MELISSA JEFFERSON-WOODEN became only the second woman to win a world sprint treble after leading the United States to 4×100 metres relay gold on Sunday, with Jamaica’s Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce taking silver in her final race.
Jefferson-Wooden matched Fraser-Pryce’s achievement from the 2013 world championships in Moscow by adding to the 100m and 200m titles that she bagged in Tokyo.
She led off the race in driving rain before handing off to her team-mate Twanisha Terry before Kayla White ran the bend and Sha’Carri Richardson took the baton across the line in a time of 41.75sec.
“I did what I wanted to do individually and then came back together with my girls, my training partners, and we were all able to walk away with the gold medal, so I’m really happy about that,” said Jefferson-Wooden.
Jamaica were second in 41.79sec, followed by Germany in 41.87sec.
Fraser-Pryce was competing in her final race before bringing the curtain down on an incredible 17-year career.
She went into the race with three Olympic gold medals and 10 world titles, and a total of 25 Olympic and world medals to her name.
She made sure she signed off with one more, leading off a Jamaican team that also included sisters Tia Clayton and Tina Clayton and Jonielle Smith.
“I started it tonight and to be able to hand over to our young upcoming superstars and queens is truly fantastic,” said the 38-year-old.
“To be able to give them the opportunity to go for gold because ultimately that’s what I wanted to do.”
But Fraser-Pryce was unable to win one last gold.
Jefferson-Wooden had already become the first woman to win a world sprint double since Fraser-Pryce as she dominated the 100m and 200m finals.
She got the US off to a strong start but Jamaica were ahead until a clumsy baton change between Tia and Tina Clayton lost them valuable time.
The US led heading into the final straight and Richardson held off a furious late charge by Smith to cross the line in first, roaring in delight.
Richardson, who was fifth in the individual 100m, paid tribute to former elite sprinter Dennis Mitchell, who coaches all four members of the US team.
Mitchell served a ban for doping during his competitive career but Richardson said she had “the utmost respect” for him.
“His coaching style is something that all of us have never experienced before, not just as a coach, but as a person,” she said.
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Melissa Jefferson-Wooden looks up at the torrential rain before the women's 4 X 100 meters relay final. Alamy Stock Photo
Alamy Stock Photo
Jefferson-Wooden had already become the first woman to win a world sprint double since Fraser-Pryce as she dominated the 100m and 200m finals.
She got the US off to a strong start but Jamaica were ahead until a clumsy baton change between Tia and Tina Clayton lost them valuable time.
The US led heading into the final straight and Richardson held off a furious late charge by Smith to cross the line in first, roaring in delight.
Men’s 4x100m relay
Noah Lyles won his second gold of the Tokyo world championships on Sunday after anchoring the USA team to victory in the men’s 4×100 metres relay.
Noah Lyles of the USA. Alamy Stock Photo
Alamy Stock Photo
The American quartet of Christian Coleman, Kenny Bednarek, Courtney Lindsey and Lyles clocked 37.29sec.
Canada bagged silver in 37.55sec, with the Netherlands taking bronze in 37.81.
USA quartets have so often been plagued by baton handover problems in recent championships that it was almost a rarity to see them perform so smoothly.
“We all know we are the fastest. We just had to get the baton from start to finish,” said Lyles.
“When Christian passed the baton I knew it was a done deal. I saw the lead we had and it was a kind of a relief as everybody did such a great job.
“I just had to finish the race. They made it easy for me. I could have not ask for a better relay.”
Lyles only won bronze in the 100m last weekend but then matched Jamaican legend Usain Bolt’s record of four consecutive world 200m titles after he convincingly won that event on Friday.
The relay victory handed Lyles an eighth world gold as part of his 10-medal haul.
He is also the reigning Olympic 100m champion and has back-to-back 200m bronzes from the Paris and Tokyo Games.
Women’s 4x400m relay
Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone won her second gold of the world chanmpionships in Tokyo on Sunday, anchoring the USA team to a dominant victory in the 4×400 metres relay.
Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone crosses the finish line as Team USA win the women's 4x400m relay. Alamy Stock Photo
Alamy Stock Photo
Double Olympic 400m hurdles champion McLaughlin-Levrone, who impressively won the 400m flat gold at these championships earlier in the week, put in a punishing last leg timed at a rapid 47.82sec to bring the USA team home in a championship record of 3min 16.61sec.
