Latest news with #MelissaJeffersonWooden
Washington Post
06-07-2025
- Sport
- Washington Post
Kipyegon and Chebet set world records at star-studded Prefontaine Classic
EUGENE, Ore. — Kenyans Faith Kipyegon and Beatrice Chebet set world records and American Melissa Jefferson-Wooden won a star-studded women's 100 meters Saturday as the Prefontaine Classic celebrated its 50th anniversary. Kipyegon finished the 1,500 in 3 minutes, 48.68 seconds, besting her own record of 3:49.04 in the event set last year.
Yahoo
06-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Jefferson-Wooden tops Alfred in Eugene 100m
American Melissa Jefferson-Wooden of the United States beats out Julien Alfred of Saint Lucia to win the women's 100m at the Eugene Diamond League Athletics meeting (Ali Gradischer) Melissa Jefferson-Wooden continued her red-hot form at the Eugene Diamond League athletics meeting, where the American ended Julien Alfred's winning streak Saturday with another sizzling 100m win. Jefferson-Wooden handed Paris Olympics gold medallist Alfred her first defeat of 2025 with a victory in 10.75sec. Advertisement That was just outside her world-leading 10.73 set at the Philadelphia Grand Slam Track meeting, but it was more than impressive in a headwind of -1.5 meters per second. The 24-year-old American, who took 100m bronze in Paris behind Saint Lucia's Alfred and American Sha'Carri Richardson, said it was another good stepping stone ahead of the upcoming US championships in Eugene -- the selection meet for the World Championships in Tokyo September 13-21. "I'm happy to see that out here today, knowing that I'm going to come out here three weeks later and try to do the same thing and more," she said. "I've been saying it time and time again, I'm here to stay. The goal is not just to be in these races, but to go out there and compete, execute, dominate and win." Advertisement Jefferson-Wooden was out of the blocks first and withstood a midrace challenge from Alfred, who finished second in 10.77. Marie-Josee Ta Lou-Smith was third in 10.90 while Richardson, the reigning 100m world champion, was ninth in 11.19 as she battles to get her season on track after an injury in February. "The only motivation that I had today was having a healthy race," said Richardson, who made a slight improvement on the 11.47sec she ran in Tokyo in May in her only prior race this season. "I prayed for a healthy race, and I got a healthy race, so I accept that," said Richardson. Advertisement "All I have to do is just keep pushing and focusing in our practice, so I'm super excited to just finish." Richardson has a bye into the 100m in Tokyo as the defending world champion, but she said this week that at the US championships she will also try to punch her ticket to Tokyo in the 200m. "I will spend these next weeks just working on speed, endurance, and knowing that when I come back here to the magic stadium I'm going to be at my fullest -- more confident and not executing just a healthy race but a speedy race, too," she said. "I believe in the fact that no matter what I do, when I am 100 percent there's nothing that can really stop me but me," Richardson said. bb/mlm
Yahoo
06-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Jefferson-Wooden tops Alfred in Eugene 100m
American Melissa Jefferson-Wooden of the United States beats out Julien Alfred of Saint Lucia to win the women's 100m at the Eugene Diamond League Athletics meeting (Ali Gradischer) Melissa Jefferson-Wooden continued her red-hot form at the Eugene Diamond League athletics meeting, where the American ended Julien Alfred's winning streak Saturday with another sizzling 100m win. Jefferson-Wooden handed Paris Olympics gold medallist Alfred her first defeat of 2025 with a victory in 10.75sec. Advertisement That was just outside her world-leading 10.73 set at the Philadelphia Grand Slam Track meeting, but it was more than impressive in a headwind of -1.5 meters per second. The 24-year-old American, who took 100m bronze in Paris behind Saint Lucia's Alfred and American Sha'Carri Richardson, said it was another good stepping stone ahead of the upcoming US championships in Eugene -- the selection meet for the World Championships in Tokyo September 13-21. "I'm happy to see that out here today, knowing that I'm going to come out here three weeks later and try to do the same thing and more," she said. "I've been saying it time and time again, I'm here to stay. The goal is not just to be in these races, but to go out there and compete, execute, dominate and win." Advertisement Jefferson-Wooden was out of the blocks first and withstood a midrace challenge