Melissa Jefferson-Wooden First American Woman To Sweep 100 And 200 At World Championships; Noah Lyles Edges Kenneth Bednaek In Men's 200

By Doug Binder, DyeStat Editor

Logan Hannigan-Downs Photos

INTERVIEWS

TOKYO – Rai Benjamin was several minutes into his post-race celebration, complete with a gold crown on his head, when something onerous appeared in the results: DQ

What was it for? And more importantly, who was going to tell him?

Benjamin hit the 10th and final hurdle hard, his legs heavy and his big lead shrinking in the men's 400-meter hurdles slightly. He kept his balance, crossed the finish line in 46.52 seconds. 

The meet referee issued the DQ, citing Rule 22.6.3. When Benjamin knocked his own hurdle down, he also inadvertently bumped the hurdle in lane six askew by a few inches. 

As news began spread, Benjamin was still celebrating his hard-earned victory. 

In the stands, coach Joanna Hayes went through a swirl of emotions, which were caught on camera.

"When I saw the picture (of the hurdle) I was like, Oh. My Gosh," Hayes said. "It was rough. And I'm getting messages, I talked to his mom. I started going into the mode like, if this is the case, let's figure it out."

It didn't take long, less than 10 minutes, for Benjamin's DQ to be overturned by the video referee. He was reinstated as the champion and the celebration continued.

It was a moment of elation for Benjamin, who finished with silver behind Karsten Warholm in a spectacular Olympic final in Tokyo in 2021. 

"I won, then I didn't win, and I won again, so I won twice tonight," Benjamin joked. "It feels good. Four years ago, drama again. I ran so fast and still got second. Tears were flowing. So, to come back to this exact spot, flip the script, and then have the whole drama again, it's crazy."

Alison Dos Santos of Brazil took silver with 46.84 and Abderrahman Samba of Qatar got bronze with 47.06. Ezekiel Nathaniel of Nigeria broke his own national record with 47.11 and briefly thought he might be upgraded to bronze with Benjamin's DQ. Warholm finished fifth. 

In the aftermath, Benjamin also said that he would set the 400-meter hurdles aside in 2026 and devote his time to training and racing the 200 and 400 meters. 

Lyles, Jefferson-Wood Both Golden In 200

Noah Lyles got past U.S. teammate Kenneth Bednarek in the final few strides as the Americans ran to gold and silver.

Lyles won it in 19.52 and Bednarek ran 19.58.

After missing out on gold in the 200 meters last year in Paris, Lyles was more than happy to get back onto the top of the podium with his fourth World Championship title in the 200. 

"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," Lyles said. "My face is blasted everywhere over Tokyo. This is amazing and such a joyous moment I am going to keep with me forever. Now I want to win the gold medal in the relay."

Up and coming Jamaican Bryan Levell finished third in 19.64 and had a slight lead coming off the curve.

Melissa Jefferson-Wooden continued to dominate the fastest women in the world and she won the 200 meters in 21.68 seconds. She became the first American woman to sweep the 100-200 double. 

"Being the first American to win the women's 200 meters at a world championships since Allyson Felix means a lot," Jefferson-Wooden said. "I looked up to her so much growing up. My first professional year was something like her last season on the professional circuit. It's amazing to be able to hear these statistics - they just make me feel blessed and grateful for the position I am in now."

Great Britain's Amy Hunt was a surprise silver medalist after running 22.14. Jamaican Shericka Jackson, the second-fastest woman in the history of the event, finished with the bronze. 

Femke Bol Repeats World Title In 400 Hurdles

Femke Bol would readily concede that her world titles in the women's 400-meter hurdles had something to do with Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone being absent for them. 

But Bol, of The Netherlands, was sensational as she won the final in a world-leading time of 51.54 seconds. She had a lead coming off the final curve and held off American Jasmine Jones, who ran a lifetime best 52.08 for second place. 

Emma Zapletalova of Slovakia caught and passed Anna Cockrell of the U.S. just before the finish line to win the third medal, 53.00 to 53.13. 

Dalilah Muhammad, racing what may have been her final pro race, was dealing with an injury to her hip that nearly forced her to scratch. She had limited range of motion in her right leg and gutted out a seventh-place finish. 

Pichardo's Final Attempt Wins Triple Jump

Portugal's Pedro Pichardo came up clutch in the sixth and final round of the men's triple jump, going 17.91m to take the victory over Italy's Andrea Dallavalle, who perhaps celebrated prematurely after he hit for a 17.64 personal best in the sixth round. 

For a moment I believed I could be world champion, but three minutes later (Pedro) Pichardo (POR) produced a jump out of this world," Dallavalle said. 

Pichardo's jump  was the longest in the world this year and gave him a second world title and a second Tokyo title, after his 2021 Olympic gold. 

U.S. Puts Three Into Men's 5,000 Final

Americans Cole Hocker, Grant Fisher and Nico Young all made it through the first round of the men's 5,000 meters and will compete for medals on Sunday in the final. 

Jakob Ingebrigtsen of Norway, the Olympic champion who has endured injuries and missed training in 2025, was the eighth and final qualifier in the second heat. 

"I gave my all. I am not myself," Ingebrigtsen said. "I had to do what I could today. I was not sure would I make the final but here I am. I don't have any idea what I am going to do in the final. I will try my best. Can it be a medal for Norway? I don't know, maybe. We will see."

Sage Hurta-Klecker made the women’s 800 meters final with the last spot. Jessica Hull ran a personal best and Australian record 1:57.11, making the most of a second chance after she was put into the semifinals after suffering a fall in the first round.

Anna Hall opened the heptathlon with a good first day that included a new personal best 15.80m in the shot put. She leads after the first day and Taliyah Brooks is in the medal hunt in fifth. 

Evie Bliss and Madison Wiltrout of the U.S. got their first taste of competition on the big stage in the women's javelin qualification round, but neither of them advanced to the final.