Melissa Jefferson-Wooden put on a dominant display in the 200 metres on the final day of the U.S. national championships Sunday in New York, while world champion Noah Lyles sent the crowd into a panic after cramping up during the men’s race.
Jefferson-Wooden, who swept the sprint double in Tokyo last year, was firing on all cylinders as she powered through the early portion of the race and hit the finish line in 21.69 seconds — just one hundredth of a second off her personal best.
Cambrea Sturgis finished well back in second at 22.22 seconds, with Camryn Dickson rounding out the podium in 22.58.
“Going up to the line, I just told myself, ‘Just let each phase of the race come to you. Don’t put too much pressure on yourself. Just go out there and when the gun goes off, let it rip,’” Jefferson-Wooden said. “And that’s what I did.”
Lyles, who had already captured the 100m crown earlier in the championships, alarmed fans at Icahn Stadium when he pulled up clutching his leg with a cramp in the final stretch, drawing audible gasps from the crowd. He later assured everyone he was fine, attributing the issue to the heavy training load he had placed on himself.
Garrett Kaalund took the men’s 200m title in 20.04 seconds, with Brandon Hicklin finishing second in 20.29. Maximilian Thomas was just two thousandths of a second behind Hicklin to claim third.
NOTABLE ABSENCES IN AN ‘OFF YEAR’
Without an Olympics or world championships on the calendar, this year’s nationals lacked some of the usual high-stakes drama. It was the first time since 2018 that the meet did not serve as a selection event for either of those two major competitions.
The event was also held in New York’s five boroughs for the first time in over 30 years. Attendance was light in the early sessions but swelled to a full house by Sunday’s finale.
Several marquee names were missing from the competition, including the reigning women’s and men’s 400-meter hurdles Olympic champions Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, who gave birth earlier this month, and Rai Benjamin.
Olympic silver medalist Anna Cockrell stepped up in their absence, winning the women’s 400m hurdles with confidence in a time of 52.94 seconds. On the men’s side, Christopher Robinson turned in his best performance of the season to claim the title in 47.61.
In the women’s 800m, Nia Akins edged out Addy Wiley by a razor-thin margin — 1:59.25 to 1:59.40 — after a strong final stretch. It was the second gut-wrenching loss in two days for Wiley, who had also fallen short in the 1,500m on Saturday, losing to Nikki Hiltz by just four hundredths of a second.
On the men’s side, 17-year-old Cooper Lutkenhaus dominated the 800m field, winning in 1:43.48 — more than a full second ahead of runner-up Wes Ferguson, who clocked 1:44.55.
Cordell Tinch edged out Bradley Franklin by just four thousandths of a second to win the 110m hurdles in 13.00 seconds, with recent world record-breaker Ja’Kobe Tharp not in the field.
In the field events, back-to-back Olympic champion Valarie Sion launched a throw of 69.54 metres on her fourth attempt to claim her eighth straight U.S. national discus title. Jordan Geist secured the men’s shot put crown with a final-throw effort of 22.32 metres.
The day closed with a twist in the women’s long jump. Olympic champion Tara Davis-Woodhall was initially declared the winner on her final attempt, but a protest led officials to rule the jump a foul. Alyssa Jones was ultimately awarded the victory with a mark of 6.96 metres, while Monae’ Nichols took second at 6.92. Davis-Woodhall was dropped to third.
