The Men's 3.000 metres Steeplechase at the 2009 World Championships in Athletics was held at the Olympic Stadium in Berlin, Germany, 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. Retrieved on 2009-08-17.

The Kenyans were led by the reigning World and Olympic champion Brimin Kipruto, followed by 2004 Olympic champion and world-leader Ezekiel Kemboi, and finally Olympic medallists Paul Kipsiele Koech and Richard Mateelong. Two French athletes offered the strongest possibility of beating the Kenyans, with Olympic silver medallist Mahiedine Mekhissi-Benabbad and European record holder Bouabdellah Tahri. Other possible medallists were the in-form Moroccan Jamel Chatbi and the European Champion Jukka Keskisalo.

After Mekhissi-Benabbad pulled up due to injury in the heats, the chance of a Kenyan podium sweep increased.Berlin 2009: European wrap on Day 2 . European Athletics (2009-08-16). Retrieved on 2009-08-17. All three heats were won by a Kenyan athlete, and Kenyan-born Tareq Mubarak Taher, who now competes for Bahrain, was the fastest non-Kenyan qualifier.Ramsak, Bob (2009-08-16). Event Report - Men's 3000m Steeplechase - Heats . IAAF. Retrieved on 2009-08-17. 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 His "A" sample showed traces of clenbuterol and he was withdrawn from the final.World Athletics: Jamel Chatbi fails drugs test. The Daily Telegraph (2009-08-18). Retrieved on 2009-08-18.

In the final, South African Ruben Ramolefi 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's fourteen-year-old Championship record in what was the fastest ever steeplechase race at the World Championships.Ramsak, Bob (2009-08-18). Event Report - Men's 3000m Steeplechase - Final . IAAF. Retrieved on 2009-08-22.

Medalists GoldSilverBronzeEzekiel KemboiRichard Kipkemboi MateelongBouabdellah Tahri

Records Prior to the competition, the following records were as follows. World record7:53.63Brussels, Belgium3 September 2004Championship record8:04.16Gothenburg, Sweden11 August 1995World leading7:58.85Doha, Qatar8 May 2009African record7:55.28Brussels, Belgium24 August 2001Asian record7:53.63Brussels, Belgium3 September 2004North American record8:08.82Rome, Italy14 July 2006South American record8:14.41Mar del Plata, Argentina22 March 1995European record8:02.19Metz, France3 July 2009Oceanian record8:14.05Koblenz, Switzerland29 August 1984

Qualification standards A timeB time 8:23.00 8:33.50

Schedule Date Time RoundAugust 16, 2009 11:00 HeatsAugust 18, 2009 19:50 Final

Results

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

Rank Heat Name Nationality Time Notes 1 Richard Mateelong 8:17.99 Q 2 Brimin Kipruto 8:18.07 Q 1 Tareq Mubarak Taher 8:18.13 Q 1 Paul Kipsiele Koech 8:18.16 Q 1 Roba Gary 8:18.22 Q 2 Bouabdellah Tahri 8:18.23 Q 2 Ruben Ramolefi 8:18.24 Q 2 Benjamin Kiplagat 8:18.55 Q 1 Abubaker Ali Kamal 8:18.95 q, SB 10 3 Ezekiel Kemboi 8:19.36 Q 11 3 Yacob Jarso 8:20.91 Q 12 2 Jukka Keskisalo 8:22.00 q 13 2 Mustafa Mohamed 8:22.92 q 14 2 José Luis Blanco 8:24.07 15 2 Krijn van Koolwijk 8:24.22 SB 16 3 Eliseo Martín 8:24.29 Q 17 1 Abdelatif Chemlal 8:25.68 18 3 Ion Luchianov 8:27.41 19 1 Tomasz Szymkowiak 8:27.93 20 3 Bjørnar Ustad Kristensen 8:28.49 SB 21 1 Mario Bazán 8:28.67 NR 22 1 Pieter Desmet 8:31.81 23 2 Ildar Minshin 8:33.89 24 3 Steffen Uliczka 8:37.83 25 3 Simon Ayeko 8:37.86 26 3 Yoshitaka Iwamizu 8:39.03 27 3 Boštjan Buč 8:40.56 28 1 Vincent Zouaoui-Dandrieaux 8:41.85 29 3 Alberto Paulo 8:43.13 30 2 Rob Watson 8:44.73 31 1 Per Jacobsen 8:44.80 32 3 Daniel Huling 8:46.79 33 1 Ángel Mullera 8:47.40 34 2 Youcef Abdi 8:49.88 35 2 Legese Lamiso 8:51.63 36 2 Joshua McAdams 9:02.19 1 Kyle Alcorn 3 Mahiedine Mekhissi-Benabbad 3 Jamel Chatbi 8:20.26 QAthlete removed from competition for a positive drug test.

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

Rank Name Nationality Time Notes Ezekiel Kemboi 8:00.43 CR Richard Kipkemboi Mateelong 8:00.89 PB Bouabdellah Tahri 8:01.18 AR Paul Kipsiele Koech 8:01.26 SB Yacob Jarso 8:12.13 PB Roba Gary 8:12.40 Brimin Kiprop Kipruto 8:12.61 Jukka Keskisalo 8:14.47 Eliseo Martín 8:16.51 SB 10 Tareq Mubarak Taher 8:17.08 11 Benjamin Kiplagat 8:17.82 12 Abubaker Ali Kamal 8:19.72 13 Ruben Ramolefi 8:32.54 14 Mustafa Mohamed 8:35.77 Jamel Chatbi

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

References General 3000 metres steeplechase results (Archived 2009-09-08). IAAF. Retrieved on 2009-08-16. Specific