The women's world records in the middle distance races, the 800 and 1500, remained intact in the last decade. But the '00s saw increased recognition of the women's steeplechase, which entered World Championship and Olympic competition. Here are the top women's middle distance and steeplechase performers from 2000-09.

800 meters. Jarmila Kratochvilova's record of 1:53.28, set in 1983, seemed in jeopardy when Kenya's breakout star Pamela Jelimo ran a 1:54.01 in August, 2008. But Jelimo's progress stalled in 2009 and Kratochvilova's mark will carry into a new decade. No one performer dominated the past ten years, but veteran Maria Mutola's early-'00s success makes her the performer of the decade. Mutola, of Mozambique, entered the decade as a successful 27-year-old performer. She then earned gold medals at the 2000 Olympics and the 2001-03 World Championships, and won four World Indoor Championships between 2001-06. Honorable mentions to: 2004 Olympic champion Kelly Holmes of Great Britain; Kenya's Janeth Jepkosgei, the 2007 World Champion and 2008 Olympic silver medalist; plus Jelimo, the - so far - one-season wonder who posted six of the decade's top seven times, all in 2008.

1500 meters. As with the 800, no 1500-meter runner dominated in the decade, and nobody threatened Yunxia Qu's world mark of 3:50.46, set in 1993. Of the decade's two double-World Champions, Maryam Yusuf Jamal was slightly more impressive and earns the nod as performer of the decade. Jamal, of Bahrain, won the 2007-09 World Championship golds, earned a silver and a bronze in World Indoor competition and won the World Athletic Final four times. Her personal best of 3:56.18 was the decade's fourth-best time. Honorable mention to Russia's Tatyana Tomashova, who earned golds at the 2003-05 World Championships plus a silver at the 2004 Olympics, along with Olympic champions Nouria Merah-Benida (2000), Holmes (2004) and Nancy Lagat (2008). The decade's two fastest times, posted by Sureyya Ayhan, are tainted due to her later positive tests for performance-enhancing drugs.

Steeplechase. Gender equity in track and field took another step forward this decade when the women's steeplechase was added to the World Championship lineup in 2005, and became an Olympic event in 2008. Russia's Gulnara Galkina broke her own world record while earning the initial steeplechase gold in Beijing. Her 8:58.81 still stands as the world mark, and she stands as the performer of the decade. Honorable mentions to the decade's three World Champions, Docus Inzikuru (2005), Yekaterina Volkova (2007) and Marta Dominguez (2009).

Photo: Gulnara Galkina wins the first Olympic women's steeplechase in 2008. Streeter Lecka/Getty Images

For the second consecutive decade, nobody broke any world records in women's sprints. Nevertheless, the last decade featured some strong performances in all three categories. Here are the top women's sprint performers from 2000-09.

100 meters. Several women could make a strong case as the performer of the decade in this category, but the edge goes to Jamaica's Shelly-Ann Fraser, courtesy of her late-decade victories. Fraser won the 2008 Olympic gold medal at age 21, then followed with a World Championship gold in 2009, in a time of 10.73 seconds, the third-fastest of the decade. The honorable mention list includes American Carmelita Jeter, who won the World Athletic Final in 2007 and 2009, gained two World Championship bronze medals, and ran the decade's two fastest times, including a 10.64 clocking in September of this year. Other notables include Yuliya Nesterenko of Belarus, the 2004 Olympic champion, and American Lauryn Williams, who earned a 2004 Olympic silver medal, won the 2005 World Championship and finished second in a photo finish at the 2007 World Championships - arguably the decade's most exciting women's sprint final - as Veronica Campbell-Brown and Williams were both clocked in 11.01, with Jeter third in 11.02.

200 meters. In a two-woman race, the razor-thin edge goes to Veronica Campbell-Brown as the performer of the decade. The Jamaican won Olympic gold medals in 2004 and 2008. She finished in 21.74 seconds in the Beijing final, the decade's fastest time. She also won the 2000 World Junior Championship, the 2004 World Athletic Final and earned two World Championship silver medals. American Allyson Felix has won the last three World Championships, along with three World Athletic Finals, and finished second to Campbell-Brown in the past two Olympics. She won the 2007 World Championship in 21.81, the decade's second-fastest time.

400 meters. While no woman dominated the decade's major championships, American Sanya Richards posted six of the decade's seven fastest times to earn performer of the decade honors. Richards finished second in the 2005 World Championships and third in Beijing in 2008 before winning the 2009 World Championship. She's also won the last five World Athletic Final titles and posted the decade's fastest time, 48.70 seconds, in 2006. The honorable mention list includes Great Britain's Christine Ohuruogu (2008 Olympic and 2007 World Championship gold medals), Tonique Williams-Darling of the Bahamas (2004 Olympic and 2005 World Championship gold medals) and Mexico's Ana Guevara, (one World Championship gold plus two bronzes, and the 2004 Olympic silver medal).