It beat by 0.10sec the previous best set by the United States in Stuttgart in 1993.
Jamaica claimed silver in 3:19.25, with the Netherlands taking bronze in 3:20.18.
Femke Bol, fresh from retaining her 400m hurdles crown and known for her fast finishing speed, was on the anchor leg for the Dutch team.
But she had been left too much to do and could only chase down the shadows of her hurdling nemesis McLaughlin-Levrone.
“When you have great teammates as I have, it’s amazing,” said McLaughlin-Levrone, who ran the second fastest women’s 400m flat time in history in winning the individual event.
“My last lap felt it was like a victory lap for us. I just wanted to finish strong because you never know who is behind, chasing you. It was just an incredible race.
“Everyone just wanted to go out there, do their job.
“We weren’t really going for a time, we just wanted to obviously do our parts and win the race, so it’s always special to also add a championship record to the mix.”
Bol said the bronze brought the curtain down on yet another successful championships.
“It’s a team medal,” she said. “Even if I overtook a lot we made it all together.
“We worked hard to be able to do this and we have a great team around us to help us achieve our goals.
“I leave these world championships with three medals and I’m happy with that,” she said, having also won silver in the mixed 4x400m relay.
Men’s 4x400m relay
Botswana’s quartet of Lee Bhekempilo Eppie, Letsile Tebogo, Bayapo Ndori and the individual 400m world champion Busang Collen Kebinatshipi claimed a thrilling victory in the men’s 4x400m relay.
Kebinatshipi ran an impressive anchor leg, stealing the win in the final metres after running down American Rai Benjamin, the 400m hurdles gold medallist.
Botswana timed 2:57.76 to top the podium, with the US foursome taking silver 0.07sec adrift.
World 400m record holder Wayde van Niekerk ran the third leg to help South Africa to bronze.
“This gold medal makes up for my individual non-medal performances,” said Olympic 200m champion Tebogo, who false started in the 100m final here and finished fourth in the 200m.
“I am grateful to my teammates and to our coach. We came here dreaming of becoming world champions. It took a lot of courage for me. I am really happy to be sharing this medal with these guys.”
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Jefferson-Wooden completes world sprint treble, while Botswana claim men's 4x400m gold
LAST UPDATE | 21 Sep 2025
Women’s 4x100m relay
MELISSA JEFFERSON-WOODEN became only the second woman to win a world sprint treble after leading the United States to 4×100 metres relay gold on Sunday, with Jamaica’s Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce taking silver in her final race.
Jefferson-Wooden matched Fraser-Pryce’s achievement from the 2013 world championships in Moscow by adding to the 100m and 200m titles that she bagged in Tokyo.
She led off the race in driving rain before handing off to her team-mate Twanisha Terry before Kayla White ran the bend and Sha’Carri Richardson took the baton across the line in a time of 41.75sec.
“I did what I wanted to do individually and then came back together with my girls, my training partners, and we were all able to walk away with the gold medal, so I’m really happy about that,” said Jefferson-Wooden.
Jamaica were second in 41.79sec, followed by Germany in 41.87sec.
Fraser-Pryce was competing in her final race before bringing the curtain down on an incredible 17-year career.
She went into the race with three Olympic gold medals and 10 world titles, and a total of 25 Olympic and world medals to her name.
She made sure she signed off with one more, leading off a Jamaican team that also included sisters Tia Clayton and Tina Clayton and Jonielle Smith.
“I started it tonight and to be able to hand over to our young upcoming superstars and queens is truly fantastic,” said the 38-year-old.
“To be able to give them the opportunity to go for gold because ultimately that’s what I wanted to do.”
But Fraser-Pryce was unable to win one last gold.
Jefferson-Wooden had already become the first woman to win a world sprint double since Fraser-Pryce as she dominated the 100m and 200m finals.
She got the US off to a strong start but Jamaica were ahead until a clumsy baton change between Tia and Tina Clayton lost them valuable time.
The US led heading into the final straight and Richardson held off a furious late charge by Smith to cross the line in first, roaring in delight.
Richardson, who was fifth in the individual 100m, paid tribute to former elite sprinter Dennis Mitchell, who coaches all four members of the US team.
