Athletics
Flo-Jo’s record in sight, says world champion Jefferson-Wooden
Melissa Jefferson-Wooden woke up as the world 100 metres champion and fourth-fastest woman in history after her incredible 10.61 second run in Sunday’s final, but she is already looking ahead and thinks 10.5 and beyond is possible.
Florence Griffith-Joyner’s much-questioned 10.49 from 1988 has been untouchable for decades, though Jamaican Elaine Thompson-Herah edged closer with her 10.54 in 2021.
Jefferson-Wooden, still only 24 and very much on an upward curve, thinks she is capable of reaching that level.
“You’ve certainly got no regrets after running 10.61,” she told Reuters in an interview at Nike’s Tokyo headquarters on Monday.
“But I definitely do think (the world record) is a possibility. Crazily enough, I thought yesterday I had the potential to run 10.5, which is why I say that about the record.
“I was happy with every aspect of the race but still wish I had been able to separate a little sooner. And then there’s no telling what I could have run. I’m grateful for what I did but I’m still hungry for much more because I know that it’s there.”
Jefferson-Wooden came into the world championships on a remarkable run of sub-11 second races – and wins – and said she knew if she was able to “focus on the process” then it could and should be her night.
Having won bronze at last year’s Olympics she was used to the pressure and noise around a big final and, true to plan, she delivered a beautifully smooth display to finish ahead of Jamaican Tina Clayton (10.76) and Olympic champion Julien Alfred (10.84).
“I wanted to just keep the main thing the main thing, and that is to focus on my execution because that’s what gets you the results you want,” she said.
“My coach has been telling me these last couple of weeks to just be yourself, don’t try to overdo it.”
‘STOP WHINING’
Jefferson-Wooden has come a long way from her first major final when she finished last at the Eugene 2022 worlds and, with something akin to impostor syndrome, came away delighted just to have lined up alongside some of her idols after a breakthrough year.
“That was a moment that definitely defined me, and then my drive ever since then has been shooting for the stars,” she said.
A bronze and a sprint relay gold at the Paris Olympics helped validate that self-belief.
“I had overcome so much to get to that Olympic final that the bronze in my eyes was a gold medal because I had started the year with a lingering physical issue,” she said.
“So coming into this year, it was like, ‘okay, how do you move on from a year where you were so happy with how you did?’
“I was proud of myself but I also knew I could have been better and so that’s how I approached this year.”
Now Jefferson-Wooden is bidding to become the first American winner of the 200m since Allyson Felix in 2009, and the first American woman to legally complete the sprint double after Kelli White was stripped of both golds she won in 2003 for doping.
Her coaches, however, needed convincing when she told them at the start of the year she wanted to take the event seriously.
“They looked at me and it was like, ‘wait a minute, did y’all hear what she said?’ But I told them I wanted to be a contender.
“I didn’t like to really focus on the extra 100 metres just because hurts, but eventually I said to myself, ‘if you stop whining and complaining, you can actually be really good at this.”
Turns out, she is really good at it.
And with Alfred now out injured, Jefferson-Wooden’s 21.84 makes her the fastest woman in the field this year.
“I’m actually very excited to go out in the 200 and just to see what I have in the tank,” she said. “I’m the 100m world champion but in the 200 it’s 0-0 and I start again.”
-Reuters
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BY DANLADI BAKO
Sports and indeed global athletics have been the cynosure of quite a huge community of track and field afficionados in the last nine days at the Tokyo World Athletics finals.
The global athletics fraternity congregates annually to celebrate new world beaters and champions.
Athletes spend a large amount of time, energy and resources to train, attracting the best coaches and utilizing some of the high impact facilities in developing qualifying times for their individual events.
So many nations facilitate the upscaling and upgrading of their athletes’ mentality, physique and performance standing through investments in the training and welfare of their high-profile athletes by providing grants, scholarships and appreciable reward systems.
These have been in short supply in Nigeria and indeed within the developing world where the priorities of most governments are education, health, poverty and so many other development challenges.
However, the benefits of investing in sports are unquantifiable especially on the world global diplomatic stage, unassailable visibility and an incredible reputation unachievable in so many other areas of human existence. In the eighties and 90s the Americans literally ruled the sprints with female 100 meters legend Florence Griffiths – Joyner and 400 meters world champion Michael Johnson.
Just like America used the movies to show Americans as the world best, sportsmen like basketball’s Michael Jordan and boxing’s Muhammad Ali put America on the pinnacle of human capacity for endurance, determination, strategic planning and near perfect execution.
America might have the size and population above 200 million so it’s success can be expected, however Jamaica an island of 150 miles by 50 miles has gone beyond exporting Reggae’s global icons like Bob Marley and Alton Ellis to producing 100 meters legends Usain Bolt, Sherry Ann Fraser-Price and Marlene Ottey thereby winning international recognition and inevitable public reckoning far beyond most African countries.
Now a land locked southern African sub-continent country Botswana with less than the population of Lagos State just on Sunday won the 4 x 400 men’s relay gold at the Tokyo 2025 games even after picking a few other medals through individual athletes Tebogo et al.
The Tokyo games have come and gone with Tobi Amusan putting Nigeria on the medals table with her 100 meters Silver medal. Ajayi’s efforts in the 100 meters men’s final was also commendable.
