Latest news with #Jefferson-Wooden
USA Today
05-07-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Prefontaine Classic highlights: Sha'Carri Richardson finishes ninth
Sha'Carri Richardson's training partner Melissa Jefferson-Wooden pulled off the upset victory in the women's 100-meters at the Prefontaine Classic. Jefferson-Wooden got out of the blocks fast, maintained a narrow lead over Saint Lucia's Julien Alfred and was able to hold off the Olympic champion, running a winning time of 10.75. Alfred comfortably placed second at 10.77 and Marie Josée Ta Lou-Smith of the Ivory Coast ran a 10.90 to place third. The race wasn't a good showing for Richardson. Richardson got a slow start and was never in contention throughout the race. She crossed the finish line in last place at 11.19. Saturday's race was a bit of revenge for Jefferson-Wooden. Jefferson-Wooden finished third behind Alfred and Richardson at the Paris Olympics. Here are some highlights from the 2025 Prefontaine Classic: Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone dominates 400 The women's 400-meter hurdles world-record holder is a force in the open 400. McLaughlin-Levrone cruised to win the event with a season-best time of 49.43. It's the sixth fastest time in the world this year. McLaughlin-Levrone asserted herself a little over 100 meters into the race. She made up the stagger during the final turn and left the rest of the runners behind her. McLaughlin-Levrone wasn't satisfied with her performance despite the convincing victory. "Not my best work, honestly," McLaughlin-Levrone told NBC after the race. "This is a great indicator for us moving forward. A lot to work on, a lot to go and look back at but grateful for the win." Fellow Americans Aaliyah Butler (49.86) and Isabella Whittaker (50.81) placed second and third, respectively. McLaughlin-Levrone switched to the 400 this season after capturing two-straight Olympic gold medals in the 400-meter hurdles. Botswana's Letsile Tebogo wins 200 Tebogo sprinted to victory in the men's 200. Running out of lane 7, Tebogo ran with the pack around the turn but quickly surged by the other sprinters down the home stretch and crossed the finish line with a world-leading time of 19.76. American Courtney Lindsey came in second at 19.87 and Dominican Republic's Alexander Ogando came in third, crossing the line at 19.94. Tebogo became Botswana's first Olympic gold medalist when he beat a stacked 200 field, including Noah Lyles, at the Paris Olympics. He was the recipient of the 2024 World Athletics Male Athlete of the Year award. Kishane Thompson makes statement in 100 The Olympic silver medalist is out to prove he's the fastest man in the world. Jamaica's Thompson led from start to finish in the men's 100 meters, with a winning time of 9.85. Thompson got a solid start, created some distance between the rest of the field around the 50-meter mark and crossed the finish line comfortably in first place. Britain's Zharnel Hughes took second (9.91) and American Trayvon Bromell placed third (9.94). Thompson entered the Prefontaine Classic with the top time in the world this year at 9.75. The Jamaican sprinter came in second just behind Noah Lyles in a photo finish at the Paris Olympics. Faith Kipyegon breaks own world record Kipyegon didn't become the first woman to break the 4-minute mile barrier, but she's still the top middle-distance runner in the world. The Kenyan ran a 3:48.68 to break her own world record in the women's 1,500. The most decorated 1,500-meter runner in history, Kipyegon is a three-time Olympic champion in the event. World record in women's 5,000 Kenya's Beatrice Chebet ran a 13:58.06 to set a new world record in the women's 5,000. Chebet is the first woman in history to run the 5,000 under 14 minutes. The previous world record was 14:00.21. Follow USA TODAY Sports' Tyler Dragon on X @TheTylerDragon.
