| 2009 in athletics | |
| No. Of World Records: | 9 |
| Iaaf Athletes Of The Year: | Usain Bolt Sanya Richards |
| World Marathon Majors Winners: | Samuel Wanjiru Irina Mikitenko |
| Competitions Made Defunct: | IAAF World Athletics Final IAAF Golden League |
| Previous: | 2008 |
| Next: | 2010 |
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.[1]
| Event | Athlete | Nation | Performance | Place | Date | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 100 m | Usain Bolt | 9.58 | Berlin, Germany | August 16 | |||
| 200 m | 19.19 | August 20 | |||||
| 10 km (road) | Micah Kogo | 27:01 | Brunssum, Netherlands | March 29 | |||
| 15 km (road) | Deriba Merga | 41.29 =WR | Ras Al Khaimah, United Arab Emirates | February 20 | |||
| 30 km (road) | Haile Gebrselassie | 1:27:49 | Berlin Marathon, Germany | September 20 | |||
| 4×1500 metres relay | William Biwott Tanui Gideon Gathimba Geoffrey Kipkoech Rono Augustine Kiprono Choge | 14:36.23 | Brussels, Belgium | September 4 |
| Event | Athlete | Nation | Performance | Place | Date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5000 m (indoor) | Meseret Defar | 14:24.37 | Stockholm, Sweden | February 18 | ||
| 15 km (road) | Tirunesh Dibaba | 46:28 | Nijmegen, Netherlands | November 15 | ||
| Pole vault | Yelena Isinbayeva | 5.06 m | Zürich, Switzerland | August 28 | ||
| Pole vault (indoor) | Yelena Isinbayeva | 4.97 m | Donetsk, Ukraine | February 15 | ||
| 5.00 m | ||||||
| Hammer throw | Anita Wlodarczyk | 77.96 m | Berlin, Germany | August 22 |
| 60 metres | 6.42 s | AR | 7.11 s | ||||
| 100 metres | 9.58 s | WR | 10.64 s | ||||
| 200 metres | 19.19 s | WR | 21.88 s | ||||
| 400 metres | 44.06 s | 48.83 | |||||
| 800 metres | 1:42.01 | AR | 1:55.45 | ||||
| 1500 metres | 3:29.47 | 3:56.55 | |||||
| 3000 metres | 7:28.37 | 8:26.99 i | |||||
| 5000 metres | 12:52.32 | 14:24.37 i | |||||
| 10,000 metres | 26:46.31 | 29:53.80 | |||||
| 60 metres hurdles | 7.37 | 7.82 | |||||
| 100/110 metres hurdles | 13.04 s | 12.46 | |||||
| 400 metres hurdles | 47.91 s | 52.42 | |||||
| 3000 metres steeplechase | 7:58.85 | 9:07.32 | |||||
| 10 kilometres | 27:01 | WR | 31:04 | ||||
| 15 kilometres | 41:29+ | WR | 46:28 | WR | |||
| 20 kilometres | 56:48+ | 1:02:59+ | |||||
| Half marathon | 58:52 | 1:06:36 | |||||
| 25 kilometres | 1:13:09+ | 1:22:31 | |||||
| 30 kilometres | 1:27:49+ | WR | 1:41:14 | ||||
| Marathon | 2:04:27 | 2:22:11 | |||||
| 20 kilometres race walk | 1:17:38 | 1:24:56 | |||||
| 50 kilometres race walk | 3:38:35 | — | |||||
| Pole vault | 6.06 i | 5.06 | |||||
| High jump | 2.40 i | 2.08 | |||||
| Long jump | 8.74 | 7.10 | |||||
| Triple jump | 17.73 | 15.14 | |||||
| Shot put | 22.16 | 21.07 | |||||
| Discus throw | 71.64 | 66.40 | |||||
| Javelin throw | 91.28 | 68.92 | |||||
| Hammer throw | 82.58 | 77.96 | WR | ||||
| Heptathlon | — | 6731 | |||||
| Decathlon | 8790 | — | |||||
| 4×100 metres relay | 37.31 | 41.58 | |||||
| 4×400 metres relay | 2:57.86 | 3:17.83 |
| Award | Winner | |
|---|---|---|
| IAAF World Athlete of the Year | [2] | |
| Track & Field Athlete of the Year | ||
| European Athlete of the Year | ||
| European Athletics Rising Star |
| Award | Winner | |
|---|---|---|
| IAAF World Athlete of the Year | ||
| Track & Field Athlete of the Year | ||
| European Athlete of the Year | ||
| European Athletics Rising Star |
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,[3] and Jamel Chatbi and Nigerian hurdler Amaka Ogoegbunam were the only athletes who tested positive.[4] 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.[5]
A Brazilian coach, Jayme Netto, admitted that he had administered the banned drug recombinant EPO on five of his athletes without their knowledge.[6] South American champion Lucimar Teodoro was another high-profile Brazilian athlete to be banned.[7]