Jefferson-Wood triumphs in 200m at Grand Slam Philadelphia meet
May 31, 2025; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Melissa Jefferson-Wooden (USA) wins the women's 200m in 21.99 during the Grand Slam Track Philadelphia at Franklin Field. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images REUTERS
Olympic 100m bronze medallist Melissa Jefferson-Wood clocked 21.99 seconds in the women's 200m at the Grand Slam Track meet in Philadelphia on Saturday, edging Olympic 200m gold medallist Gabby Thomas at Franklin Field.
Jefferson-Wood, who usually specialises in shorter sprints, said her 200m training paid off after a third-place finish in Miami earlier this month.
"I've been training for it, I told myself what happened in Miami wasn't going to happen again," she said.
Jamaica's Ackera Nugent won the women's 100m hurdles in 12.44 seconds, while Kenya's Agnes Jebet Ngetich claimed the 1500m title in 3:58.04.
Dominican Marileidy Paulino recorded 49.12 seconds to win the women's 400m long hurdles, while Briton Matthew Hudson-Smith took the men's 400m event in 44.51.
Canada's Marco Arop claimed victory in the men's 800m in 1:43.48 – 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 is set to run the 1,500m on Sunday.
"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 19.95 seconds for the 200m while Brazilian Alison dos Santos remained undefeated after winning the men's 400m hurdles in 48.11 seconds.
Competitors take part in two races over 12 events, with overall points totals deciding group champions on Sunday. REUTERS
Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Straits Times
an hour ago
- Straits Times
Maximilian Maeder and Zeanne Law gunning for rare double at Singapore Sports Awards
Kitefoiler Maximilian Maeder and wushu exponent Zeanne Law are among the finalists for the Sportsman and Sportswoman of the Year gongs. PHOTOS: ST FILE, CHEAH CHENG POH SINGAPORE – A year after winning the Sportsboy and Sportsgirl of the Year awards, kitefoiler Maximilian Maeder and wushu exponent Zeanne Law are taking a step up to the big leagues for the 2025 Singapore Sports Awards. The nominees for the annual awards were announced by the Singapore National Olympic Council (SNOC) on June 2, and the teenage duo are among the finalists for the Sportsman and Sportswoman of the Year gongs. Both athletes have a chance to score back-to-back junior and senior accolades – a feat not seen in the last two decades. Swimmer Mark Chay was the last male athlete to be crowned the 2001 Sportsboy of the Year and 2002 Sportsman of the Year, while sailor Joan Huang claimed the 1998 Sportsgirl of the Year and 1999 Sportswoman of the Year awards. Maeder told The Straits Times: 'I'm very happy that my achievements are being affirmed and people are not bored of me yet. 'But more seriously and importantly, it's great that there is an event like this to recognise and celebrate the success and hard work of those who are involved in Singapore sports, and I'm thankful and honoured that I get to be part of this exercise.' Winner of the Sportsboy of the Year award for three consecutive years, the 18-year-old and had an outstanding 2024 season in which he won nine out of 10 events to retain his world title, claim the Asian Championship, and a bronze at the Paris Oympics. He will face stiff competition from silat world champion Sheik Farhan Sheik Alau'ddin, Reyes Cup and International 9-Ball Open champion Aloysius Yapp, Olympic badminton quarter-finalist and Madrid Spain Masters winner Loh Kean Yew, and Taolu World Cup silver medallist Jowen Lim. Law said she had a 'transformative' year after winning the 2024 Sportsgirl of the Year accolade, noting that she became a more mature and experienced athlete. In 2024, Law won gold in the women's taijiquan and optional taijishan events at the World Taijiquan Championships in Singapore, in addition to a women's optional taijiquan gold at the Asian Wushu Championships. The 19-year-old added: 'It helped me gain more opportunities to introduce wushu to the general public and also encourage more youths to pursue this sport. 'I was glad that I could perform well for the subsequent competitions, demonstrating consistency despite having more pressure now as a Spex scholar and Sportsgirl of the Year.' Pointing out that the nomination reminds her of the support from the wushu federation and High Performance Sport Institute, Law said she was 'thankful for it and just being nominated is already a blessing for me'. The other nominees for the accolade are: Asian Tenpin Championships women's singles winner Daphne Tan, kickboxing World Cup triple-gold medallist Valencia Yip, World Pencak Silat Championships bronze medallist Nurdianna Sidek, Olympic pistol shooter Teh Xiu Hong, and swimmer Gan Ching Hwee, who set national records in the 800m and 1,500m freestyle at Paris 2024. The main awards selection committee was chaired by SNOC president Grace Fu, while vice-president Jessie Phua headed the selection committee for the Sportsboy and Sportsgirl