Yahoo
03-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Gabby Thomas calls out Grand Slam Track heckler who bragged about winning bets, with league investigating
U.S. sprinter Gabby Thomas has called out a man who heckled her and bragged about his betting results throughout a Grand Slam Track event this weekend. Thomas, who won three gold medals at the 2024 Paris Olympics, participated in two sprinting events at the Grand Slam Track meet in Philadelphia as part of the Michael Johnson-founded track league's inaugural season. Thomas finished in second in the 200-meter sprint and fourth in the 100-meter. Advertisement After Thomas posted a recap of the weekend on X, the heckler, who uses the username "Mr 100K a day" on X, commented on the post, bragging that his taunts toward Thomas made her lose the race and included screenshots of his successful parlay bets on FanDuel Sportsbook. "I made Gabby lose by heckling her. And it made my parlay win," he wrote in the comment, with a video of him harassing Thomas as she lined up for one of the events. Soon after that comment was posted, Thomas quickly pointed out the man's behavior. "This grown man followed me around the track as I took pictures and signed autographs for fans (mostly children) shouting personal insults," Thomas said in a post on X, in response to the user's comment. "Anybody who enables him online is gross." Advertisement In response to a comment on her post, Thomas commented that she hadn't planned on calling the heckler out but changed her mind "since he's bragging." Grand Slam Track told Front Office Sports that it is investigating the user. "Grand Slam Track is conducting a full investigation into the reprehensible behavior captured on video," the league told Front Office Sports in a statement. "We are working to identify the individual involved and will take appropriate action as necessary. We will implement additional safeguards to help prevent incidents like this in the future. Let us be clear, despicable behavior like this will not be tolerated." The user's screenshots indicated that he had won more than $2,000 in total off two parlays, where he bet on Melissa Jefferson-Wooden to win the 100m. In the video, the man could be heard calling Thomas a "choke job" and referenced the fact that Thomas, who is Black, was engaged to a white man, while Jefferson-Wooden, who is also Black, had married a Black man earlier this year. Advertisement In addition to the comment under Thomas' post, the user posted the same video and screenshots in a separate post hours earlier, thanking Jefferson-Wooden for helping him win his bet. "I want to thank mellissa jefferson (sic) for beating the crap out of gabby thomas at Grand Slam Track and getting me rich!!!!" he wrote. The user tagged Thomas, Jefferson-Wooden and Grand Slam Track in the post. In another post from Sunday, the user posted an interaction between him and Thomas where the sprinter asked "What are you doing here?" and jokingly called him a "heckler." The user captioned the video with a similar message. "Nice to heckle gabby thomas today and make her lose," he said, once again tagging both Thomas and Grand Slam Track. "It was my pleasure." Advertisement Thomas noted in a comment on X that she had a line when it came to the user's behavior. "I think heckling is tolerable… but following me around the stadium is weird in my opinion," she said. The user, in a direct message with USA Today on X, disputed Thomas' claim that he was following her around the stadium. The user also gave the outlet a fake name when asked for his name and where he lived, and said that he lives in Puerto Rico.
Yahoo
02-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Gabby Thomas calls out Grand Slam Track heckler who bragged about winning bets, with league investigating
U.S. sprinter Gabby Thomas has called out a man who heckled her and bragged about his betting results throughout a Grand Slam Track event this weekend. Thomas, who won three gold medals at the 2024 Paris Olympics, participated in two sprinting events at the Grand Slam Track meet in Philadelphia as part of the Michael Johnson-founded track league's inaugural season. Thomas finished in second in the 200-meter sprint and fourth in the 100-meter. Advertisement After Thomas posted a recap of the weekend on X, the heckler, who uses the username "Mr 100K a day" on X, commented on the post, bragging that his taunts towards Thomas made her lose the race and including screenshots of his successful parlay bets on FanDuel Sportsbook. "I made Gabby lose by heckling her. And it made my parlay win," he wrote in the comment, with a video of him harrassing Thomas as she lined up for one of the events. Soon after that comment was posted, Thomas quickly pointed out the man's behavior. "This grown man followed me around the track as I took pictures and signed autographs for fans (mostly children) shouting personal insults," Thomas said in a post on X, in response to the user's comment. "Anybody who enables him online is gross." Advertisement In response to a comment on her post, Thomas commented that she hadn't planned on calling the heckler out but changed her mind "since he's bragging." Grand Slam Track told Front Office Sports that it is investigating the user. "Grand Slam Track is conducting a full investigation into the reprehensible behavior captured on video," the league told Front Office Sports in a statement. "We are working to identify the individual involved and will take appropriate action as necessary. We will implement additional safeguards to help prevent incidents like this in the future. Let us be clear, despicable behavior like this will not be tolerated." The user's screenshots indicated that he had won more than $2,000 in total off two parlays, where he bet on Melissa Jefferson-Wooden to win the 100m. In the video, the man could be heard calling Thomas a "choke job" and referenced the fact that Thomas, who is Black, was engaged to a white man, while Jefferson-Wooden, who is also Black, had married a Black man earlier this year. Advertisement In addition to the comment under Thomas' post, the user posted the same video and screenshots in a separate post hours earlier, thanking Jefferson-Wooden for helping him win his bet. "I want to thank mellissa jefferson (sic) for beating the crap out of gabby thomas at Grand Slam Track and getting me rich!!!!" he wrote. The user tagged Thomas, Jefferson-Wooden and Grand Slam Track in the post. In another post from Sunday, the user posted an interaction between him and Thomas where the sprinter asked "What are you doing here?" and jokingly called him a "heckler." The user captioned the video with a similar message. "Nice to heckle gabby thomas today and make her lose," he said, once again tagging both Thomas and Grand Slam Track. "It was my pleasure." Advertisement Thomas noted in a comment on X that she had a line when it came to the user's behavior. "I think heckling is tolerable… but following me around the stadium is weird in my opinion," she said. The user, in a direct message with USA TODAY on X, disputed Thomas' claim that he was following her around the stadium. The user also gave the outlet a fake name when asked for his name and where he lived, and said that he lives in Puerto Rico.
