2009 World Championships in Athletics – Men's discus throw

None The Men's Discus Throw event at the 2009 World Championships in Athletics was held at the Olympic Stadium on August 18 and August 19. As the only man to throw in excess of seventy metres that season, reigning world and Olympic champion Gerd Kanter of Estonia was the event favourite. Veteran athlete Virgilijus Alekna, the last athlete to beat Kanter in competition, was a strong medal possibility. Olympic silver medallist Piotr Małachowski was another contender, as was German Robert Harting who won silver at the previous world championships. The season had been of a high standard, with a number of athletes throwing over 65 m, including Frank Casañas, Bogdan Pishchalnikov and Zoltán Kővágó.Jalava, Mirko (2009-08-09). Men's Discus Throw - PREVIEW https://web.archive.org/web/20090816141127/http://berlin.iaaf.org/news/kind=109/newsid=52519.html 2009-08-16 . IAAF. Retrieved on 2009-08-18. On the first day of competition, qualification went smoothly as many of the highest ranked athletes qualified for the final on their first throw, with seven of them passing the automatic qualification mark of 64.50 m. Casañas and Estonia's number two Aleksander Tammert were the only high-profile athletes to be eliminated. Home competitor Harting had the best throw of the day (66.81), and Kővágó and Kanter were the next best qualifiers.Jalava, Mirko (2009-08-18). Event Report - Men's Discus Throw - Qualification https://web.archive.org/web/20090828112318/http://berlin.iaaf.org/news/kind=108/newsid=53219.html 2009-08-28 . IAAF. Retrieved on 2009-08-18. In the final, Małachowski and Harting started very well on their first throws, with the former taking the lead with a Polish record-breaking throw, while the latter recorded a season's best. The pre-event favourites Kanter and Alekna were unable to challenge the two, as the Estonian took the bronze with his fourth round throw of 66.88 m and the Lithuanian never bettered his first throw of the day (66.36 m) and finished up in fourth place. Consistently throwing better than the rest of the field, Harting and Małachowski battled for the top spot. The Pole improved his lead with 69.15 m in the fifth round, another national record, but Harting took the gold with his final throw of the competition, recording a personal best of 69.43 m.Jalava, Mirko (2009-08-19). Event Report - Men's Discus Throw - Final. IAAF. Retrieved on 2009-08-22. Archived 2009-09-08.Irwin, Pirate (2009-08-20). https://archive.today/20130124175322/http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5iyPvVmxL2ikF-0dscl1VMZBMEhpw Harting leaves it late in discus thriller. Agence France-Presse. Retrieved on 2009-08-22. The victory for the home athlete was marred by his controversial comments regarding an initiative by victims of doping in East Germany. Former East German athletes, who had suffered through the state-sponsored doping program in the 1980s, were distributing glasses outside the stadium to encourage people not to "turn a blind eye" to doping. Harting said that he wished his discus would bounce from the ground and hit wearers in the eyes, but he later retracted and apologise for his statement.Hometown hero gets dramatic win, South African gold medalist faces gender test . Deutsche Welle (2009-08-20). Retrieved on 2009-08-22. Archived 2009-09-08.Chadband, Ian (2009-08-20). World Athletics: Usain Bolt cruises to 200m final in 20.08sec. The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved on 2009-08-22. Medallists GoldRobert Harting GERSilverPiotr Małachowski POLBronzeGerd Kanter EST Records World recordJürgen Schult GDR74.08Neubrandenburg, East Germany6 June 1986Championship recordVirgilijus Alekna LTU70.17Helsinki, Finland7 August 2005World leadingGerd Kanter EST71.64Kohila Parish, Estonia25 June 2009African recordFrantz