The

Women's Heptathlon A heptathlon is a track and field combined events contest made up of seven events. The name derives from the Greek επτά (hepta, meaning "seven") and ἄθλος (áthlos, or ἄθλον, áthlon, meaning "competition"). A competitor in a hept ...

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 ...

on August 16 and August 17. A number of high-profile heptathletes did not feature at the competition, including defending champion

Carolina Klüft Carolina Evelyn Klüft (; born 2 February 1983) is a retired Swedish track and field athlete who competed in the heptathlon, triple jump, long jump, and pentathlon. She was an Olympic Champion, having won the heptathlon title in 2004. She was al ...

and 2007 bronze medallist

Kelly Sotherton Kelly Jade Sotherton (born 13 November 1976) is a British former heptathlete, long jumper and relay runner. In the heptathlon she was the bronze medallist at the 2004 Summer Olympics and, following the disqualification of two other athletes, a ...

, who were both injured, and Olympic silver medallist Hyleas Fountain, who failed to qualify at the national championships.

Nataliya Dobrynska Nataliya Dobrynska ( uk, Наталія Добринська; born 29 May 1982) is a retired Ukrainian heptathlete. She is the 2008 Olympic champion and also holds the heptathlon best in the shot put. Her indoor pentathlon best of 5013 points ...

, the 2008 Olympic champion, was highly favoured to win the event, while

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It i ...

Jessica Ennis Dame Jessica Ennis-Hill (born 28 January 1986) is a British retired track and field athlete from England, specialising in multi-eventing disciplines and 100 metres hurdles. As a competitor in heptathlon, she is the 2012 Olympic champion, ...

was predicted to improve upon her own world leading mark of 6587 points. Tatyana Chernova, Ukrainians Hanna Melnychenko and Lyudmyla Yosypenko, and Germans Jennifer Oeser and Lilli Schwarzkopf were cited as medal contenders. After the first day, Ennis had built up a considerable lead, winning three of the four events and ending the day more than three hundred points ahead of second-ranked Dobrynska. Ennis' first day total of 4124 points was the third highest ever first day score in the heptathlon, behind Kluft and world record holder

Jackie Joyner-Kersee Jacqueline Joyner-Kersee (born March 3, 1962) is a retired American track and field athlete, ranked among the all-time greatest athletes in the heptathlon as well as long jump. She won three gold, one silver, and two bronze Olympic medals in tho ...

. On the second day, unusually for a heptathlon competition, Linda Züblin set a Swiss record in the

javelin throw The javelin throw is a track and field event where the javelin, a spear about in length, is thrown. The javelin thrower gains momentum by running within a predetermined area. Javelin throwing is an event of both the men's decathlon and the wom ...

. Ennis maintained her lead with competitive marks in the

long jump The long jump is a track and field event in which athletes combine speed, strength and agility in an attempt to leap as far as possible from a takeoff point. Along with the triple jump, the two events that measure jumping for distance as a ...

and

(her weaker events) and she won the final

800 metres The 800 metres, or meters ( US spelling), is a common track running event. It is the shortest commonly run middle-distance running event. The 800 metres is run over two laps of an outdoor (400-metre) track and has been an Olympic event since t ...

race, gaining her first major championship gold medal and setting a world leading mark and much improved personal best of 6731 points. Olympic champion Dobrynska faded into fourth place on the final day, while Jennifer Oeser set a personal best for the silver medal and Kamila Chudzik took bronze,

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

's first ever heptathlon medal at the competition.Jalava, Mirko (2009-08-16
Event Report - Women's 800 Metres - Heptathlon
. IAAF. Retrieved on 2009-08-17.Brown, Matthew (2009-08-17)
Ennis’ PB Put puts her to gold in Berlin
. IAAF. Retrieved on 2009-08-17. The competition represented a breakthrough for Ennis, who had missed the 2008 Beijing Olympics through injury and whose previous best result was fourth place at the 2007 World Championships. She was

's first gold medallist of the tournament, and she became the country's third woman multi-eventer to win a major global championship, after former Olympic champions Mary Peters and Denise Lewis.

Medalists

Records

Qualification standards

Schedule

Results