RTHK
01-06-2025
- Sport
- RTHK
Jefferson-Wooden scorches to 100m win at track meet
Jefferson-Wooden scorches to 100m win at track meet Jefferson-Wooden set the world lead with her 10.73-second 100m dash. Photo: AFP US sprinter Melissa Jefferson-Wooden clocked a world-leading 10.73sec as she stormed to an emphatic victory in the 100m at the Philadelphia Grand Slam Track meeting. The 24-year-old from South Carolina, a bronze medallist in the 100m at the Paris Olympics last year, scorched home ahead of Tamari Davis, who was second in 11.03sec. Thelma Davies was third in 11.14sec while Olympic 200m gold medallist Gabby Thomas – beaten by Jefferson-Wooden in Saturday's 200m – was fourth. Jefferson-Wooden's time vaults her into elite company as one of the 10 fastest women over 100m in history. "It means everything, I've been working so hard for this," a delighted Jefferson-Wooden said afterwards. "I've been learning so many new things about myself the way I go about training, the way I go about being disciplined, even when I'm not feeling my best, " she added. "It's just all coming together." Jefferson-Wooden's time was only fractionally outside Julien Alfred's winning time in the 100m at the Olympics last year, and suggests the American will be one of the favourites for gold at this year's World Championships in Tokyo, provided she qualifies at next month's US trials in Eugene. In other races on Sunday, Britain's Josh Kerr avenged his Olympic 1,500m defeat to Cole Hocker in a thrilling battle. Hocker famously surged past Kerr to claim a shock victory in Paris last August at the Stade de France and take gold. But on Sunday it was Kerr's turn to produce a decisive finish, storming past Hocker in the final few metres to win in 3min 34.44sec. (AFP)
France 24
01-06-2025
- Sport
- France 24
Jefferson-Wooden scorches to 100m win at Grand Slam Track meet
The 24-year-old from South Carolina, a bronze medallist in the 100m at the Paris Olympics last year, scorched home ahead of Tamari Davis, who was second in 11.03sec. Thelma Davies was third in 11.14sec while Olympic 200m gold medallist Gabby Thomas -- beaten by Jefferson-Wooden in Saturday's 200m -- was fourth. Jefferson-Wooden's time vaults her into elite company as one of the 10 fastest women over 100m in history. "It means everything, I've been working so hard for this," a delighted Jefferson-Wooden said afterwards. "I've been learning so many new things about myself the way I go about training, the way I go about being disciplined, even when I'm not feeling my best. "It's just all coming together." Jefferson-Wooden's time was only fractionally outside Julien Alfred's winning time in the 100m at the Olympics last year, and suggests the American will be one of the favourites for gold at this year's World Championships in Tokyo, provided she qualifies at next month's US trials in Eugene. In other races on Sunday, Britain's Josh Kerr avenged his Olympic 1,500m defeat to Cole Hocker in a thrilling battle. Hocker famously surged past Kerr to claim a shock victory in Paris last August at the Stade de France and take gold. But on Sunday it was Kerr's turn to produce a decisive finish, storming past Hocker in the final few metres to win in 3min 34.44sec.
