Melissa Jefferson-Wooden triumphs in 200m at Grand Slam Philadelphia meet

Philadelphia – Olympic 100m bronze medallist Melissa Jefferson-Wooden clocked 21.99 seconds in the women’s 200m at the Grand Slam Track meet in Philadelphia on May 31, edging out Olympic 200m gold medallist Gabrielle Thomas at a rainy and overcast Franklin Field.

Jefferson-Wooden, who usually specialises in shorter sprints, said her 200m training paid off after a third-placed finish in Miami in early May. She added: “I’ve been training for it. I told myself what happened in Miami wasn’t going to happen again.”

Jamaica’s Ackera Nugent won the women’s 100m hurdles in 12.44sec, while Kenya’s Agnes Jebet Ngetich claimed the 3,000m title in 8min 43.61sec.

Said Nugent: “I just needed to execute my race. It’s coming along very nicely for me. I’m just being patient as the races go by. All I got to do is just keep the momentum from today into tomorrow (in the 100m flat).”

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone’s experiment at dropping down to the 100m hurdles ended in defeat, with the reigning Olympic 400m hurdles champion finishing fifth.

McLaughlin-Levrone, who has been unbeatable over her specialist event since 2019, found the going tougher over the shorter hurdles discipline.

Dominican Marileidy Paulino recorded 49.12sec to win the women’s 400m, while Briton Matthew Hudson-Smith took the men’s event in 44.51.

Canada’s Marco Arop claimed victory in the men’s 800m in 1:43.38 – his third win in the event at Grand Slam races.

Arop, who won world championship gold in 2023 and Olympic silver in 2024, pulled away from American Josh Hoey, who finished second in 1:44.41, and was set to run the 1,500m on June 1.

“It felt great, the crowd, look at this! It’s easy to run fast in a stadium like this, so I had to put on a show for them,” Arop told TNT Sports.

Also in the men’s events, Kenny Bednarek recorded 19.95sec for the 200m, while Brazilian Alison dos Santos remained undefeated after winning the men’s 400m hurdles in 48.11.

Competitors take part in two races over 12 events, with overall points totals deciding group champions on June 1. The results were not available at press time.

Over in Nairobi, Australian Lachlan Kennedy produced a powerful finish to topple a strong African 100m field in a personal-best 9.98sec at the Kip Keino Classic on May 31. Kennedy, 21, came from behind to beat Bayanda Walaza of South Africa and Kenya’s African 100m record holder Ferdinand Omanyala into second and third positions respectively.

“As soon as I saw the 9.98, I was thrilled. The feeling was so surreal. I couldn’t believe it,” said an ecstatic Kennedy, who in January ran a world-leading 6.43 in the 60m in Canberra.

Kennedy is one half of an exciting duo of young Australian sprinters, led by the 17-year-old sensation Gout Gout.

Walaza, 19, who will hope to make his mark for South Africa in this summer’s World Championships in Tokyo, timed 10.03sec and said he was picking up experience all the time.

“I am still getting my way into the 100m. I am learning from these people, including Akani (Simbine) and Omanyala, who are my mentors,” he said. REUTERS, AFP