from Alfred, who finished second in 10.77. Marie-Josee Ta Lou-Smith was third in 10.90 while Richardson, the reigning 100m world champion, was ninth in 11.19 as she battles to get her season on track after an injury in February. "The only motivation that I had today was having a healthy race," said Richardson, who made a slight improvement on the 11.47sec she ran in Tokyo in May in her only prior race this season. "I prayed for a healthy race, and I got a healthy race, so I accept that," said Richardson. Advertisement "All I have to do is just keep pushing and focusing in our practice, so I'm super excited to just finish." Richardson has a bye into the 100m in Tokyo as the defending world champion, but she said this week that at the US championships she will also try to punch her ticket to Tokyo in the 200m. "I will spend these next weeks just working on speed, endurance, and knowing that when I come back here to the magic stadium I'm going to be at my fullest -- more confident and not executing just a healthy race but a speedy race, too," she said. "I believe in the fact that no matter what I do, when I am 100 percent there's nothing that can really stop me but me," Richardson said. bb/mlm
Yahoo
06-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Kenyans set two track world records at Prefontaine Classic
Beatrice Chebet, shown after winning a 5,000-meter race in Italy, set a world record in the event on Saturday at the Prefontaine Classic. (Gregorio Borgia / Associated Press) Kenyans Faith Kipyegon and Beatrice Chebet set world records and American Melissa Jefferson-Wooden won a star-studded women's 100 meters Saturday as the Prefontaine Classic celebrated its 50th anniversary. Kipyegon finished the 1,500 in 3 minutes, 48.68 seconds, besting her own record of 3:49.04 in the event set last year. Advertisement Chebet became the first women to run under 14 minutes in the 5,000, finishing in 13:58.06 to surpass Ethiopian Gudaf Tsegay's 2023 mark of 14:00.21 set at the Prefontain Classic. 'When I was coming here to Eugene, I was coming to prepare to run a world record, and I said I have to try. I said, 'If Faith is trying, why not me?'' Chebet said about her good friend. "And today, I'm so happy because I've achieved being the first woman to run under 14. I'm so happy for myself.' The day's most anticipated race was the 100, which featured the top three finishers from the Paris Olympics. Jefferson-Wooden, who took the bronze medal last summer, finished in 10.75 seconds. Gold medalist Julien Alfred of Saint Lucia was second in 10.77,and Marie Josée Ta Lou-Smith of Ivory Coast was third in 10.90. Advertisement Sha'Carri Richardson, the silver medalist in Paris, finished last in the nine-runner field. It was just the second outdoor 100 of the year for Richardson, who said she struggled with an unspecified injury in February. 'The only motivation that I had today was having a healthy race and the fact that I executed a healthy race knowing that now I have the time, because I do have that by being the reigning world champion, and all I have to do is just keep pushing and focusing in our practice, so I'm super excited to just finish," said Richardson, who has her attention on September's world championships in Tokyo. Jamaica's Kishane Thompson won the men's 100 in 9.86 seconds, ahead of British runner-up Zharnel Hughes. Thompson, who finished second to Noah Lyles at last summer's Olympics, went into the Pre with the world's best time this year at 9.75. Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, who set the world record in the 400 hurdles in Paris, easily won the flat 400 in 49.43. Advertisement 'It's a long year, so I'm really just taking it day by day, taking it slow, building and seeing which direction you want to go in by the end of it," McLaughlin-Levrone said. Ethiopian Tsige Duguma, the silver medalist at last year's Olympics, won the 800 in 1:57.10. Rudy Winkler set an American record in the hammer throw with a hurl of 272 feet, 10 inches. Canadian Camryn Rogers won on the women's side. 