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College student Melissa Jefferson You may have been surprised by the upset victory in the women's 100-meter final on Friday, but she says she's ready for the next big challenge – competing with Jamaica's dynamic duo next month.
She will face two-time Olympic sprint champion Elaine Thompson Hera and world champion Shelly-Ann Fraser Price at the World Championships on the same track where Jefferson won the US title. To do. ..
"I'm not (against them), so I'm glad I got the chance," said relatively unknown Jefferson, his favorite Alear Hobbes in the race that lost the top. Said after burning 10.69 seconds using the wind to defeat. American sprinter Sha'Carri Richardson.
Richardson was eliminated in qualifying on Thursday.
"I'm ready for any challenge or anything that might come my way," Jefferson said.
She has come a long way in just a few weeks. A sophomore at Coastal Carolina University finished only 8th in the NCAA Women's 100m Final, running 11.24 seconds earlier this month.
This is far from Thompson Hera's personal best of 10.54 in Eugene last year and the 10.60 Fraser Price recorded in 2021. Fraser Price leads the world at 10.67 this year.
However, because this week's victory was unexpected, Track&Field News did not consider her a candidate for the top 10 of the US Championship, Jefferson gave her a fast run on Friday. Boosts even if the wind helps.
"Seeing 10.69 on the scoreboard was a very surreal moment for me and I was a little more confident," said a college indoor girl 60 meters who had a personal 100 meters in 10.88 seconds. The champion said. ..
"I don't say I'm very skeptical of myself, but I don't fully understand what I can achieve."
But even Jefferson He admitted that Friday's victory was a shock.
"A little," she said. "I will be honest.
" This is one of the biggest encounters of all of them and the best of the best. It's to see my efforts pay off. Means everything. "
(Reported by Gene Cherry in Eugene, Oregon, edited by Edwina Gibbs)