Mitchell served a ban for doping during his competitive career but Richardson said she had “the utmost respect” for him.
“His coaching style is something that all of us have never experienced before, not just as a coach, but as a person,” she said.
Jefferson-Wooden had already become the first woman to win a world sprint double since Fraser-Pryce as she dominated the 100m and 200m finals.
She got the US off to a strong start but Jamaica were ahead until a clumsy baton change between Tia and Tina Clayton lost them valuable time.
The US led heading into the final straight and Richardson held off a furious late charge by Smith to cross the line in first, roaring in delight.
Men’s 4x100m relay
Noah Lyles won his second gold of the Tokyo world championships on Sunday after anchoring the USA team to victory in the men’s 4×100 metres relay.
The American quartet of Christian Coleman, Kenny Bednarek, Courtney Lindsey and Lyles clocked 37.29sec.
Canada bagged silver in 37.55sec, with the Netherlands taking bronze in 37.81.
USA quartets have so often been plagued by baton handover problems in recent championships that it was almost a rarity to see them perform so smoothly.
“We all know we are the fastest. We just had to get the baton from start to finish,” said Lyles.
“When Christian passed the baton I knew it was a done deal. I saw the lead we had and it was a kind of a relief as everybody did such a great job.
“I just had to finish the race. They made it easy for me. I could have not ask for a better relay.”
Lyles only won bronze in the 100m last weekend but then matched Jamaican legend Usain Bolt’s record of four consecutive world 200m titles after he convincingly won that event on Friday.
The relay victory handed Lyles an eighth world gold as part of his 10-medal haul.
He is also the reigning Olympic 100m champion and has back-to-back 200m bronzes from the Paris and Tokyo Games.
Women’s 4x400m relay
Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone won her second gold of the world chanmpionships in Tokyo on Sunday, anchoring the USA team to a dominant victory in the 4×400 metres relay.
Double Olympic 400m hurdles champion McLaughlin-Levrone, who impressively won the 400m flat gold at these championships earlier in the week, put in a punishing last leg timed at a rapid 47.82sec to bring the USA team home in a championship record of 3min 16.61sec.
It beat by 0.10sec the previous best set by the United States in Stuttgart in 1993.
Jamaica claimed silver in 3:19.25, with the Netherlands taking bronze in 3:20.18.
Femke Bol, fresh from retaining her 400m hurdles crown and known for her fast finishing speed, was on the anchor leg for the Dutch team.
But she had been left too much to do and could only chase down the shadows of her hurdling nemesis McLaughlin-Levrone.
“When you have great teammates as I have, it’s amazing,” said McLaughlin-Levrone, who ran the second fastest women’s 400m flat time in history in winning the individual event.
“My last lap felt it was like a victory lap for us. I just wanted to finish strong because you never know who is behind, chasing you. It was just an incredible race.
“Everyone just wanted to go out there, do their job.
“We weren’t really going for a time, we just wanted to obviously do our parts and win the race, so it’s always special to also add a championship record to the mix.”
Bol said the bronze brought the curtain down on yet another successful championships.
“It’s a team medal,” she said. “Even if I overtook a lot we made it all together.
“We worked hard to be able to do this and we have a great team around us to help us achieve our goals.
“I leave these world championships with three medals and I’m happy with that,” she said, having also won silver in the mixed 4x400m relay.
Men’s 4x400m relay
Botswana’s quartet of Lee Bhekempilo Eppie, Letsile Tebogo, Bayapo Ndori and the individual 400m world champion Busang Collen Kebinatshipi claimed a thrilling victory in the men’s 4x400m relay.
Kebinatshipi ran an impressive anchor leg, stealing the win in the final metres after running down American Rai Benjamin, the 400m hurdles gold medallist.
Botswana timed 2:57.76 to top the podium, with the US foursome taking silver 0.07sec adrift.
World 400m record holder Wayde van Niekerk ran the third leg to help South Africa to bronze.
“This gold medal makes up for my individual non-medal performances,” said Olympic 200m champion Tebogo, who false started in the 100m final here and finished fourth in the 200m.
“I am grateful to my teammates and to our coach. We came here dreaming of becoming world champions. It took a lot of courage for me. I am really happy to be sharing this medal with these guys.”
– © AFP 2025
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