World Athletics C'ships: Jefferson-Wooden bags golden sprint double, Lyles wins fourth straight men's 200m

Tokyo, Sep 19 (IANS) American Melissa Jefferson-Wooden completed a golden sprint double while her compatriot Noah Lyles, the new sprint sensation, powered to his fourth consecutive victory in the men's 200 metres on the seventh and penultimate day of the World Athletics Championships here on Friday.

Jefferson-Wooden clocked an impressive 19.52 seconds at the World Athletics Championships on Friday, storming to victory in the women's 200 metres to add to her 100m crown.

The 28-year-old's triumph secured his sixth gold medal across four World Championships, adding to his 100m title in Budapest and 4x100m relay golds in Doha and Budapest.

Two-time Olympic silver medalist Kenneth Bednarek delivered a season-best 19.58 seconds to claim silver, completing a U.S. one-two finish. Jamaica's Bryan Levell surged to bronze with a personal best of 19.64 seconds. Botswana's Letsile Tebogo, the 100m silver medalist earlier this week, narrowly missed the podium, finishing fourth in 19.65 seconds.

Jefferson-Wooden was a class apart from the rest of the field, winning by almost half a second, a margin only previously surpassed by Allyson Felix back in 2007. It was perhaps apt that her winning time of 21.68 also saw her move ahead of Felix in the world all-time list, in eighth, having earlier in the championships put herself fourth-fastest ever in the 100m.

In the men's 200m, Noah Lyles clocked an impressive 19.52 seconds to power to his fourth consecutive victory in the World Athletics Championships, equalling Usain Bolt’s record of four consecutive world 200m titles. The 28-year-old's triumph secured his sixth gold medal across four World Championships, adding to his 100m title in Budapest and 4x100m relay golds in Doha and Budapest.

Two-time Olympic silver medallist Kenneth Bednarek delivered a season-best 19.58 seconds to claim silver, completing a U.S. one-two finish. Jamaica's Bryan Levell surged to bronze with a personal best of 19.64 seconds. Botswana's Letsile Tebogo, the 100m silver medalist earlier this week, narrowly missed the podium, finishing fourth in 19.65 seconds.

“I can't wait for 2027 (the next World Championships in Beijing) to become the only man to win five 200m titles,” he said afterwards.

“I don't have good memories from Tokyo in 2021. At that time, I was depressed, but this time I am energised. I love what I do, and I am happy. I have the best support staff and the best crowd I could have ever asked for. My face is blasted everywhere over Tokyo. This is amazing and such a joyous moment. I am going to keep it with me forever.”

Pichardo leaps to men's triple jump title

Portugal's Tokyo Olympic champion Pedro Pichardo soared to victory in the men's triple jump on Friday, delivering a world-leading mark of 17.91 meters on his final attempt. The 32-year-old's stellar performance secured his second world title, following his triumph in Eugene three years ago.

Italy's Andrea Dallavalle claimed silver with a 17.64-meter jump, while Cuba's Lazaro Martinez earned bronze with a season-best 17.49 meters. China's Zhu Yaming, a silver medalist at the Tokyo Olympics, finished 11th with a mark of 16.51 meters.

--IANS

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