For me the highest point was the super- human diminutive Kenyan Faith Kipyegon in the 1500 metres clinching gold and 5000 metres silver.
Another great spectacle was the exploits of American idol Noah Lyle who anchored the last leg of the 4 x100 metres gold winning quartet.
Lyle won the 200 metres gold as well becoming one of the audaciuos and eye-catching supreme athletes of Tokyo 2025. Mention must be made of Sweden’s Armand Mondo who broke the pole vault world record thrice in two days.
So when and how would Nigeria get to these towering heights of conquering the world?
The fact is that we once had Olympic and World Athletics finalists like Innocent Egbunike (400m) , Chidi Imo (100 and 200m), Yusuf Alli (Long jump) and Falilat Ogunkoya (400m) although it was the American University collegiate structure that groomed them to become world beaters with little or no input from the home government.
Once in a long while a training grant of $50,000 gets handed to them in preparation for Olympic games to pay their coaches and for utilizing training facilities abroad. Even Ezekiel Nathaniel and Oyinkansola Ajayi are still beneficiaries of the American University collegiate structure.
The aforementioned names who also schooled and trained in the United States are still very much around especially Yusuf Alli, Falilat and Mary Onyali.
The authorities need to device the appropriate strategies to achieve podium standings in the nearest immediate future.
All the products of the National Youth Games and the School Sports Federation games should be drafted into a growth enhancement program, hire some of the best Athletics coaches from around the world and ensure the construction and maintenance of high-performance pitches and gymnasia.
The Sports Federations must be populated with patriotic and passionate sports men who are brimming with enthusiasm, desire and creativity.
President Tinubu did not only resuscitate the National Sports Commission, he gave an unprecedented 12 billion naira to the Sports Ministry for AFCON and other tournaments earlier this year so we have a listening President who can restore our lost glory in sports and athletics in particular. Nigeria must reclaim its podium standing capability as soon as possible.
Danladi Bako, OON was Senior Special Assistant to former Minister of Youth and Sports as well as one-time Chairman Sokoto State Football Association.
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By KUNLE SOLAJA.
Nigeria’s silver medal finish at the Tokyo 2025 World Athletics Championships once again highlighted the country’s roller-coaster fortunes on the global stage.
While the podium placement ensured Nigeria did not return empty-handed, the overall medal count has remained stagnant in recent years compared to other rising athletics nations.
At the Doha 2019 Championships, Team Nigeria endured a barren outing, failing to register a single medal. Three years later in Oregon 2022, Ese Brume broke the drought with a stunning gold in the women’s long jump — Nigeria’s first-ever world title in the event.
The momentum continued into Budapest 2023, where world record holder Tobi Amusan claimed silver in the women’s 100m hurdles, cementing Nigeria’s presence among the elite hurdlers. In Tokyo this year, the nation repeated the feat in the same event, albeit again settling for silver.
A comparative glance at the last four editions shows a troubling trend: Nigeria has not improved its medal tally, with just one medal each in 2022, 2023, and 2025.
This raises urgent questions about depth, consistency, and investment in talent development beyond the few star performers.
Comparative Medal Table (2019–2025)
- Doha 2019 – 0 medals (No standout performance)
- Oregon 2022 – 1 Gold (Ese Brume, Women’s Long Jump)
- Budapest 2023 – 1 Silver (Tobi Amusan, 100m Hurdles)
- Tokyo 2025 – 1 Silver (100m Hurdles)
The pattern underscores Nigeria’s reliance on individual brilliance rather than systemic excellence. Athletics analysts argue that unless the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN) strengthens grassroots programs, invests in coaching and sports science, and improves athlete welfare, the country risks stagnating while competitors from Africa and beyond surge ahead.
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BY KUNLE SOLAJA.
Nigeria wrapped up its campaign at the 2025 World Athletics Championships in Tokyo with a single silver medal, finishing joint 25th on the overall medals table with eight others on the medals tables as the curtain was drawing on the championship.
The position may even deepen at the end of the day.
Star hurdler Tobi Amusan delivered the country’s only podium finish, placing second in the women’s 100m hurdles.
Despite the modest medal haul, several Nigerian athletes impressed with near-misses and record-breaking efforts.
Ezekiel Nathaniel narrowly missed out on a medal in the men’s 400m hurdles, finishing fourthin a national record time. Kanyinsola Ajayi also reached the men’s 100m final, settling for sixth, while shot put specialist Chukwuebuka Enekwechi placed fifthin his event.
Nigeria fielded 15 athletes – eight men and seven women – in Tokyo. While the performances reflected resilience, the lack of medals beyond Amusan’s silver highlighted gaps in preparation and depth.
Analysts point to the absence of Nigeria’s traditionally strong relay teams, logistical challenges, and inadequate athlete support as major setbacks.
Sports observers insist that the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN) must chart a new path if the country is to climb the global athletics ladder.
Key recommendations include better logistics and athlete welfare, renewed focus on relay programmes, grassroots talent identification, and consistent funding.
Despite the below-par medal count, the performances in Tokyo suggest Nigeria still possesses world-class potential. With reforms and stronger administration, the AFN has an opportunity to turn near-misses into podium finishes at future championships.
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