Athletics-Jefferson-Wooden and Alfred cruise through 100 metres heats

World Athletics Championships Tokyo 2025 - Women's 100m Round 1 - Japan National Stadium, Tokyo, Japan - September 13, 2025 Saint Lucia's Julien Alfred crosses the line to win heat 4 REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch

TOKYO (Reuters) -World leader Melissa Jefferson-Wooden and Olympic champion Julien Alfred took the first step towards their highly anticipated 100 metres showdown at the world championships by easing through the first round of heats on Saturday.

American Jefferson-Wooden comfortably won the opening heat in 10.99 seconds after easing up, while St Lucian Alfred stormed out of the blocks to dominate the fourth in 10.93 -- the fastest time of the day.