The men's 1500 metres at the 2009 World Championships in Athletics was held at the Olympic Stadium between 15–19 August. The winning margin was 0.08 seconds, which was the narrowest winning margin in the history of this event until the 2025 edition. Among the favoured athletes in the event were defending champion Bernard Lagat, European champion Mehdi Baala, and the Kenyan season leaders Asbel Kiprop, Haron Keitany and Augustine Choge.Ramsak, Bob (2009-08-09). Men's 1500m - PREVIEW . IAAF. Retrieved on 2009-08-15.
All the favoured athletes progressed through a series of tactically-run heats on the first day of competition, with Baala, Kiprop, Choge and Deresse Mekonnen the four race winners.Ramsak, Bob (2009-08-15). Event Report - Men's 1500m - Heats . IAAF. Retrieved on 2009-08-19. Moroccan Amine Laalou won the first semi-final, followed by Americans Lopez Lomong and Lagat, while Kiprop and Leonel Manzano both finished quickly to take the top two qualifying spots in the second race. The only high-profile athlete to be eliminated in the semi-finals was Keitany, who did not start, putting an end to any hopes of a Kenyan medal sweep.Ramsak, Bob (2009-08-17). Event Report - Men's 1500m - Semi-Final . IAAF. Retrieved on 2009-08-19.
The final race began slowly and, as the athletes reached the last lap, they remained in a tight pack led by Mekonnen. Choge and Mohamed Moustaoui closely followed as he approached the final straight, but the race remained open.Ramsak, Bob (2009-08-19). Event Report - Men's 1500m - Final . IAAF. Retrieved on 2009-08-19. Yusuf Saad Kamel took the lead in the final straight, scoring a surprise gold medal.Butcher, Pat (2009-08-19). Mekonnen Berlin 2009 - Day 5 SUMMARY - 19 Aug . IAAF. Retrieved on 2009-08-19. Mekonnen maintained his pace to take the silver medal and defending champion Lagat had a quick burst near the finish to win the bronze. Kiprop, one of the pre-race favourites, left himself too much ground to cover, eventually ending up fourth, with Choge and Baala alongside him.
Bahrain's Kamel, born in Kenya as Gregory Konchellah, followed in the footsteps of his father Billy Konchellah, who won the 800 m at the 1987 and 1991 World Championships. Mekonnen's silver was Ethiopia's first ever World Championship medal in the 1500 m. Lagat's bronze was his third in the 1500 m, after his silver in 2001 and a gold in 2007.
Medalists GoldSilverBronzeYusuf Saad KamelDeresse MekonnenBernard Lagat
Records World record3:26.00Rome, Italy 14 July 1998Championship record3:27.65Seville, Spain14 August 1999World Leading3:29.47Berlin, Germany14 June 2009African record3:26.00Rome, Italy 14 July 1998Asian record3:29.14Rome, Italy 14 July 2006North American record3:29.30Rieti, Italy28 August 2005South American record3:33.25Rieti, Italy28 August 2005European record3:28.95Zürich, Switzerland13 August 1997Oceanian record3:31.96Stockholm, Sweden3 July 1991
Qualification standards A timeB time 3:36.20 3:39.30
Schedule Date Time RoundAugust 15, 2009 18:15 HeatsAugust 17, 2009 20:10 SemifinalsAugust 19, 2009 20:25 Final
Results
Heats Qualification: First 5 in each heat(Q) and the next 4 fastest(q) advance to the semifinal.
