The men's 400 metres 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 18, 19 and 21 August. The

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

had a strong tradition in the event, with an American topping the Olympic 400 m podium every time since the 1988 Olympics. Similar to the 2007 World Championships,

Jeremy Wariner Jeremy Matthew Wariner (born January 31, 1984) is a retired American track athlete specializing in the 400 meters. He has won four Olympic medals (three gold, one silver) and six World Championships medals. He is the fourth fastest competitor in ...

and

LaShawn Merritt LaShawn Merritt (born June 27, 1986) is an American track and field athlete who competes in sprinting events, specializing in the 400 metres. He is a former Olympic champion over the distance and his personal best of 43.65 seconds makes him th ...

were the clear favourites. However, on this occasion recent form favoured the Olympic champion Merritt instead of the reigning world champion Wariner. Both Americans were undefeated that season but Merritt held the world-leading time of 44.50 seconds. A gold or silver medallist outside of these two competitors seemed unlikely; Bahamian Chris Brown, Irishman

David Gillick David Gillick (born 9 July 1983, in Dublin) is an Irish international track and field athlete. He began his education in Our Lady's Boys School and attended St Benildus College secondary school in Kilmacud. He studied at Dublin Instit ...

, Frenchman

Leslie Djhone Leslie Djhone (born 18 March 1981 in Abidjan, Ivory Coast) is a French track and field athlete who competes in the 400 metres and 4 x 400 metres relay. Djhone won the 400 metres gold medal at the 2011 European Indoor Championships and the 400 ...

and the other two runners from the United States (

Gil Roberts Gil Roberts (born March 15, 1989) is an American athlete who specializes in the 200 m and 400 m. He competed for Texas Tech under coach Wes Kittley at the NCAA level. He was a member of the USA team that won the gold medal in the Men's 4×400 m ...

and

Lionel Larry Lionel Larry (born September 14, 1986) is an American sprinter who specializes in the 400 meters. Collegiately, he ran for the University of Southern California , mottoeng = "Let whoever earns the palm bear it" , religious_affiliation ...

) were seen to be capable of a bronze at best. On the first day, Ramon Miller surprised as the fastest qualifier in the heats, scoring a new personal best of 45 seconds. Tabarie Henry, Djhone and

Renny Quow Renny Quow (born 25 August 1987) is a Trinidadian male track and field sprinter who specializes in the 400 metres and has made it to both the Olympic and World Finals in the event, a rare feat for athletes from the Caribbean in the 400m. He comp ...

were the next fastest, and African record holder

Gary Kikaya Gary Senga Kikaya (born 4 February 1980) is a retired sprinter from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. He competed in the 400 m event at the 2004 and 2008 Olympics, but failed to reach the finals. Education Kikaya is the son of Kikaya bin Ka ...

was most high-profile casualty of the first round, having been disqualified for a lane infraction.Ramsak, Bob (2009-08-09)
Event Report - Men's 400m - Heats
. IAAF. Retrieved on 2009-08-18.

Medalists

Records

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

Qualification standards

Schedule

Results

Heats

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

semifinals A single-elimination, knockout, or sudden death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of each match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final mat ...

. Key: NR = National record, PB = Personal best, Q = qualification by place in heat, q = qualification by overall place, SB = Seasonal best

Semifinals

First 2 in each semifinal(Q) and the next 2 fastest(q) advance to the final.

Final

References

;General
400 metres results
IAAF. Retrieved on 2009-08-18. ;Specific {{DEFAULTSORT:2009 World Championships In Athletics - Men's 400 Metres 400 metres 400 metres at the World Athletics Championships