awards. National sports associations submitted candidates for the main award categories based on a set of eligibility criteria, including their achievements for the year. The selection committees then decided on the finalists and cast their votes via a secret ballot to determine the winners. Independent auditing firm KPMG will then tabulate the results for the June 20 announcement. Twelve awards will be presented at the ceremony on June 20 at Swissotel The Stamford. Meritorious awards will also be presented to individual and team performances in the senior and junior categories. The Straits Times has three finalists for the Most Inspiring Sports Story of the Year award, with the other two nominees from Lianhe Zaobao and Mothership. Singapore Sports Awards organising committee chairman Lau Kok Keng said: 'The year 2025 marks a bold new chapter in Singapore sport – a time when we continue shaping new horizons through the passion, resilience, dedication and efforts of Team Singapore. 'From regional championships to the Olympic Games, our athletes have inspired us with their outstanding performances. 'As we celebrate their achievements, we also recognise the many individuals – coaches, teams, media professionals, and organisers – whose contributions have in one way or other injected our sporting landscape with fresh energy and vision.' David Lee is senior sports correspondent at The Straits Times focusing on aquatics, badminton, basketball, cue sports, football and table tennis. Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
an hour ago
- Straits Times
Greece postpones basketball finals game after courtside dispute
FILE PHOTO: Basketball - EuroLeague Final Four - Third Place - Olympiacos v Panathinaikos - Etihad Arena, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates - May 25, 2025 Panathinaikos' Jerian Grant waves to fans after the match REUTERS/Rula Rouhana/File Photo FILE PHOTO: Basketball - EuroLeague Final Four - Third Place - Olympiacos v Panathinaikos - Etihad Arena, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates - May 25, 2025 Olympiacos players after the match REUTERS/Rula Rouhana/File Photo FILE PHOTO: Basketball - EuroLeague Final Four - Third Place - Olympiacos v Panathinaikos - Etihad Arena, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates - May 25, 2025 Olympiacos' Moses Wright in action with Panathinaikos' Omer Yurtseven and Mathias Lessort REUTERS/Rula Rouhana/File Photo ATHENS - Greece's government on Monday postponed a basketball game between local rivals Olympiacos and Panathinaikos and threatened to cancel the national championship after tensions between team owners boiled over at a match on Sunday. Olympiacos basketball owners Panagiotis and George Aggelopoulos, and Panathinaikos owner Dimitris Giannakopoulos clashed over the alleged use of obscene gestures and offensive chants by spectators. The sides were scheduled to play the third of five potential end-of-season games on Wednesday, but that game has been put on hold after Government spokesperson Pavlos Marinakis said the owners would appear in front of the deputy sports minister and promise that this behaviour will not be repeated. "Otherwise, this year's championship will be permanently suspended," Marinakis added. Olympiacos and Panathinaikos, two of Greece's biggest basketball clubs, recently played each other for third place in the EuroLeague finals in Abu Dhabi. Violence has plagued sport in Greece in recent years. Two young soccer fans were killed in 2023 and 2022, and a Greek court found a 20-year old man guilty of manslaughter over the 2023 death of a policeman hit by a flare during clashes with spectators at a volleyball game. Authorities have promised to crack down to tackle the issue. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
2 hours ago
- Straits Times
Zverev reaches seventh French Open quarters after Griekspoor retires
Tennis - French Open - Roland Garros, Paris, France - June 2, 2025 Germany's Alexander Zverev in action during his fourth round match against Netherlands' Tallon Griekspoor REUTERS/Lisi Niesner PARIS - Third seed Alexander Zverev advanced to the French Open quarter-finals after his opponent Tallon Griekspoor retired midway through the second set on Monday. The Dutchman was 6-4 3-0 down when he called for the medic and after a very brief discussion the umpire announced his retirement. It was not immediately clear what kind of injury Griekspoor had suffered. He broke the German early in the match but was broken back twice as Zverev, seeking his maiden Grand Slam title, landed the first set. The 28-year-old Zverev, a finalist in Paris last year who has now reached his seventh French Open quarter-final in the last eight years, earned two consecutive breaks at the start of the second set to go 3-0 up before Griekspoor called it a day. Zverev will play either Briton Cameron Norrie or three-times champion Novak Djokovic, who play later on Monday, in the last eight. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
