Kenny Bednarek, Melissa Jefferson-Wooden win 100 gold at U.S. Track and Field Championships

New York Times

6 days ago

EUGENE, Ore. — No Noah Lyles. No Sha'Carri Richardson. Both have automatic bids to the 2025 World Championships in Tokyo. So America's king and queen of the 100-meter dash sat this one out, creating space for someone else to own the moment.
Two rising stars emerged from the shadows, both having paid their dues as co-stars, both with the talent to take over the top spot one day.
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Melissa Jefferson-Wooden blistered the field in Friday's 100-meter women's final at the U.S. Track and Field Championships. She lowered her world lead to 10.65 seconds. It's tied for the fifth fastest of all time.
It was an emphatic statement of her arrival as a threat for the crown.
'Amazing,' she said. 'I've been dreaming of days like this. And it's finally starting to come true.'
Kenny Bednarek seized the opportunity and posted a personal-best time of 9.79 to win the men's 100 meters. It was just .04 off the current world lead, set by Jamaica's Kishane Thompson last month.
It was his first U.S. Championship.
'It's about damn time, you know?' Bednarek said, flashing a smile beneath his Nike headband. 'It's been second, second, second for a very long time. I always knew I had the capability of doing it. But I just had to believe in myself, and this year, I feel like I started living up to my expectations.'
Courtney Lindsey (9.82) took second. NCAA star T'Mars McCallum finished third (9.83). Christian Coleman, one of the veterans of Team USA, finished fifth (9.86).
Bednarek's specialty is the 200 meters, but he's long proved capable in the 100. But like Jefferson-Wooden, Bednarek knows the chill of living in the shadow of a star. Lyles has been a mountain in the sprint discipline. He is America's reigning king of the 100 and 200. He won gold in the 100 at the Worlds in 2023 and the gold in the Olympics in 2024. He's won the last three gold medals in the 200 at the World Championships.
Lyles was expected to pull off the double at the Olympics. But he wound up with a bronze after racing with COVID-19. Bednarek took silver behind Letsile Tebogo of Botswana in Paris — a rare moment where Bednarek got the best of Lyles.
Life behind Lyles has kept Bednarek from stockpiling victories. But it also left him no choice but to push himself to keep pace next to an all-time great. Friday, he said, was proof of his growth.
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One of the elements he's been working on is relaxing to close races. Especially in the 200, he's been known to tense up on the turn, which slows him down. He wants to win so badly, he forgets to relax.
But Friday, he caught a cramp at about the 50-meter mark. But he didn't tense up. He pushed through. He didn't think about it. He didn't fret. And, thus, he didn't decelerate. He held that top-end speed.
'If I can stay relaxed,' he said, 'I can get the win. … If I can relax in a race, nobody is going to beat me.'
Who's beating Jefferson-Wooden now? Her last five 100-meter races this season have been consistently elite: 10.75, 10.73, 10.75, 10.86 and now 10.65.
Kayla White (10.84) took second with a personal best. Aleia Hobbs (10.86) third. Twanisha Terry (10.94), one of the three U.S. women to qualify for Paris (with her Star Athletics teammates Richardson and Jefferson-Wooden), finished fourth.
Only two women in the world can claim to be faster than Jefferson-Wooden right now: reigning gold medalist Julien Alford of St. Lucia and Richardson. And Richardson isn't in top form after the start of her season was delayed with injury.
Both would have their hands full with Jefferson-Wooden in Tokyo.
'I want to be the greatest to ever do it,' Jefferson-Wooden said. Her eyes expanded. Her smile widened. Her tone softened. She said it with a fantastical energy. But watching her run, it feels increasingly plausible.
(Photo of Melissa Jefferson-Wooden: Christian Petersen / Getty Images)