Melissa Jefferson-Wooden cemented her status as the top sprinter in America and one of the best in the world this summer by capturing the RW+ Membership Benefits with a new personal best of 21.84 on Sunday afternoon in Eugene. The title is her second of the weekend, as she ran 10.65—the fastest time in the world this year and fifth-fastest in world history—to win the 100 meters on Friday night.
It wasn’t even close. The Georgetown, South Carolina, native ran well clear of the field to win, with runner-up Anavia Battle recording a season’s-best of 22.13 for second place. There was an epic battle behind Battle for third place as Gabby Thomas, Brittany Brown, and McKenzie Long all finished in a dead heat for the final qualifying spot to the World Championships in Tokyo with a time of 22.20.
After an anxious moment, Thomas could breathe more easily as the official results revealed she edged Brown, 22.197 to 22.198, thanks to a crucial lean at the finish line. Long was fifth in 22.199.
“I put it all out there, and it would have been a big disappointment for me to have trained this hard and not make the team,” Thomas said. “I did not realize that I was in that position. When I race, I’m in the zone, almost like a blackout moment. I saw Melissa, I saw Anavia, and I saw a pause so I was definitely nervous. I thought I had it, but I didn’t know in that moment. Of course I was nervous, but I’m happy to make the team, and now I have an opportunity to go back to Texas and focus and get ready for Worlds.”
Thomas, the reigning Olympic champion over 200 meters, revealed that she’s had some hiccups in training due to a recurring Achilles injury.
“Truthfully, I haven’t been able to train too much,” she said. “It’s kind of tough because I’m dealing with an Achilles issue. When you have to take a couple of weeks off before USAs, that’s never a good feeling. I’m confident in what I’m able to do, and I have some good races under my belt this season, so I have faith in that, but you always want to go into USAs healthy. It’s tough.”
She said two weeks ago, she couldn’t jog or put weight on the affected foot. She drew motivation from other athletes who were forced to take time off this season and came back stronger.
“I wouldn’t say [I’m feeling] 100 percent, but definitely feel good enough to go out there and give my all, which I did,” she said. “Good enough to make the team.”
Brown, the Olympic bronze medalist in the 200 meters in Paris, has overcome her own health challenges this season to make it to the start line healthy. She underwent surgery in December for endometriosis.
“When you finish, you don’t really know what’s going on—you’re just going,” she said of the blanket finish. “We fought hard to the finish, it’s been a long year for me coming back from surgery. It was a very hard-fought race.”
Jefferson-Wooden will be a major favorite to win gold in both events at the World Championships in Tokyo this September.
Johanna Gretschel is a freelance writer and broadcaster living in Austin, Texas, who has covered elite track and field and running in all its forms. She contributes to Runner’s World, ESPN, Austin American-Statesman, FloTrack, MileSplit, Women’s Running and Podium Runner. Yes, she has run a marathon!
