The Men's 3.000 metres Steeplechase at the

2009 World Championships in Athletics The 12th IAAF World Championships in Athletics () were held in Berlin, Germany from 15–23 August 2009. The majority of events took place in the Olympiastadion, while the marathon and racewalking events started and finished at the Brandenburg ...

was held at the

Olympic Stadium ''Olympic Stadium'' is the name usually given to the main stadium of an Olympic Games. An Olympic stadium is the site of the opening and closing ceremonies. Many, though not all, of these venues actually contain the words ''Olympic Stadium'' as ...

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, on August 16 and August 18, 2009. Keeping in line with previous major championships success, the four-man Kenyan team entered for the event contained a number of race favourites.Ramsak, Bob (2009-08-09)
Men's 3000m Steeplechase - PREVIEW
.

IAAF World Athletics, formerly known as the International Amateur Athletic Federation (from 1912 to 2001) and International Association of Athletics Federations (from 2001 to 2019, both abbreviated as the IAAF) is the international governing body for ...

. Retrieved on 2009-08-17. The Kenyans were led by the reigning World and Olympic champion

Brimin Kipruto Brimin Kipruto (born 31 July 1985) is a Kenyan professional middle distance runner who specialises in the 3000 metres steeplechase. He was born in Korkitony, Keiyo District. He holds a personal best of 7:53.64 minutes which is the ...

, followed by 2004 Olympic champion and world-leader

Ezekiel Kemboi Ezekiel Kemboi Cheboi (born 25 May 1982) is a Kenyan professional athlete, winner of the 3000 metres steeplechase at the 2004 Summer Olympics, the 2009 World Championships, the 2011 World Championships, the 2012 Summer Olympics, the 2013 W ...

, and finally Olympic medallists

Paul Kipsiele Koech Paul Kipsiele Koech (born 10 November 1981) is a Kenyan runner who specializes in the 3000 metres steeplechase. He won the 2004 Olympic bronze medal in this event. His personal best of 7:54.31 minutes is the third fastest of all time. He was b ...

and

Richard Mateelong Richard Kipkemboi Mateelong (born 14 October 1983) is a Kenyan professional long-distance runner who specializes in the 3000 metre steeplechase. He won an Olympic bronze medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and he has two World Champ ...

. Two French athletes offered the strongest possibility of beating the Kenyans, with Olympic silver medallist

Mahiedine Mekhissi-Benabbad Mahiedine Mekhissi-Benabbad (born 15 March 1985) is a French professional middle-distance running, middle-distance runner of Algerian descent who mainly competes in the 3000 metres steeplechase. He has won medals in major international competitio ...

and European record holder

Bouabdellah Tahri Bouabdallah "Bob" Tahri (born 20 December 1978) is a retired middle-distance and long-distance French runner, who was born in Metz. He competed mainly in the 3000 m steeplechase distance. He also competes in the 2000 m steeplechase, 1500 m, mi ...

. Other possible medallists were the in-form Moroccan Jamel Chatbi and the European Champion

Jukka Keskisalo Jukka Pekka Sakari Keskisalo (born 27 March 1981) is a Finnish athlete competing in 3000 m steeplechase and 1500 m. He won the 3000 m steeplechase at the 2006 European Championships in Athletics in Gothenburg and was also an Olympian in 2012. B ...

. After Mekhissi-Benabbad pulled up due to injury in the heats, the chance of a Kenyan podium sweep increased. All three heats were won by a Kenyan athlete, and Kenyan-born

Tareq Mubarak Taher Tareq Mubarak Taher, born as Dennis Kipkurui Sang ( ar, طارق مبارك طاهر, born 1 December 1986), is a middle-distance runner who represents Bahrain after changing nationality from Kenya. His speciality is the 3000 metres steeplechase ...

, who now competes for

Bahrain Bahrain ( ; ; ar, البحرين, al-Bahrayn, locally ), officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, ' is an island country in Western Asia. It is situated on the Persian Gulf, and comprises a small archipelago made up of 50 natural islands and an ...

, was the fastest non-Kenyan qualifier. Chatbi, who had finished second in his heat, became the first athlete of the championships to test positive for banned substances. His "A" sample showed traces of

clenbuterol Clenbuterol is a sympathomimetic amine used by sufferers of breathing disorders as a decongestant and bronchodilator. People with chronic breathing disorders such as asthma use this as a bronchodilator to make breathing easier. It is most commonl ...

and he was withdrawn from the final. In the final, South African

Ruben Ramolefi Ruben Ramolefi (born 17 July 1978) is a South African runner who specializes in the 3000 metres steeplechase and is currently the South African record holder in 3000 metres steeplechase. He also won the National Championship in 3000 metres steepl ...

lead early on, but he was soon overtaken by Koech and Kemboi. Around the halfway mark, a group of five athletes were leading the field: the four Kenyan runners and Frenchman Tahri. Defending champion Kipruto was the only one to fall away from the leading pack and Koech, Kemboi, Mateelong were the first to reach the home stretch. In a close finish, Kemboi won in 8:00.43, and Mateelong took the silver. Tahri made a strong run to the line to upset the Kenyan's podium sweep hopes, beating Koech to the bronze and setting a new European record in the process. The top four runners had all beaten

Moses Kiptanui Moses Kiptanui (born 1 October 1970) is a Kenyan middle and long distance athlete mostly famous for 3,000 m steeplechase in which he was the number one ranked athlete from 1991 to 1995 and three time IAAF World Champion. Kiptanui was al ...

's fourteen-year-old Championship record in what was the fastest ever steeplechase race at the

World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

.Ramsak, Bob (2009-08-18)
Event Report - Men's 3000m Steeplechase - Final
.

. Retrieved on 2009-08-22.

Medalists

Records

Prior to the competition, the following records were as follows.

Qualification standards

Schedule

Results

Heats

Qualification: First 4 in each heat(Q) and the next 3 fastest(q) advance to the

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...

. Key: DNF = Did not finish, NR = National record, Q = qualification by place in heat, q = qualification by overall place, SB = Seasonal best DSQ - Disqualified (Chatbi disqualified due to violation of anti-doping rules)

Final

Key: AR = Area record, CR = Championship record, DNS = Did not start, PB = Personal best, SB = Seasonal best

References

;General
3000 metres steeplechase results
2009-09-08).

. Retrieved on 2009-08-16. ;Specific {{DEFAULTSORT:2009 World Championships In Athletics - Men's 3000 Metres Steeplechase 3000 steeplechase Steeplechase at the World Athletics Championships