2009 IAAF World Half Marathon Championships

Zersenay Tadese entered the competition as the favourite, having won the 2007 and 2008 races

Eritrean runner Zersenay Tadese, who had won the last two World Half Marathons as well as the 20 km race in 2006, announced that he would attempt to defend his title and his chances improved after world leader Patrick Makau Musyoki was not listed from the Kenyan squad.[9] The defending women's champion Lornah Kiplagat did not attempt to defend her title due to a knee injury, and three-time champion Paula Radcliffe filled the void, aiming for a record fourth title.[10] However, she too withdrew from the event due to tonsillitis, dealing a blow to the host nation's chances.[11][12]

Tadese was the outright favourite of the men's race, with his greatest challenge coming from Kenyans Sammy Kitwara, Wilson Kipsang Kiprotich and Bernard Kiprop Kipyego, Ethiopians Tilahun Regassa and Dereje Tesfaye. Dathan Ritzenhein, Fabiano Joseph Naasi and Marilson dos Santos were other outside chances. The Kenyan and Eritrean men's teams were favoured for the gold and silver team medals, while the team's from Ethiopia, Tanzania and Uganda were suggested as possible bronze medallists. Unusually, Qatar (whose team placed third in 2008) did not send any runners to the competition.[13]

In the women's race, Kenyan Mary Jepkosgei Keitany was the favourite in the absence of Kiplagat and Radcliffe. Keitany went into the championships as the world's leading half marathon runner, having run 1:07:00 seconds earlier in the season, and the race was seen as a chance for her to make her mark over the distance. The next fastest runner that season was her compatriot Philes Ongori, although her time of 1:07:50 was some way off Keitany's. Two more possible medallists, Filomena Cheyech and Caroline Cheptanui Kilel rounded out a strong Kenyan squad. The Ethiopian team was missing two of their best runners (Dire Tune and Aselefech Mergia), but Abebu Gelan and Aberu Kebede were still in medal contention. The Japanese athletes, Yukiko Akaba and Yurika Nakamura, looked to maintain Japan's past podium form in the team competition. New Zealand's Kim Smith was regarded as an unknown quantity, as she was moving to the road competitions after much success on the track.[14]

At the pre-race press conference the IAAF General Secretary, Pierre Weiss, lamented the relative lack of interest in the competition, vocalising the IAAF's dissatisfaction with the number of competing athletes and federations. He acknowledged that the competition's prize money was not at parity with other top level marathons. Wilson Kipketer, the 800 metres world record holder, pointed out that the standard of Europe's long-distance runners had been largely surpassed by other region's athletes, most notably by Africa. Kipketer argued that Europeans were not making the most of their sporting facilities and were "not training properly or timing and planning their seasons properly". Ed Warner, chairman of UK Athletics, agreed that a rethink was needed in terms of training and mindset.[15]

Rank	Athlete	Nationality	Time	Notes
	Mary Jepkosgei Keitany	Kenya	1:06:36	CR
	Philes Ongori	Kenya	1:07:38	PB
	Aberu Kebede	Ethiopia	1:07:39	PB
4	Caroline Cheptanui Kilel	Kenya	1:08:16	PB
5	Mestawet Tufa	Ethiopia	1:09:11	PB
6	Tirfi Tsegaye	Ethiopia	1:09:24	PB
7	Kim Smith	New Zealand	1:09:35	NR
8	Filomena Cheyech Daniel	Kenya	1:09:44
9	Silvia Skvortsova	Russia	1:09:56	SB
10	Amy Yoder Begley	United States	1:10:09	PB
11	Yurika Nakamura	Japan	1:10:19
12	Ryoko Kizaki	Japan	1:10:32
13	Workitu Ayanu	Ethiopia	1:10:35	PB
14	René Kalmer	South Africa	1:10:37	PB
15	Remi Nakazato	Japan	1:10:40
16	Serena Burla	United States	1:10:55	PB
17	Analía Rosa	Portugal	1:11:08	PB
18	Peninah Arusei	Kenya	1:11:10
19	Annerien van Schalkwyk	South Africa	1:11:26	PB
20	Dulce María Rodríguez	Mexico	1:11:32	SB
21	Abebu Gelan	Ethiopia	1:11:33
22	Elza Kireeva	Russia	1:11:34	PB
23	Furtuna Zegergish	Eritrea	1:11:56
24	Claire Hallissey	Great Britain	1:12:14
25	Yukiko Akaba	Japan	1:12:20
26	Irina Timofeyeva	Russia	1:12:38	SB
27	Olivera Jevtić	Serbia	1:12:44
28	Hiroko Shoi	Japan	1:12:46
29	Maria Sig Møller	Denmark	1:12:50	PB
30	Cassie Fien	Australia	1:12:55
31	Galina Aleksandrova	Russia	1:13:01
32	Amy Hastings	United States	1:13:20	PB
33	Michelle Ross-Cope	Great Britain	1:13:50
34	Alina Istudora	Romania	1:14:01	PB
35	Emma Quaglia	Italy	1:14:11	SB
36	Nyakisi Adero	Uganda	1:14:17
37	Heidi Westover/Westerling	United States	1:14:22
38	Marisol Romero	Mexico	1:14:26	PB
39	Poppy Mlambo	South Africa	1:14:27	PB
40	Inés Melchor	Peru	1:14:33	PB
41	Jimena Misayauri	Peru	1:14:47
42	Ivana Iozzia	Italy	1:14:52
43	Gemma Miles	Great Britain	1:14:56
44	Alyson Dixon	Great Britain	1:15:19
45	Rebecca Robinson	Great Britain	1:16:21
46	Claudette Mukasakindi	Rwanda	1:16:31	PB
47	Elva Dryer	United States	1:16:42
48	Nuța Olaru	Romania	1:16:56
49	Hortencia Arazapalo	Peru	1:17:27
50	Maria Baldaia	Brazil	1:18:32	SB
51	Julia Rivera	Peru	1:18:51
52	Caroline Desprez	France	1:19:06
53	Elizet Banda	Zambia	1:19:07	NR
54	Judith Ramírez	Mexico	1:19:41
55	Caitriona Jennings	Ireland	1:20:47
56	Liu Yingjie	China	1:24:29	PB
57	Chao Fong Leng	Macau	1:31:47	NR
58	Simone Zapha	Seychelles	1:38:58	PB
—	Inga Abitova	Russia	DQ	†

^†: Inga Abitova from  Russia was initially 9th (1:09:53), but her competition results were annulled, beginning October 10, 2009, because of breaking anti-doping regulations.[29][30]

Rank	Country	Team	Time
	Kenya	Mary Keitany Philes Ongori Caroline Cheptanui Kilel	3:22:30 CR
	Ethiopia	Aberu Kebede Mestawet Tufa Tirfi Tsegaye	3:26:14
	Japan	Yurika Nakamura Ryoko Kizaki Remi Nakazato	3:31:31
4	Russia	Silvia Skvortsova Elza Kireeva Irina Timofeyeva	3:34:08†
5	United States	Amy Yoder Begley Serena Burla Amy Hastings	3:34:24
6	South Africa	René Kalmer Annerien van Schalkwyk Poppy Mlambo	3:36:30
7	Great Britain	Claire Hallissey Michelle Ross-Cope Gemma Miles	3:41:00
8	Mexico	Dulce María Rodríguez Marisol Romero Judith Ramírez	3:45:39
9	Peru	Inés Melchor Jimena Misayauri Hortencia Arazapalo	3:46:47

^†: The team from Russia was initially ranked 3rd (3:31:23), but fell behind Japan after the disqualification of Inga Abitova.