Melissa Jefferson-Wooden landed a victory in the women's race, a favorite. © ANSA / ALEX PLAVEVSKI

100m titles in top times for Jefferson-Wooden and Seville

US-American Melissa Jefferson-Wooden and Oblique Seville from Jamaica won the 100m race at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo on Sunday with top times.

September 14, 2025

From: dpa/sn

Jefferson-Wooden triumphed with the fourth-fastest time in history of 10,61 seconds, ahead of Jamaican Tina Clayton (10,76) and Olympic champion Julien Alfred of St. Lucia (10,84). Seville won in 9,77, ahead of fellow countryman Kishane Thompson (9,82) and American Noah Lyles (9,89).

For the first time at the World Championships, the 100m finals were held on the same evening, and within ten minutes of each other. In the women's race, it was somewhat a favorite's victory, as Jefferson-Wooden, who pulled away irresistibly in the second half of the race, had been the fastest of the year. Alfred, after her triumph at the Paris Games, won another medal, making history for her country once again. Clayton's 38-year-old compatriot Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce made it to the final again at her ninth World Championships, finishing sixth (11,03).

Oblique Seville won World Championship gold in the 100 m. © APA/afp / JEWEL SAMAD

The Jamaican men's double victory was celebrated in the stands by world record holder Usain Bolt. Seville came within 0,19 seconds of his mark, setting a personal best and the tenth-best time of all time. The 24-year-old thus dethroned Lyles, but the US star seemed satisfied with the bronze finish. Thompson had already finished second at the Paris Games. For Seville, this is his first major international individual victory; two years ago at the Budapest World Championships, he won bronze in the relay. For the USA, it was the first World Championship final defeat since Bolt's last title coup in 2015.

Men's "bumpy" 10-kilometer race

The men's 10.000m final was a sluggish affair, with the winning time coming in at almost 29 minutes. Frenchman Jimmy Gressier seized the opportunity and landed a clear underdog victory with the best final sprint of 28.55,77:7,13 minutes. Two other women's events went to the USA: Olympic champion Tara Davis-Woodhall in the long jump with a throw of 69,48 meters and Valarie Allman in the discus with a throw of XNUMX meters.