2009 World Championships in Athletics – Women's 400 metres hurdles
Introduction The '''women's 400 metres hurdles''' at the 2009 World Championships in Athletics was held at the Olympic Stadium on 17, 18 and 20 August.In the four major championships between 2004 and 2008, the twelve available medals were won by eleven different athletes. Yuliya Pechonkina was the only athlete to reach the podium twice in that period, having won the 2005 World Championships and won the silver at the same event two years later. With such a quick turnover, it was expected that new athletes would again be possible medallists, especially as Pechonkina and reigning champion Jana Pittman-Rawlinson had withdrawn prior to the competition. However, 2005 medallist Lashinda Demus appeared to be a likely contender, having set the world-leading time of 52.63 seconds a month before the competition (significantly faster than any other athlete at that point in the season). Angela Moroșanu, Josanne Lucas were amongst the season's fastest hurdlers, but the gold and silver medallists from the Beijing Olympics, Melaine Walker and Sheena Tosta had not shown strong form.Demus and Moroşanu recorded the fastest times on the first day of the competition, which saw no surprise eliminations. Kaliese Spencer was the third fastest, making her seem a possible finalist. Reigning Olympic champion Walker was the fastest in the semi-finals, with Lucas the second fastest in a national record time. Spencer, winner of the second race, was initially disqualified but was reinstated upon review. Amaka Ogoegbunam, a Nigerian athlete, tested positive for metenolone (an anabolic steroid) after the semi-finals, becoming the second athlete of the competition to fail a drugs test after Jamel Chatbi.In the final race, Demus and Walker started fastest, with Lucas and Spencer not far behind. Demus took the lead near the final stretch but took the last two hurdles badly, allowing Walker to pass her to take the gold medal. Walker's time of 52.42 s was a Championship record and North American record, and only 0.08 seconds away from Pechonkina's world record. Bronze medallist Lucas had improved her national record by a significant amount (0.78 seconds) and fourth placed Spencer had set a new personal best.Walker had won despite modest performances in the season prior to the competition, while Demus failed to match her world-leading time she had set at the Herculis meeting in Monaco. Walker's run, which capped an Olympic and World double, was the second fastest in the history of the event. Josanne Lucas had significantly improved over the course of a year, knocking two seconds off her personal best, demonstrating her potential as a future medallist.
Medalists '''Gold''''''Silver''''''Bronze'''Melaine Walker''''Lashinda Demus''''Josanne Lucas''''
Records before the Championships '''World record''''''52.34'''Tula, Russia8 August 2003'''Championship record''''''52.61'''Gothenburg, Sweden11 August 1995'''World leading''''''52.63'''Monaco28 July 2009'''African record''''''52.90'''Sevilla, Spain25 August 1999'''Asian record''''''53.96'''Beijing, China9 September 1993'''North American record''''''52.61'''Gothenburg, Sweden11 August 1995'''South American record''''''55.84'''Belém, Brazil24 May 2009'''European record''''''52.34'''Tula, Russia8 August 2003'''Oceanian record''''''53.17'''Seoul, South Korea28 September 1988
Qualification standards A timeB time 55.50 56.55
Schedule  Date Time RoundAugust 17, 2009  '''18:15'''   '''Heats'''August 18, 2009  '''20:15'''   '''Semifinals'''August 20, 2009  '''20:15'''  '''Final'''
Results ===Heats===Qualification: First 4 in each heat('''Q''') and the next 4 fastest('''q''') advance to the semifinals.Rank  Heat   Name  Nationality  Time  Notes 1  5  Lashinda Demus    54.66  Q  2  4  Angela Moroșanu    54.70   Q 3  1  Kaliese Spencer    55.12    Q 4  3  Melaine Walker    55.17  Q  5  4  Tiffany Ross-Williams    55.25   Q 6  2  Nickiesha Wilson    55.37  Q  7  3  Natalya Antyukh    55.40   Q 8  1  Josanne Lucas    55.41   Q 9  1  Huang Xiaoxiao    55.52  Q, SB 10  2  Anna Jesień    55.57  Q 11  5  Anastasiya Rabchenyuk    55.63  Q   12  4  Zuzana Hejnová     55.68   Q   13  2  Eilidh Child    55.96  Q  14  2  Sheena Tosta    56.00   Q  15  1  Vania Stambolova    56.01    Q  16  2  Ieva Zunda    56.05  q,  SB 17  5  Natalya Ivanova    56.11  Q  18  4  Elena Churakova    56.13  q 19  3  Perri Shakes-Drayton    56.49  Q  20  3  Sara Petersen    56.51   Q  21  4  Élodie Ouédraogo    56.60  q, SB 22  5  Muizat Ajoke Odumosu    56.62      Q 23  5  Jonna Tilgner    56.73  q  24  1  Satomi Kubokura    56.91     25  3  Michelle Carey    56.91    26  2  Aurore Kassambara    57.25      27  3  Kou Luogon    57.70     28  1  Tatyana Azarova    57.90   29  5  Carole Kaboud Mebam    58.10       30  1  Hanna Titimets    58.22   31  3  Laia Forcadell    58.57     32  4  Yolanda Osana    59.18    33  4  Aïssata Soulama    59.20  SB  34  1  Déborah Rodríguez    59.21  '''NR''' 35  3  Merjen Ishangulyyeva       36  2  Sayaka Aoki          2  Tsvetelina Kirilova        4  Amaka Ogoegbunam        5  Muna Jabir Adam     ===Semifinals===Qualification: First 2 in each semifinal ('''Q''') and the next 2 fastest('''q''') advance to the final.Rank  Heat   Name  Nationality  Time  Notes     1  Melaine Walker    53.26  Q, SB    1  Josanne Lucas    53.98   Q, '''NR'''      1  Angela Moroșanu    54.15   q     3  Lashinda Demus    54.25   Q      2  Kaliese Spencer    54.37   Q     2  Anastasiya Rabchenyuk     54.49  Q, SB      2  Tiffany Ross-Williams   54.79  q       2  Anna Jesień     54.82           3  Natalya Antyukh    54.86    Q   10    3   Nickiesha Wilson     54.89  SB 11     3  Zuzana Hejnová    54.99    12   1  Huang Xiaoxiao    55.40   SB   13    1  Natalya Ivanova     56.08     14    2  Elena Churakova    56.11     15    3  Vania Stambolova    56.12      16    3  Eilidh Child     56.21     17   1  Sheena Tosta     56.31     18    2  Ieva Zunda    56.66       19   1  Muizat Ajoke Odumosu     56.80     20    3  Sara Petersen     56.99     21    3  Jonna Tilgner     57.11     22    2  Perri Shakes-Drayton     57.57   23   1  Élodie Ouédraogo    57.58        2  Amaka Ogoegbunam     58.56   DQ ===Final===Rank  Name  Nationality  Time  Notes   Melaine Walker    52.42  '''CR''', '''AR'''   Lashinda Demus    52.96       Josanne Lucas    53.20   '''NR'''  4  Kaliese Spencer    53.56  PB 5  Tiffany Ross-Williams    53.83  SB  6  Natalya Antyukh    54.11  PB  7  Anastasiya Rabchenyuk     54.78      8  Angela Moroșanu    55.04
References ;General* 400 metres hurdles results. IAAF. Retrieved on 2009-08-24.;Specific