World Athletics C’ships: Jefferson-Wooden caps triple gold as U.S. dominates final day in Tokyo (Ld)
US Sprinters Shine on Rainy Final Day of World Athletics Championships in Tokyo
On a wet and wild Sunday at the National Stadium in Tokyo, Melissa Jefferson-Wooden grabbed her third gold medal of the World Athletics Championships. She kicked off the US team’s winning run in the women’s 4×100-meter relay, teaming up with Twanisha Terry, Kayla White, and Sha’Carri Richardson to clock a blazing 41.75 seconds. They beat Jamaica by a razor-thin 0.04 seconds, while Germany snagged bronze.
"It’s crazy to head home with three gold medals," Jefferson-Wooden said with a grin. "I’ve added my name to the history books again, and I’m exactly where I want to be." After the race, she shared a warm hug with Jamaica’s Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, who picked up her 19th world championships medal—10 golds, eight silvers, and a bronze over nine events.
Fraser-Pryce called it "the icing on the cake" for her incredible career. "It feels like a full-circle moment," she added. "I started as a reserve in Osaka back in 2007, and I couldn’t ask for a better journey. I’m so grateful for the medals, the stadiums, and the crowds."
The United States dominated the final day, scooping up four gold medals to top the medal table with 16 golds overall. Noah Lyles anchored the men’s 4×100-meter relay to victory, earning his seventh career world gold. Jamaica dropped out after a baton fumble in qualifying, leaving Canada with silver and the Netherlands with bronze.
"We did our job," Lyles said humbly. "I’m so proud of this relay squad—we’ve overcome baton struggles before." The US women also crushed the 4×400-meter relay, smashing a championships record at 3:16.61, with Jamaica taking silver and the Netherlands bronze.
In a thrilling men’s 4×400-meter upset, Botswana stole the show. Busang Collen Kebinatshipi powered past US star Rai Benjamin in the last stretch, giving Botswana its first world relay gold alongside 100m silver medalist Letsile Tebogo. South Africa grabbed bronze behind world record-holder Wayde van Niekerk.
American Cole Hocker, the 2024 Olympic 1,500m champ, claimed his first world title in the men’s 5,000 meters with a time of 12:58.30. Belgium’s Isaac Kimeli earned silver, and France’s Jimmy Gressier added bronze to his earlier 10,000m win.
Kenya’s Lilian Odira sprinted to gold in the women’s 800 meters, finishing ahead of Great Britain’s Georgia Hunter Bell and Olympic champ Keely Hodgkinson. Australia’s Nicola Olyslagers leaped to her first world high jump title, clearing 2.00 meters. Poland’s Maria Zodzik took silver on countback at the same height, while Ukraine’s Yaroslava Mahuchikh and Serbia’s Angelina Topic shared bronze at 1.97 meters.
Germany’s Leo Neugebauer won the men’s decathlon with 8,072 points, just ahead of US athlete Kyle Garland (8,075) and Puerto Rico’s Ayden Owens-Delerme (7,958). In the men’s discus throw, delayed by pounding rain, Sweden’s Daniel Stahl—the 2021 Olympic gold medalist—nailed a comeback throw of 70.47 meters to steal gold from Lithuania’s Mykolas Alekna (67.84).
When the dust settled, the US led the World Athletics Championships medal table with 16 golds, five silvers, and five bronzes. Kenya came in second with seven golds, and Canada third with three. China picked up two silvers and two bronzes, while host Japan earned two bronzes. No Asian team claimed a gold this time.
The next World Athletics Championships heads to Beijing in 2027—mark your calendars for more sprinting excitement and relay thrills!
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