Melissa Jefferson-Wooden has stormed to victory in the women's 100m at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, clocking 10.61 seconds to claim her first world title. The 24-year-old American's time is a championship record and makes her the fourth fastest woman in history, behind only Florence Griffith-Joyner, Elaine Thompson and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce.
Jefferson-Wooden, who has improved her personal best by 0.19 seconds this season after an injury-plagued 2024, described the year as 'nothing short of a dream'. She said: 'I have been working so hard for this very moment to come out here. I just focused on my execution so to put together the perfect race at the right time just means so much to me.'
The race was tight for the first 30 metres, with Olympic champion Julien Alfred of Saint Lucia getting out fast. But Jefferson-Wooden soon took control as Alfred faltered. Jamaica's Tina Clayton took silver in a personal best of 10.76, while Alfred settled for bronze in 10.84.
Jefferson-Wooden was later asked about comments from Olympic 200m champion Gabby Thomas, who criticised her coach Dennis Mitchell over his doping history. Jefferson-Wooden declined to engage, saying: 'I respectfully don't want to answer that question. Gabby isn't here. She's entitled to her opinions, but I don't want to talk about that. I surround myself with love, with people who believe in me.'
In other events, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce finished sixth in her final world championship race, while Britain's Dina Asher-Smith came last in 11.08 seconds. The men's 10,000m saw Frenchman Jimmy Gressier take gold in 28:55.77, and in the women's long jump, Olympic champion Tara Davis-Woodhall added world gold with a leap of 7.13 metres.
