seasonal best