Melissa Jefferson-Wooden delivered the performance of
her life to claim the women’s 100 metres title at the World Athletics
Championships on Sunday, setting a new championship record of 10.61 seconds —
the joint third-fastest time in history.
Jamaica’s Tina Clayton, 19, took silver in 10.76
seconds, while Olympic champion Julien Alfred of St Lucia settled for bronze in
10.84 seconds.
It was a changing-of-the-guard moment on a dramatic
night in Tokyo. Five-time world champion Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, making her
final appearance in an individual global final at age 38, finished sixth. Her
hair, dyed in the Jamaican flag colours, was a defiant statement even as her
legs could no longer match the new generation’s blistering pace.
Jefferson-Wooden, who managed only bronze behind
Alfred in last year’s Olympic final, turned the tables this time. Exploding out
of the blocks, she surged ahead early, with Clayton mounting the strongest
challenge. But the American would not be denied, powering to the line with
daylight to spare.
Alfred, sublime in the semi-finals, looked flat in the
final and left the track visibly disappointed, draped in her nation’s flag.
Defending champion Sha’Carri Richardson also endured a night to forget,
finishing fifth after only scraping into the final as a fastest loser.
For Jefferson-Wooden, though, it was the perfect
breakthrough moment — a coronation run that firmly established her as the new
queen of sprinting.
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