BUDAPEST, Hungary — Melissa Jefferson-Wooden put it best when she crossed the finish line and looked over at the clock: “Wow!”
Her shock came after she saw those winning numbers — “21.47” — shining back at her after the 200-meter run Sunday at track's Ultimate Championship.
It was the fourth fastest time in history. It also was a time that wrapped up the 100-200 double in Budapest, banked her another $150,000 to go with the $150K she won the night before, beat her old personal best by .21 and locked in her status as the fastest woman in the sprint game with 22 months left before the LA Olympics.
“Shocked the heck out of me," Jefferson-Wooden said. "Honestly, I wanted to PB. I was thinking, like, 21.6-low, 21.5. But I skipped all over 21.5 and went 21.4. I did not know 21.4 was in the scope of things tonight.”
The only three faster times were a pair by two-time Jamaican world champion Shericka Jackson — who ran one of those, a 21.41, three years ago on this very track in Budapest; and the world record, set by Florence Griffith Joyner. which has stood at 21.34 since 1988.
Jefferson-Wooden sped to her win minutes after another American, Kenny Bednarek, who trains with her down in Florida, ran a personal-best 19.52 to also complete the 100-200 double.
“For me, this year was about applying the pressure and letting them know, like, ‘Hey, I’m not here to play games,'” Bednarek said.
His biggest threat, Noah Lyles, pulled out of this meet last week with a nagging injury he suffered back at U.S. Nationals in July. Bednarek's $300,000 will still spend well.
Bednarek's wins — this one by a .24-second margin over Olympic champ Letsile Tebogo — give track and field a year to dissect what could be a good matchup between Americans who have long gotten past their brief shoving match at the end of the 200-meter finals at nationals last year.
For anyone to shove Jefferson-Wooden, they'd have had to get much closer than they did Sunday.
In a sign that Flo-Jo's record might be in jeopardy, Jefferson-Wooden’s 21.47 came on a cool evening and into a headwind (0.6 meters per second). None of the other three fastest times did. It was also part of a frenetic schedule in which she ran four races — two 100s and two 200s — in the span of about 26 hours, which is not normal in any track meet.
“No, I did not see that one coming,” said Gabby Thomas, the reigning Olympic champion who finished second in 21.77. “I think it's really impressive. I'd love to get up there and compete at that level. Gives me something to shoot for.”
Kerr adds Ultimate title and shares a moment with Ingebrigtsen
Among those congratulating Josh Kerr after his latest victory — this one in the 1,500 at Ultimate — was Jakob Ingebrigtsen, the Norwegian champion who has been going back and forth with Kerr about race tactics, schedules and other topics over the past two years.
“Just talkin' (expletive),” Kerr said with a laugh. “No, he congratulated me on my performance, said it was very impressive. I told him he's walking the line with some words. I think he regrets (some words) that he said. But that's life. Competition's going to continue in 2027.”
Kerr won in 3 minutes, 29.35 seconds to add to titles he won this year at world indoors in the 3,000 meters and the Commonwealth Games in the mile. He also broke Hicham El Guerrouj's 27-year-old world record in the mile earlier this summer.
Olympic champion Cole Hocker, also part of the ongoing drama in this event, finished fourth with his season-best time of 3:30.74. Ingebrigtsen won the 5,000 on opening night but withdrew from the shorter race, saying his fitness wasn't good enough for two races so close together in the wake of Achilles surgery earlier this year.
Kerr said he had no problem being part of what, at times, feels like a soap opera interrupted occasionally by running.
“I believe I'm the best in the world, other people think they are, as well, and that's what creates a rivalry," he said. "I don't really care what they're going to say in a post-race interview. I need to go out there and race them.”
Dos Santos gets the win while Rai Benjamin cashes in for $150K anyway
Brazil's Alison dos Santos closed out his dominant season in style. Two weeks after setting the world record in the 400 hurdles, he cracked the 46-second mark again, finishing in 45.98.
It was only the third-ever sub-46 mark; the other belongs to Karsten Warholm (45.94) at the Tokyo Olympics. Dos Santos ran 45.80 on Aug. 27 in Zurich.
America's Rai Benjamin finished a distant second, but this felt like a win of sorts. Though much has been made of the $150,000 top prizes at Ultimate, Benjamin earned $75,000 for second to go with the $75,000 he won the night before, where he also finished a distant second in the 400 flat.
“I feel like a lot of chatter online was, ‘He’s crazy, he's not going to medal, he won't do good in either event,'” Benjamin said. “But I believe in myself and I knew I could come out here and do something great. And I got the 150 anyway.”
US completes the mixed relay double
Jacory Patterson opened up a nearly .4-second lead on the third lap and Aaliyah Butler widened it to help the Americans cruise to a win in the 4x400 mixed relay, giving them a sweep of the team events. The four winners split an $80,000 first prize.
And in probably the most effervescent victory of the meet, Italy's Gianmarco Tamberi danced, clapped and leaped his way to victory in the high jump. Tamberi, injured much of the year, needed a special invitation to make it to Ultimate. He cleared 2.37 meters (7 feet, 9 1/4 inches), the highest jump of the year, to win the $150K.
“Now I can say to everyone, never stop believing in your dreams, never put a limit on yourself,” he said.
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