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 ἑπτά (hepta, meaning "seven") and ἄθλος (áthlos, or ἄθλον, áthlon, meaning "competition"). A competitor in a hep ...

at the

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

was held at the

Olympic Stadium ''Olympic Stadium'' is the name usually given to the main stadium of an Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international Olympic sports, sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports ...

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, pentathlon, long jump and triple jump. 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, ...

, who were both injured, and Olympic silver medallist

Hyleas Fountain Hyleas Fountain (born January 14, 1981) is an American heptathlete. She was the silver medalist in the event at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Career Early years Fountain was born in Columbus, Georgia, and was a member of the 1992 Harrisburg Park ...

, who failed to qualify at the national championships.

Nataliya Dobrynska Nataliya Dobrynska (; born 29 May 1982) is a retired Ukrainian athlete who competed in the combined events. She is the 2008 Beijing Olympic champion and also holds the heptathlon best in the shot put. Dobrynska was the world indoor record hold ...

, 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 north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

Jessica Ennis Dame Jessica Ennis-Hill (née Ennis; born 28 January 1986) is a British retired athlete who specialised in the heptathlon and 100 metres hurdles. As a competitor in heptathlon, she is the 2012 Olympic champion, a three-time world champion (2 ...

was predicted to improve upon her own world leading mark of 6587 points.

Tatyana Chernova Tatyana Sergeyevna Chernova (; born 29 January 1988 in Krasnodar) is a Russian former heptathlete. She was originally awarded the bronze medals at the 2008 and 2012 Summer Olympics before being stripped of them for doping. A serial offender, a ...

, Ukrainians Hanna Melnychenko and Lyudmyla Yosypenko, and Germans

Jennifer Oeser Jennifer Oeser (born 29 November 1983 in Brunsbüttel, Schleswig-Holstein) is a retired German heptathlete. Career Oeser's first international championship was the 2002 World Junior Championships in Athletics and she finished in eighth place wit ...

and

Lilli Schwarzkopf Lilli Schwarzkopf (born 28 August 1983 in Novopokrovka, Chuy, Novopokrovka, Kirghiz Soviet Socialist Republic, Kirghiz SSR) is a German Heptathlon, heptathlete. Her first major global competition was the 2005 World Championships in Athletics – ...

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 an American former track and field athlete who competed in both the heptathlon and long jump. She won three gold, one silver, and two bronze Olympic medals at four different Olympic Games. Joyne ...

. 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 as far as possible. The javelin thrower gains momentum by running within a predetermined area. Javelin throwing is an event of both the men's de ...

. 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 gr ...

and

(her weaker events) and she won the final

800 metres The 800 metres, or 800 meters (American and British English spelling differences#-re.2C -er, 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 a ...

race, gaining her first major championship gold medal and setting a world leading mark and much improved personal best of 6731 points to win by 238 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 extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

's first ever heptathlon medal at the competition.Jalava, Mirko (2009-08-16
Event Report - Women's 800 Metres - Heptathlon
.

IAAF World Athletics, formerly known as the International Amateur Athletic Federation and International Association of Athletics Federations and formerly abbreviated as the IAAF, is the international sports governing body, governing body for the sport ...

. Retrieved on 2009-08-17.Brown, Matthew (2009-08-17)
Ennis’ PB Put puts her to gold in Berlin
.

. Retrieved on 2009-08-17. The competition represented a breakthrough for Ennis, who had missed the

2008 Beijing Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes fro ...

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 Dame Denise Rosemarie Lewis (born 27 August 1972) is a British sports administrator and former sports presenter and athletics athlete, who specialised in the heptathlon. She won the gold medal in the heptathlon at the 2000 Sydney Olympics ...

Medalists

Records

Qualification standards

Schedule

Results