Kruger RSA70.32Salon-de-Provence, France26 May 2002Asian recordEhsan Haddadi IRI69.32Tallinn, Estonia3 June 2008North American recordBen Plucknett USA71.32Eugene, United States4 June 1983South American recordJorge Balliengo ARG66.32Rosario, Argentina15 April 2006European recordJürgen Schult GDR74.08Neubrandenburg, East Germany6 June 1986Oceanian recordBenn Harradine AUS66.37Salinas, United States22 May 2008 Qualification standards A standardB standard 64.50 m 62.50 m Schedule Date Time RoundAugust 18, 2009 10:05 QualificationAugust 19, 2009 20:10 Final Results Qualification Qualification: Qualifying Performance 64.50 (Q) or at least 12 best performers (q) advance to the final. Rank Group Athlete Nationality #1 #2 #3 Result Notes 01 1 A Robert Harting Germany 2009 World 66.81 66.81 Q 02 2 A Gerd Kanter Estonia 2009 World 66.73 66.73 Q 03 3 B Zoltán Kővágó Hungary 2009 World 00.00 x 65.82 65.82 Q 04 4 B Jarred Rome United States 2009 World 60.92 65.51 65.51 Q 05 5 A Casey Malone United States 2009 World 65.13 65.13 Q 06 6 B Virgilijus Alekna Lithuania 2009 World 65.04 65.04 Q 07 7 A Mario Pestano Spain 2009 World 65.03 65.03 Q 08 8 B Piotr Małachowski Poland 2009 World 64.20 64.48 62.65 64.48 q 09 9 A Bogdan Pishchalnikov Russia 2009 World 62.93 61.09 60.08 62.93 q 10 A Omar Ahmed El Ghazaly Egypt 2009 World 62.84 62.09 00.00 x 62.84 q 11 B Gerhard Mayer Austria 2009 World 62.53 59.33 62.19 62.53 q 12 B Frantz Kruger Finland 2009 World 62.29 00.00 x 60.45 62.29 q 13 A Aleksander Tammert Estonia 2009 World 62.24 61.93 59.44 62.24 14 A Ian Waltz United States 2009 World 00.00 x 60.27 62.04 62.04 15 A Benn Harradine Australia 2009 World 60.73 61.74 60.79 61.74 16 B Frank Casañas Spain 2009 World 00.00 x 00.00 x 61.10 61.10 17 A Gaute Myklebust Norway 2009 World 00.00 x 60.80 00.00 x 60.80 18 A Bertrand Vili France 2009 World 60.68 00.00 x 00.00 x 60.68 19 B Erik Cadee Netherlands 2009 World 00.00 x 60.64 00.00 x 60.64 20 B Markus Münch Germany 2009 World 60.55 00.00 x 59.12 60.55 21 B Ivan Hryshyn Ukraine 2009 World 59.93 57.28 00.00 x 59.93 22 B Märt Israel Estonia 2009 World 59.58 00.00 x 00.00 - 59.58 23 A Jorge Balliengo Argentina 2009 World 56.69 55.32 59.19 59.19 24 B Ahmed Mohamed Dheeb Qatar 2009 World 55.33 59.16 00.00 x 59.16 25 B Nikolay Sedyuk Russia 2009 World 00.00 x 59.03 58.62 59.03 26 A Oleksiy Semenov Ukraine 2009 World 58.78 57.31 00.00 x 58.78 27 A Daniel Schärer Switzerland 2009 World 58.50 58.23 57.22 58.50 28 B Germán Lauro Argentina 2009 World 57.88 00.00 x 00.00 x 57.88 29 B Ercüment Olgundeniz Turkey 2009 World 56.54 00.00 x 57.52 57.52 99 A Haidar Nasir Iraq 2009 World 00.00 x 00.00 x 00.00 x 00.00 NM Final Rank Athlete Nationality #1 #2 #3 #4 #5 #6 Result Notes Robert Harting Germany 2009 World 68.25 67.04 67.80 00.00 x 67.80 69.43 69.43 PB Piotr Małachowski Poland 2009 World 68.77 68.05 67.00 00.00 x 69.15 67.33 69.15 NR Gerd Kanter Estonia 2009 World 65.91 65.65 00.00 x 66.88 66.24 65.45 66.88 04 4 Virgilijus Alekna Lithuania 2009 World 66.36 66.32 65.68 64.53 66.24 00.00 x 66.36 05 5 Casey Malone United States 2009 World 63.61 61.59 65.64 64.84 65.98 66.06 66.06 06 6 Zoltán Kővágó Hungary 2009 World 00.00 x 63.09 62.47 00.00 x 65.17 61.69 65.17 07 7 Bogdan Pishchalnikov Russia 2009 World 62.03 63.29 63.18 64.26 65.02 00.00 x 65.02 08 8 Gerhard Mayer Austria 2009 World 62.16 60.49 63.17 00.00 x 60.83 00.00 x 63.17 09 9 Omar Ahmed El Ghazaly Egypt 2009 World 62.13 62.83 62.76 62.83 10 Mario Pestano Spain 2009 World 62.76 00.00 x 62.27 62.76 11 Jarred Rome United States 2009 World 58.48 62.47 00.00 x 62.47 12 Frantz Kruger Finland 2009 World 00.00 x 59.77 00.00 x 59.77 Key: PB = Personal best, NR = National record References General Discus throw results. IAAF. Retrieved on 2009-08-18. Specific Discus throw Category:Discus throw at the World Athletics Championships