'My training this week was very bad, so I kind of came into this like zero expectations of like 'Whatever I throw, I throw,' so I was super surprised by that today,' said Winkler. In the other field events, American Chase Jackson won the women's shot put at 68-8 1/2. Lithuanian Mikolas Alekna took the discus at 232-10. Advertisement Tara Davis-Woodhall won the long jump with leap of 23-2 1/2 inches. Pole vaulter Armand Duplantis, who set a world record in Stockholm last month, cleared 19-8 1/4 at the Pre. Biniam Mehary of Ethiopia ran the 10,000 in 26:43.82, a world best this year. Jamaican Ackera Nugent won the 100 hurdles in 12:32. Alison dos Santos of Jamaica, the bronze medalist in both the Tokyo and Paris Games, won the men's 400 hurdles in 46.65. Olympic gold medalist Letsile Tebogo of Botswana won the 200 in 19.76. British sprinter Matthew Hudson-Smith held on to win the flat 400 in 44.10. Niels Laros of the Netherlands won the Bowerman Mile, an event unique to the Prefontaine, in 3:45.93. Advertisement The Prefontaine Classic is named for Steve Prefontaine, the Oregon track star who died in a car accident in 1975. The event is the lone U.S. stop on the Diamond League series. Get the best, most interesting and strangest stories of the day from the L.A. sports scene and beyond from our newsletter The Sports Report. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Associated Press
05-07-2025
- Sport
- Associated Press
Kipyegon and Chebet set world records at star-studded Prefontaine Classic
EUGENE, Ore. (AP) — Kenyans Faith Kipyegon and Beatrice Chebet set world records and American Melissa Jefferson-Wooden won a star-studded women's 100 meters Saturday as the Prefontaine Classic celebrated its 50th anniversary. Kipyegon finished the 1,500 in 3 minutes, 48.68 seconds, besting her own record of 3:49.04 in the event set last year. Chebet became the first women to run under 14 minutes in the 5,000, finishing in 13:58.06 to surpass Ethiopian Gudaf Tsegay's 2023 mark of 14:00.21. 'When I was coming here to Eugene, I was coming to prepare to run a world record, and I said I have to try. I said, `If Faith is trying, why not me?'' Chebet said about her good friend. 'And today, I'm so happy because I've achieved being the first woman to run under 14. I'm so happy for myself.' The day's most anticipated race was the 100, which featured the top three finishers from the Paris Olympics. Jefferson-Wooden, who took the bronze medal last summer, finished in 10.75 seconds. Gold medalist Julien Alfred of Saint Lucia was second in 10.77,and Marie Josée Ta Lou-Smith of Ivory Coast was third in 10.90. Sha'Carri Richardson, the silver medalist in Paris, finished last in the nine-runner field. It was just the second outdoor 100 of the year for Richardson, who said she struggled with an unspecified injury in February. 'The only motivation that I had today was having a healthy race and the fact that I executed a healthy race knowing that now I have the time, because I do have that by being the reigning world champion, and all I have to do is just keep pushing and focusing in our practice, so I'm super excited to just finish,' said Richardson, who has her attention on September's world championships in Tokyo. Jamaica's Kishane Thompson won the men's 100 in 9.86 seconds, ahead of British runner-up Zharnel Hughes. Thompson, who finished second to Noah Lyles at last summer's Olympics, went into the Pre with the world's best time this year at 9.75. Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, who set the world record in the 400 hurdles in Paris, easily won the flat 400 in 49.43. 'It's a long year, so I'm really just taking it day by day, taking it slow, building and seeing which direction you want to go in by the end of it,' McLaughlin-Levrone said. Ethiopian Tsige Duguma, the silver medalist at last year's Olympics, won the 800 in 1:57.10. Rudy Winkler set an American record in the hammer throw with a hurl of 272 feet, 10 inches. Canadian Camryn Rogers won on the women's side. 'My training this week was very bad, so I kind of came into this like zero expectations of like 'Whatever I throw, I throw,' so I was super surprised by that today,' said Winkler. In the other field events, American Chase Jackson won the women's shot put at 68-8 1/2. Lithuanian Mikolas Alekna took the discus at 232-10. Tara Davis-Woodhall won the long jump with leap of 23-2 1/2 inches. Pole vaulter Armand Duplantis, who set a world record in Stockholm last month, cleared 19-8 1/4 at the Pre. Biniam Mehary of Ethiopia ran the 10,000 in 26:43.82, a world best this year. Jamaican Ackera Nugent won the 100 hurdles in 12:32. Alison dos Santos of Jamaica, the bronze medalist in both the Tokyo and Paris Games, won the men's 400 hurdles in 46.65. Olympic gold medalist Letsile Tebogo of Botswana won the 200 in 19.76. British sprinter Matthew Hudson-Smith held on to win the flat 400 in 44.10. Niels Laros of the Netherlands won the Bowerman Mile, an event unique to the Prefontaine, in 3:45.93. The Prefontaine Classic is named for Steve Prefontaine, the Oregon track star who died in a car accident in 1975. The event is the lone U.S. stop on the Diamond League series. ___ AP sports:
