WCH Tokyo 25 brushstroke (© World Athletics)
Quotes from the women’s 200m medallists at a press conference at Tokyo’s National Stadium on Friday.
Melissa Jefferson-Wooden (USA) – gold
On taking the 100m-200m double:
“Coming in, I knew that there was a high chance to complete the double. I was not really looking at the history and the statistics of it – like Shelly-Ann (Fraser-Pryce, JAM) being the only other woman to do it, or me being the first American.
“I only put two and two together tonight, so I was kind of freaking out when I heard.”
On her winning time:
“I've always fought with the 200m, so any time I see under 22 seconds, I'm pleased. But 21.68 is: ‘Wow, you're kind of moving.’ It’s now undeniable. I can't say I don't run the 200m anymore.
“I thought I could run 21.50. So 21.68 – though a big personal best – I feel like I can go quicker.
“It was an amazing feeling tonight, being able to achieve the goals I set out for myself. I'm happy with what I ran. I came away with gold and a big PB. I don't have anything to complain about.”
On deciding to attempt the double this year:
“I think the biggest thing for me was to do with pushing myself out of my comfort zone. At the beginning of the year, I told my coaches I wanted to take the 200m more seriously, and they looked at each other as if to say, ‘Are you being serious?’
“I knew, in order to do the things I wanted to do in the 100m, I had to push not only my mind but my body to places it's never been before, trusting the people around me to get me to that point.
“At the start of the year, working on the 200m, I thought I could make the team. Then, as the year went on, it changed to thinking I could win the US trials. And then it went, ‘I think I can battle at the world championships’, to ‘I think I can win the whole thing.’”
On moving from junior to senior level:
“The thing that made a difference for me was when I left my collegiate coach and decided to join a professional group. Joining Star Athletics with Dennis Mitchell and Sharif Lewis is one of the best decisions I've ever made in my life. They took me in.
“Last year, training for Paris, I came to their group with a lingering injury from the previous year. It was a lot. But they were patient with me. They helped me through it.
“I ended up making the Olympic team and getting a medal. I think taking a medal last year and having belief from my coaches has been the driving factor this year.”
On whether her family were watching:
“My village is definitely in attendance. My mom, my dad, uncles and aunts are here. Normally we travel in large packs.
“It was so special to have all of them here to be able to witness what has been going on these last couple of days. And they've been saying it all week: ‘I just can't wait to see you go out there and make history.’
“Hearing that from them, if they can have that much faith in me, why can't I have that much faith in myself? So, it has been a joy to have them here. It's been my driving force.”
Any Hunt (GBR) – silver
On beating some of the world’s best to take silver:
“I knew from my training that I was up there with the world's best but I needed to give myself the opportunity to prove it. I think we saw that in the semi. I gave myself a chance to have a really good lane in the final, and then I was able to set up the race and prove what I could do.
“My training and fitness and strength really showed through. It was so amazing to finally be able to realise the potential I've been showing all year.”
On the transition from junior to senior level:
“I think it's pretty well documented that I didn't have the smoothest of transitions. I went through a whole 10-day rupture, a Cambridge (University) degree and moved to Italy, where I still don't speak the language very fluently.
“I made a small splash aged 17. I ran an under-18 world record and I very much disappeared for six years. I think everyone remembers the visuals from the London Diamond League where I finally broke that six year-old PB. I was absolutely sobbing. And I've run faster than that twice today.
“So, it's been a very rocky road at times but I think what has enabled me to end up on the other side, thriving. It’s just kind of a pure, radical inner belief, that kind of intrinsic power I knew was always going to be there.”
On her training:
“I took a massive leap of faith and moved to Italy with a completely new training set-up, a new coach, a new team. It opened me up to so many different possibilities and with such warm, welcoming arms.
“I love living in Paderborn. I love my life there. I love the people, the training set-up. It's so amazing. And it's enabled me to take my training to new heights.
“I'm so fit and strong. Some of the sessions I've been doing this year have been ridiculous. It means that I can come onto the start line with so much confidence because I know I'm completing sessions that not everyone else on that line could ever finish.”
Shericka Jackson (JAM) – bronze
On taking a bronze medal after missing the Paris 2024 Olympics:
“After the 100m, I was really disappointed. I cried a lot. Just to come out here and perform, it took a lot out of me mentally more than physically. But I'm here. I'm grateful. I'm sitting here as a medallist. So that's a plus.
“Last year messed with me mentally but this year I wanted to step out of my comfort zone and fall in love with the sport again. Usually, I'm a bubbly person, but last year I lost the passion.
“This year I have to name my medal ‘faithful’ because I kept myself grounded, even coming back from what I went through last year with my management team and everybody who kept me grounded. I dedicate my faithful medal to them.”
