Jefferson-Wooden completes sprint double at Ultimate Championship

Melissa Jefferson-Wooden completed a sprint double at the inaugural World Athletics Ultimate Championship in Budapest on Sunday, adding the women’s 200m title to her 100m victory. BBC Sport reported that the American’s second win came in the final event of the three-day meeting.

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The 25-year-old told BBC Sport that the performance had exceeded her expectations and offered encouragement for the coming years. Her success over both sprint distances followed another major double in Tokyo last year, where she won the world 100m and 200m titles.

World Athletics’ event briefing showed the strength of the opposition assembled for the 200m. Olympic champion Gabby Thomas was among the contenders, alongside world silver medallist Amy Hunt and two-time Olympic 400m champion Shaunae Miller-Uibo. Jefferson-Wooden entered with the fastest season’s best in the field, setting up a meeting between the reigning world and Olympic champions over the half-lap distance.

Her preparation included a decisive victory at the US championships in New York in July. USA Track & Field reported that she ran 21.69 seconds at Icahn Stadium, winning by more than half a second. Cambrea Sturgis took second in 22.22 and Camryn Dickson finished third in 22.58. That national title provided a confirmed benchmark ahead of her two-event campaign in Hungary.

The Budapest competition brought a new title to the international calendar. World Athletics described a format matching Olympic champions, world champions, Diamond League winners and leading ranked athletes, with a total prize fund of $10 million. Each individual champion was eligible for $150,000. The women’s 200m programme placed both the semi-finals and final on Sunday, bringing the championship’s three evenings of competition to a close.

Hunt finished fourth in the 200m with a season’s best of 22.10 seconds, according to BBC Sport. The British sprinter had placed eighth in Saturday’s 100m final and said she used that disappointment as motivation. She also pointed to winning a global semi-final for the first time as a confidence boost, ending her weekend with an improved performance over the longer sprint.