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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Athletics
World Athletics Nullifies Junior Records of Three Ethiopian Runners Over Age Irregularities
World Athletics has refused to ratify several junior world records set by three Ethiopian distance runners after an investigation uncovered irregularities in their dates of birth.
The decision follows a probe by the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU), which determined that the real ages of Birke Haylom, Melknat Wudu and Medina Eisa could not be conclusively verified when the records were set between 2023 and 2024.
The ruling means several outstanding under-20 performances by the trio will no longer stand as official world junior records.
Among the affected marks are Haylom’s world under-20 bests in the mile (4:17.13), indoor 1,500 metres (3:58.43) and outdoor 5,000 metres (14:23.71). Wudu’s junior indoor 3,000 metres record of 8:32.34 has also been invalidated, while Eisa’s 5,000 metres time of 14:21.89—previously recognised as the world junior best—has been struck from the record books.
Investigators confirmed that Eisa’s actual birth date is 17 October 2002, rather than 3 January 2005 as previously documented. The finding means she was 22 when she won gold in the 5,000 metres at the 2024 World Under-20 Championships, well above the age limit for the junior category.
The AIU also concluded that Haylom was older than indicated in her official documents, although details of the discrepancy were not publicly disclosed. In Wudu’s case, unresolved doubts about her birth date prevented the ratification of her record.
Under championship rules, athletes competing in under-20 events must be 19 or younger during the competition year and must provide verifiable documentation confirming their eligibility.
While the athletes’ performances remain valid as competition results, they cannot be recognised as junior records.
The investigation forms part of a wider age-verification campaign by the AIU in East African athletics ahead of the next 2026 World Under-20 Championships in the United States.
So far, World Athletics has not announced disciplinary sanctions against the athletes, although AIU regulations allow bans of between two and four years in proven cases of age manipulation.
The removal of the five records marks a significant setback for performances that had previously placed the runners among the most promising young talents in global distance running.
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The Future Olympian Athletics Classic has been rescheduled from the first quarter of 2026 to the last quarter of the year, as organisers move to transform the meet into a truly national developmental programme spanning Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones.
In a statement signed by Bruce Ijirigho, a former quarter-miler and Team Nigeria captain to the 1976 Summer Olympics, the postponement was described as a strategic decision aimed at broadening participation and ensuring that young talents across the country are discovered and nurtured systematically.
The competition is being organised by the Youth Sports Renaissance Foundation (YSRF), a non-profit organisation registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission by Ijirigho, Godwin Obasogie and Charlton Ehizuelen. The foundation’s primary objective is to revive athletics, particularly at the secondary school level, and rebuild Nigeria’s once-thriving grassroots sports culture.
Ijirigho, who serves as Project Lead, explained that the initiative is not about creating something entirely new but about restoring a proven system that once produced champions.
“This competition is not about reinventing the wheel,” he said. “It is about bringing back the culture that ensured that my contemporaries and I were discovered early in secondary school, received the right coaching and academic support, and went on to earn scholarships while combining sports with education. Many of us later became national, continental and global champions.”
He identified early exposure and modern, age-appropriate coaching as the missing links in youth development across Nigeria and much of Africa.
“The bane of sports in Nigeria and many African countries is that our youth don’t get opportunities early enough and lack modern coaching techniques that accelerate their development,” Ijirigho stated.
According to him, the Future Olympian Athletics Classic will go beyond competition by incorporating international coaching clinics designed to transfer contemporary skills and knowledge to Games masters and grassroots coaches nationwide.
“The Classic will not only discover talents in their early teens but also upgrade the capacity of our coaches. That way, we will nurture them properly to become Olympians and world beaters in their late teens and early twenties. This programme is strictly for high school students because it is developmental.”
The decision to expand the event to all six geopolitical zones, he noted, reflects a commitment to inclusivity and equal opportunity.
“Talents abound in every nook and cranny of the country. There are middle- and long-distance runners, sprinters, quarter-milers, jumpers and hurdlers who were either not discovered at all or discovered too late. With this postponement, we can widen the tent and give every Nigerian child a fair chance.”
Ijirigho expressed confidence that with proper planning and sustained grassroots investment, Nigeria can reclaim its place at the summit of global athletics.
“We have what it takes to dominate athletics worldwide. All we need is to get our development programme right. The Future Olympian Athletics Classic will lay that foundation for our youth and for the country when it begins in the last quarter of 2026.”
With its expanded national scope and emphasis on structured youth development, the initiative signals a renewed push to reposition Nigerian athletics for long-term global success.
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Kenya’s Ezra Kipchumba Kering delivered a commanding Valentine’s Day performance to win the 11th edition of the Access Bank Lagos City Marathon on Saturday.
Kipchumba surged to the finish line at Eko Atlantic City in an impressive time of 2:11:55, clinching the $50,000 winner’s prize in one of Africa’s most prestigious road races. His decisive kick in the closing stages sealed a memorable triumph in a fiercely contested men’s elite race.
Uganda completed a strong showing on the podium, with Lomoi Samuel finishing just four seconds behind the winner in 2:11:59, while compatriot Namutala Kephar Lumbasi secured third place in 2:12:25 to underline East Africa’s dominance in the men’s event.
The Gold Label marathon, organised by Nilayo Sports Management Limited under the leadership of Managing Director Mrs Yetunde Olopade, once again lived up to its billing as a premier long-distance spectacle, attracting top-tier athletes from across the continent and beyond.
In the women’s race, Ethiopia’s Dinke Meseret Meleka claimed top honours, crossing the line in 2:37:36 after a determined run. Kenya’s Daniel Flomena Cheyech followed closely in 2:37:43, while Ethiopia’s Getaw Wgagen Zewdalem finished third in 2:38:59 to complete a tightly fought podium finish.
With another thrilling chapter added to its history, the Access Bank Lagos City Marathon reaffirmed its growing stature as a leading destination for elite runners and a major highlight on Africa’s athletics calendar.
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