rediff logo
« Back to Article
Print this article

Jefferson-Wooden crushes 100m field again in Brussels

August 23, 2025 08:39 IST

Jefferson-Wooden's winning time was short of the 10.65 seconds she ran in the US track and field championship at the start of August, but only bettered this year by Olympic champion Julien Alfred of Saint Lucia.

 Melissa Jefferson-Wooden of the US wins the women's 100m final ahead of second placed Sha'Carri Richardson also of the US and fourth placed Jamaica's Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce at the Brussels Diamond League at King Baudouin Stadium, Brussels, Belgium, on Friday

IMAGE: Melissa Jefferson-Wooden of the US wins the women's 100m final ahead of second placed Sha'Carri Richardson also of the US and fourth placed Jamaica's Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce at the Brussels Diamond League at King Baudouin Stadium, Brussels, Belgium, on Friday. Photograph: Yves Herman/Reuters

American sprinter Melissa Jefferson-Wooden blew away a strong field in the 100 metres in Brussels on Friday to underline her status as the firm favourite at next month's world championships.

Last year's Olympic bronze medallist, unbeaten all season over 100 metres, was fast out of the blocks and finished a good five metres ahead of her rivals in 10.76 seconds at the Diamond League athletics meet.

 

Compatriot and current world champion Sha'Carri Richardson was second in 11.08 seconds, with Britain's Daryll Neita third in 11.15 seconds.

Jamaica's Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce was fourth in one of her last races in an illustrious career that has brought two Olympic and five world 100 metre titles. The 38-year-old plans to retire at the end of the season.

Jefferson-Wooden's winning time was short of the 10.65 seconds she ran in the US track and field championship at the start of August, but only bettered this year by Olympic champion Julien Alfred of Saint Lucia.

Alfred had been due to compete in Brussels, but opted out of a series of Diamond League events in August to focus on Tokyo. The world athletics championships take place on September 13-21.

On a cool evening in the Belgian capital, a number of world medallists and hopefuls fine-tuned before the season-ending event. Many set personal or season bests or national records.

However, the cool conditions were not conducive to world records as Kenya's Agnes Jebet Ngetich found in her bid in the 5,000 metres during a long solo run at the end of the evening.

Source: REUTERS
© Copyright 2026 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters shall not be liable for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon.