EUGENE: Melissa Jefferson-Wooden and Kenny Bednarek blazed to victories in the 100m at the US Championships in Oregon on Friday, punching their tickets to Tokyo’s World Championships in blistering fashion.

Rising US star Jefferson-Wooden produced a scintillating display of controlled sprinting in the women’s 100m at Eugene’s Hayward Field.

Jefferson-Wooden clocked 10.65 in the women’s 100, with Kayla White (10.84) and Aleia Hobbs (10.92) rounding out the top three.

Jefferson-Wooden’s time puts her into elite company, tied alongside Marion Jones, Shericka Jackson and reigning 100m world champion Sha’Carri Richardson as the fifth-fastest women ever.

The 24-year-old from South Carolina now looks the firm favorite for the World Championships in Japan, where she will be chasing her first major title following a 100m bronze medal at the Paris Olympics last season.

“I’ve been dreaming of days like this, and it’s finally starting to come true,” Jefferson-Wooden told reporters, adding that she was still pinching herself at vaulting up the all-time 100m list.

“It’s surreal. It doesn’t actually sound real. You look at all these races, all these amazing women who have accomplished these things — me being part of that list is actually kind of crazy.”

In the men’s race meanwhile, two-time Olympic 200m silver medallist Bednarek dominated the field to win in 9.79secs, ahead of Courtney Lindsey, who was second in 9.82sec. T’Mars McCallum was third in 9.83sec.

Bednarek revealed though that his race had nearly unraveled after he began cramping mid-race.

Bednarek said he had scarcely had time to react to the problem before powering home.

But there was disappointment for 2019 world champion Christian Coleman, who finished fifth and out of the Tokyo qualification places.

Elsewhere on Friday, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone hinted she is ready to carry her dominance of the 400m hurdles into the 400m flat with an imperious victory in the opening heats.

The 25-year-old has been unbeaten over the 400m hurdles since 2019, winning back-to-back Olympic gold medals as well as a 2022 World Championship gold.

Athing Mu-Nikolayev, who won Olympic 800m gold in Tokyo and followed it up with a world title a year later, was eliminated in her 800m semi-finals.

The 23-year-old looked comfortable in the opening round on Thursday, qualifying second fastest, but could do no better than fourth on Friday in a time of 1min 59.79sec.

Despite the setback, which ended her hopes of qualifying for the World Championships, Mu-Nikolayev is optimistic she can compete at the highest level again.

“I think that’s helpful for what I need going for (the) next couple of years. Everything’s not going to be pretty, everything’s not going to be perfect,” she said.

Published in Dawn, August 3rd, 2025