Jefferson-Wooden and Bednarek lay down markers ahead of Tokyo

The US sprints pair both recorded personal bests over 100m to secure national titles at Hayward Field

Melissa Jefferson-Wooden and Kenny Bednarek both lit up the track in the 100m and laid down markers at the USATF Outdoor Championships (August 1).

The duo went into the national championships in fine form – their respective season’s bests were 10.73 and 9.86 – but at Hayward Field they took their performance to another level.

Jefferson-Wooden, alongside her 10.73 (1.4) from the Philadelphia Grand Slam Track in June, had also clocked 10.75 (-1.5) at the Prefontaine Classic last month. It wasn’t just the mark itself that was impressive – the US athlete also beat Olympic 100m champion Julien Alfred in the process.

So expectations were great for Jefferson-Wooden as she took to the Eugene track once again. A time of 10.86 into a 1.5m/s headwind during the heats only increased the probability of the Olympic bronze medallist producing a truly special mark in the final.

It really wasn’t a shock – Jefferson-Wooden is yet to lose over 100m in 2025 – she rose to the occasion. After a super start, the US sprinter never looked back and clocked a personal best of 10.65 (0.4). Not only was it the fastest time by a female over 100m for two years but Jefferson-Wooden also went joint-fifth on the world all-time list, alongside Marion Jones, Shericka Jackson and Sha’Carri Richardson.

Kayla White recorded a personal best of 10.84 to place second while Aleia Hobbs finished third in 10.92, with the pair also off to Tokyo.

Bednarek, in a similar vein to Jefferson-Wooden, backed up his consistency over the season with a fine run to become the national 100m champion.

The world and double Olympic 200m silver medallist had already recorded marks of 9.86 and a windy 9.79 this season, so it wasn’t surprising to see him secure a maiden title on home soil.

With Noah Lyles receiving a bye due to the fact that he’s the world 100m champion, Bednarek, even in a field that included the likes of Trayvon Bromell and Christian Coleman, was the favourite.

Bednarek came out on top in a pretty pulsating tussle, clocking a personal best of 9.79 (1.8) to go joint-12th on the world all-time list.

The top five athletes all went sub-9.9 seconds, with Courtney Lindsey (9.82) and T’Mars McCallum (9.83) recording bests to book their spots to Tokyo. Bromell was fourth in 9.84 and Coleman placed fifth with 9.86.

Anna Hall once again…