Melissa Jefferson Wooden (right) (Photo World Athletics/Getty Images)
The World Athletics Ultimate Championship Budapest 26 reached a thrilling climax on Sunday (13) as Melissa Jefferson-Wooden and US compatriot Kenny Bednarek completed sprint doubles in the last track finals of the competition.
Jefferson-Wooden stormed to the joint seventh-fastest 100m of all time – 10.62 (-0.2m/s) – to win an epic clash with Julien Alfred.
Jefferson-Wooden, who won 100m, 200m and 4x100m titles at last year’s World Championships, added the inaugural Ultimate crown to her honours, holding off Olympic champion Alfred and the fast-finishing 2023 world champion Sha’Carri Richardson.
Alfred secured the runner-up spot in 10.74, while Richardson was third in 10.76 on her return to the stadium in which she won her world title three years ago.
Prior to the new championship, Jefferson-Wooden had described running 10.61 at the World Championships in Tokyo as her “ultimate performance”. The US 25-year-old was just one hundredth of a second off that mark – a mark that places her fourth on the world all-time list – in Budapest as she ran the fastest time in the world this year.
Jefferson-Wooden and Alfred lined up side by side in the blocks – Saint Lucia’s Alfred in lane five, Jefferson-Wooden in lane four and Jamaica’s world silver medallist Tina Clayton next to her in lane three.
Clayton, fresh off her first Diamond League title win in Brussels, started fast but so did Jefferson-Wooden.
The US sprint star edged ahead and then Alfred passed Clayton, too. USA’s Richardson, next to Alfred in lane six, was also in hot pursuit and she moved into third place, pipping Jamaica’s Jonielle Smith and Clayton who both clocked 10.94 and were separated by one thousandth of a second.
Jefferson-Wooden has now broken 10.70 a total of four times and she owns three of the five fastest performances of the year.
The semifinals earlier in the evening provided a taste of what was to come. Alfred and Jefferson-Wooden both won their races in 10.73 – Alfred easing as she reached the finish line well clear and Jefferson-Wooden holding off Richardson, who was 0.02 behind. Those performances by Alfred and Jefferson-Wooden were separated by just two thousandths of a second, Alfred leading the first round by the narrowest of margins.
“This feels amazing. I crossed the line with a smile on my face because only I know all the things I have done to get to this moment,” said Jefferson-Wooden. “When I got into the blocks today, I just told myself that this is my moment.”
She will return to the track for the 200m on Sunday. “If I could win the double, it would just add to who I actually am,” she said. “I am down to do things that haven’t been done before, I am down for innovation and for challenging myself. Coming here, running four races in two days, it’s something I haven’t ever done before. I feel it is just a testament to what I am inspired to do.”
If there’s a key to success in the 100m, it’s the ability to stay relaxed while moving at top-end speed, and USA’s Bednarek did that to perfection as he claimed the men’s 100m title in 9.85 (-0.6m/s).
He was followed by world champion Oblique Seville of Jamaica (9.90) with USA’s Ronnie Baker third in 9.93, edging Nigeria’s Kayinsola Akayi (9.93) into fourth by four thousandths of a second. Christian Coleman took fifth in 9.94.
“This one was for the history books,” said Bednarek, who was watched trackside by Usain Bolt and Noah Lyles. “Everything is a little bit more exciting than at the World Championships but also this event brought a bit more pressure on me as there is a lot on the line.”
Seville had settled into his blocks as the slight favourite after cruising to victory in his semi-final in 9.90 (-0.2m/s), with Bednarek taking victory in the other semi-final in 9.94 (-0.7m/s).
Seville got the better start in the final, overhauling early leader Coleman midway through the race, but just as he did Bednarek appeared on his left, the US sprinter’s 200m strength paying dividends over the latter half.
Seville’s technique began to falter as he approached the line, striving for its arrival, but Bednarek was composure personified, raising his arm and running almost as fast around the bend as the celebrations began.
Bednarek has won his share of silver medals at global level over the years, finishing second in two Olympic finals and two world finals over 200m but now, at last, he is an individual global champion. And he has the chance to double up in Sunday’s 200m.
“I will get my sleep in and go back to work tomorrow,” he said. “I want to win a double title and make people happy.”
Seville said he “wanted to run faster but Kenny got the best out of this race” and he congratulated the champion. “It has been a long season and I am tired at this point,” he added. “I will take time off now and I know what I’ve got to improve for next year. I want to keep the world champion title next year.”
Baker was pleased with his third-place finish. “I had a really good showing today,” he said. “It has been a while since I have been on a big world stage in a final and I missed that. I love this format and I know we are keeping a lot of people on their toes. It is fun, it is fast and it is entertaining.”
World record-holder Alison dos Santos of Brazil produced the third-fastest time in history, 45.98, to win the men’s 400m hurdles. Italy’s Gianmarco Tamberi was an equally popular winner, taking the men’s high jump title with a world-leading 2.37m.
World mile record-holder Josh Kerr of Great Britain & NI capped his season by winning the men’s 1500m in 3:29.35. Ethiopia’s Likina Amebaw was even more dominant in winning the women’s 5000m, finishing two seconds ahead of her nearest opponent.
Sri Lanka’s Rumesh Pathirage threw a Hungarian all-comers’ record of 91.09m to win the men’s javelin. Saly Sarr of Senegal won the women’s triple jump by just two centimetres with a leap of 15.06m.
Elsewhere, USA’s Jasmine Jones won the women’s 400m hurdles in a season’s best of 52.45. USA were clear winners of the mixed 4x400m in 3:08.32, and Algeria’s Djamel Sedjati produced a well-timed finish to take the men’s 800m in 1:41.91.
