Budapest (AFP) – Melissa Jefferson-Wooden and Kenny Bednarek bagged memorable sprint doubles, while Alison dos Santos turned on the 400m hurdles afterburners to wrap up the Ultimate Championship in Budapest in sensational style on Sunday. After both Americans clinched 100m crowns on Saturday, they delivered the goods for a second time in their respective 200m races in front of a raucous sell-out crowd of 20,000.
Each athlete will leave the Hungarian capital $300,000 better off, with competitors battling for a significant share of a bumper $10 million prize pot. In a scintillating night of track and field action, hurdles king Dos Santos again shone, while Britain’s Josh Kerr won a keenly contested 1,500m and Italian high jumper Gianmarco Tamberi captivated the public’s imagination.
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World champion Jefferson-Wooden scorched to a sensational 21.47 seconds for victory in the 200m, wrapping up 11 finals on a thrilling third and final day of action of the inaugural championship. The 25-year-old’s time was the fourth fastest ever recorded. Only world record holder Florence Griffith Joyner (21.34) and Jamaican Shericka Jackson (21.41 and 21.45) have gone faster. “I never thought that people like Usain Bolt would watch my races and even have great reactions to my performances,” she said of the onlooking Jamaican sprint legend.
Bednarek, a two-time Olympic silver medallist, was equally impressive, winning in 19.52 seconds, placing him seventh on the all-time list. Fresh from setting a new world record in the 400m hurdles in Zurich, Dos Santos again did not disappoint, roaring to another impressive victory in 45.98 seconds. This time was the third fastest ever run in the challenging event, following his own world record of 45.80 seconds and the previous WR of 45.94 seconds set by Karsten Warholm when winning Olympic gold in Tokyo.
American Rai Benjamin came in second in 46.40 seconds, adding a second-placed showing in the 400m flat, with Norway’s Warholm (46.78) rounding out the podium in a high-quality race. “I just wanted to go out there and run as fast as I could,” said Dos Santos. “I knew there would be pressure. I knew everybody would give their best and fight all the way to the line, and I knew coming off the eighth hurdle into the final part of the race it was going to be a real battle.”
In the absence of Norway’s 5,000m winner Jakob Ingebrigtsen, Kerr produced a devastating last lap to seal a dominant victory in the 1,500m. The Scot, fresh from setting a new world record in the mile, hit the front with 300 meters to run and clocked 3 minutes 29.35 seconds for victory ahead of 20-year-old Australian Cameron Myers. “I didn’t race a lot this season, so I kind of came here fresh and ready to go,” said Kerr.
Algeria’s Djamel Sedjati pulled off a surprise in the men’s 800m, outsprinting Canada’s Olympic champion Marco Arop to win in 1:41.91, with Kenya’s world gold medallist Emmanuel Wanyonyi finishing in third. “That was very tactical but also very fast, and I am really happy to have won this race today; it’s my first title,” said Sedjati.
American world silver medallist Jasmine Jones won the women’s 400m hurdles in 52.45 seconds, while Ethiopia’s Likina Amebaw dominated the women’s 5,000m with victory in 14:30.36. Additionally, the US quartet of Chris Bailey, Alexis Holmes, Jacory Patterson, and Aaliyah Butler won the 4x400m mixed relay in 3:08.32, finishing ahead of Britain and the Netherlands.
In the field, Sri Lanka’s Rumesh Tharanga Pathirage dominated the men’s javelin with a best throw of 91.09 meters. Grenada’s Anderson Peters finished second, nearly 5 meters off the Diamond League and Commonwealth champion’s winning effort. “This was my one and only goal: to bring the trophy back to Sri Lanka,” said Pathirage. “My next goal is to bring the Olympic gold medal home.”
The men’s high jump came down to a duel between American JuVaughn Harrison and Italy’s Tamberi, who won world gold in Budapest in 2023. Tamberi, 34, sporting a half-shaved face, jumped a world-leading 2.37 meters for victory in a gripping competition that fully engaged the sell-out crowd. Finally, Senegal’s Saly Sarr held off a Cuban challenge for victory in the women’s triple jump with a best effort of 15.06 meters.
© 2024 AFP
