American Jefferson-Wooden and Jamaica’s Seville win 100s at worlds

United States’ Melissa Jefferson-Wooden wins the women’s 100 meters final at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, yesterday

Melissa Jefferson-Wooden of the U.S. and Oblique Seville of Jamaica won the 100-meter finals at world championships yesterday in a changing of the guard in track.

The 24-year-old Jefferson-Wooden blew away the field, finishing in 10.61 seconds to break Sha’Carri Richardson’s two-year-old world-championship record. Richardson barely squeezed into the final and finished fifth depite running a season-best 10.94.

Seville, also 24 and who works with Usain Bolt’s old coach, Glen Mills, reeled in countryman Kishane Thompson for a win in 9.77. Defending world and Olympic champion Noah Lyles finished third.

Bolt watched this one from a luxury box — his first return to a big race since he exited the sport in 2017 — and was high-fiving and hugging friends when he watched a Jamaican win the men’s title for the first time since he left.

There were some who argued Seville, not Thompson — who adds this silver to his silver from Paris last year — was the best young sprinter on the island. Seville has a winning record against Lyles, but has not been able to put it together in the biggest races.

This time, he did — falling behind by about two steps halfway through the race despite getting the best start, but never panicking, then, step-by-step, closing the gap on Thompson.

The women’s race was pretty much over as soon as it started. Jefferson-Wooden blew away Jamaica’s Tina Clayton by .15 — the same margin Olympic champion Julien Alfred, who finished third this time, beat Richardson by in Paris last year.

Richardson, who trains with Jefferson-Wooden, wasn’t the same runner as last year or the year before when she won worlds.

After finishing third in her semifinal heat, she had to wait to see if she’d get one of the last two spots. She did and started on the inside in Lane 2, but was never a factor. While Jefferson-Wooden jumped and shouted into the stands, Richardson slowly paced the inside of the track with her hands on hips.

The second-place finish for Clayton kept Jamaica on the podium on the night its best female sprinter, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, said goodbye with a sixth-place finish. EDDIE PELLS, TOKYO, MDT/AP