Rank Heat Name Nationality Time Notes 4 Deresse Mekonnen 3:37.04 Q 4 Haron Keitany 3:37.13 Q 4 James Brewer 3:37.17 Q, PB 4 Mohamed Moustaoui 3:37.34 Q 4 Yusuf Saad Kamel 3:37.59 Q 4 Reyes Estévez 3:38.23 q, SB 4 Nathan Brannen 3:38.35 q 4 Dorian Ulrey 3:38.86 q 4 Taoufik Makhloufi 3:40.04 q 10 4 Stefan Eberhardt 3:40.05 11 2 Asbel Kiprop 3:41.42 Q 12 2 Bernard Lagat 3:41.60 Q 13 2 Juan Carlos Higuero 3:41.77 Q 14 2 Rui Silva 3:41.98 Q 15 4 Mounir Yemmouni 3:42.06 16 2 Peter van der Westhuizen 3:42.33 Q 17 2 Antar Zerguelaïne 3:42.37 18 2 Thomas Chamney 3:42.54 19 2 Thomas Lancashire 3:42.68 20 1 Mehdi Baala 3:42.77 Q 21 1 Leonel Manzano 3:42.87 Q 22 1 Abdalaati Iguider 3:42.88 Q 23 1 Jeffrey Riseley 3:43.03 Q 24 1 Belal Mansoor Ali 3:43.06 Q 25 1 Arturo Casado 3:43.21 26 1 Mekonnen Gebremedhin 3:43.22 27 1 Christian Obrist 3:43.41 28 4 Tiidrek Nurme 3:43.73 SB 29 1 Hais Welday 3:43.84 30 2 Carsten Schlangen 3:44.00 31 1 Goran Nava 3:44.13 32 3 Augustine Kiprono Choge 3:44.73 Q 33 3 Amine Laâlou 3:44.75 Q 34 2 Ryan Gregson 3:44.79 35 3 Lopez Lomong 3:44.89 Q 36 3 Andrew Baddeley 3:45.23 Q 37 3 Henok Legesse 3:45.63 Q 38 3 Tarek Boukensa 3:45.65 39 3 Kristof van Malderen 3:46.03 40 3 Yoann Kowal 3:46.42 41 3 Johan Cronje 3:46.45 42 3 Jeremy Roff 3:47.08 43 2 Abdalla Abdelgadir 3:47.78 44 1 Mohammed Othman Shaween 3:49.03 45 2 Byron Piedra 3:49.60 46 3 Mohamad Al-Garni 3:50.55 47 1 Chauncy Master 3:50.73 48 3 Álvaro Vásquez 3:55.06 PB 49 4 Víctor Martínez 4:02.10 SB 50 2 Hem Bunting 4:08.64 SB 51 1 Abdallahi Nanou 4:09.77 PB 52 2 Benjamín Enzema 4:13.17 PB 53 3 Antoine Berlin 4:27.52 1 Boampouguini Djigban
Key: PB = Personal best, Q = qualification by place in heat, q = qualification by overall place, SB = Seasonal best
Semifinals Qualification: First 5 in each semifinal(Q) and the next 2 fastest(q) advance to the final.
Rank Heat Name Nationality Time Notes 2 Asbel Kiprop 3:36.24 Q 2 Leonel Manzano 3:36.29 Q 2 Augustine Kiprono Choge 3:36.43 Q 1 Amine Laâlou 3:36.68 Q 1 Lopez Lomong 3:36.75 Q 1 Bernard Lagat 3:36.86 Q 2 Deresse Mekonnen 3:36.86 Q 1 Yusuf Saad Kamel 3:36.87 Q 2 Belal Mansoor Ali 3:36.87 Q 10 2 Mohamed Moustaoui 3:36.94 q 11 1 Mehdi Baala 3:37.07 Q 12 2 Abdalaati Iguider 3:37.19 q 13 1 James Brewer 3:37.27 14 1 Juan Carlos Higuero 3:37.33 15 2 Reyes Estévez 3:37.55 SB 16 1 Henok Legesse 3:37.79 17 2 Taoufik Makhloufi 3:37.87 18 2 Jeffrey Riseley 3:38.00 19 2 Andrew Baddeley 3:38.23 20 1 Nathan Brannen 3:38.97 21 2 Dorian Ulrey 3:39.33 22 1 Peter van der Westhuizen 3:40.00 23 1 Rui Silva 3:41.30 1 Haron Keitany
Final Rank Name Nationality Time Notes Yusuf Saad Kamel 3:35.93 Deresse Mekonnen 3:36.01 Bernard Lagat 3:36.20 Asbel Kiprop 3:36.47 Augustine Kiprono Choge 3:36.53 Mohamed Moustaoui 3:36.57 Mehdi Baala 3:36.99 Lopez Lomong 3:37.62 Belal Mansoor Ali 3:37.72 10 Amine Laâlou 3:37.83 11 Abdalaati Iguider 3:38.35 12 Leonel Manzano 3:40.05
References General 1500 metres results from IAAF. IAAF. Archived 2013-12-12. Retrieved on 2018-07-25. Specific