Photo: Shelly-Ann Fraser celebrates her 2009 World Championship victory. Andy Lyons/Getty Images

Over the next few weeks I'll be presenting my "All-Decade" choices in track and field's primary outdoor events (with apologies to those who believe that the proper decade actually runs from 2001-2010. You're mathematically correct, but in this case we'll go with the popular flow). I'll begin today with the top male sprint performers of the '00s.

100 meters. The performer of the decade is clearly Usain Bolt. The Jamaican began serious 100-meter training in 2007, then proceeded to break the world record three times in 2008-09, winning Olympic and World Championship gold medals along the way. Honorable mentions include American Maurice Greene - who entered the decade with the 100-meter world record (9.79 seconds). Greene won the 2000 Olympic gold medal and 2001 World Championship. Jamaica's Asafa Powell broke Greene's mark twice, lowering the record to 9.74 before Bolt broke it in 2008. Tyson Gay won the 2007 World Championship and his personal best of 9.69 is tied with Bolt for second-best of all time. America's Justin Gatlin won both an Olympic and World Championship gold in this decade, but his accomplishments are tarnished by a 2006 positive test for performance-enhancing drugs.

200 meters. Bolt again. He placed second to Gay at the 2007 World Championships, then broke Michael Johnson's 12-year-old record (19.32) while winning the Beijing Olympics in 19.30. Bolt lowered the world mark to 19.19 on his way to gold at the 2009 World Championships. Honorable mention to: Greece's Konstandinos Kederis, who won the 2000 Olympic and 2001 World Championship gold; Gay, whose personal best of 19.58, set in 2009, is the fifth-best in history; and Shawn Crawford, the 2004 Olympic champion. The most exciting 200-meter race of the decade was probably the 2003 World Championship final, where John Capel (20.30) edged fellow American Darvis Patton (20.31).

400 meters. The 400-meter record hasn't been touched in this decade. Michael Johnson set the mark of 43.18 seconds late in 1999, then he went on to win the 2000 Olympic gold. But the athlete of this decade in the 400 is Jeremy Wariner, who owns two World Championships plus an Olympic gold medal, as well as the decade's three fastest times. He ran a personal best 43.45 seconds to capture the 2007 World Championship, edging fellow American LaShawn Merritt (43.96). Merritt is the top 400 runner today, but he's a close second to Wariner overall this decade. Merritt won the 2008 Olympic crown with a personal best 43.75 and added a World Championship gold in 2009.

Photo: Jeremy Wariner is the top 400-meter performer of the decade. Andy Lyons/Getty Images

Counting down the top ten track and field stories of 2009, here are numbers 1-5 on the women's side:

5. Who is Caster Semenya? The South African was almost unknown in international competition before 2009. Through 2008 her personal best in the 800 was 2:04.23. She qualified for the 2008 World Junior Championships but didn't reach the 800 final. Virtually overnight, Semenya was the 800-meter world champion, running a personal best 1:55.45 in Berlin. Due to her dramatic improvement, combined with her male-appearing physique, Semenya had begun gender testing prior to the World Championships. Partial results were eventually leaked, showing that Semenya had both male and female characteristics (possibly a result of chromosome abnormalities). The IAAF reached an agreement with Semenya that allows her to keep her World Championship gold medal, but the organization hasn't stated whether Semenya will be permitted to continue competing as a woman.

4. Richards and Isinbayeva hit the jackpot. Both Sanya Richards and Yelena Isinbayeva won all six of their Golden League events and shared the $1 million jackpot with Kenenisa Bekele. Richards ran a world-best 48.83 seconds to win the 400 in Brussels on Sept. 4 in the year's final Golden League race. Isinbayeva cleared 4.7 meters (15 feet, 5 inches) on her first attempt to win the Brussels pole vault competition and complete her six-meet sweep.

3. Valerie Vili dominates. The New Zealander was the shot put world champion and threw a personal best 21.07 meters (69 feet, 1 inch) - the third-best effort dating back to 2000 - to win the World Athletics Final. Vili was undefeated in 2009. She owned the year's top six throws and 10 of the top 12.

2. Sanya Richards takes the gold. Richards won her first individual world championship, taking the 400 in a then-world leading 49.0. Learning the lesson of her late fade in the 2008 Olympics, Richards remained strong down the stretch in Berlin. She added a second gold medal as a part of the American 4 x 400 relay squad.

1. Yelena Isinbayeva breaks another record. Breaking records is nothing new for Isinbayeva, but her latest effort shouldn't be taken for granted, particularly as it occurred in the same month that she no-heighted at the World Championships. On Aug. 28 in Zurich - in the season's fifth Golden League meet - the Russian entered the competition at 4.71/15-5½, then cleared 4.81/15-9¼. Pushing the bar one centimeter beyond her world mark, Isinbayeva cleared 5.06/16-7¼ on her first attempt to set a new outdoor record.

Photo: Sanya Richards on her way to victory at the 2009 World Championships. Stu Forster/Getty Images