Dash double, pole vault gold for Team USATF on Day 2 of World Ultimate Championship

BUDAPEST — Kung Fu Kenny Bednarek scored an epic upset of world champion Oblique Seville in the men's 100, and Melissa Jefferson-Wooden avenged her only loss of the year in the women's 100 to close out an exciting second day of the World Ultimate Championship Saturday at National Stadium. Team USATF athletes took three Ultimate trophies and had eight top three finishes in front of a near-capacity crowd.
 
Capturing his first global gold after scoring four silvers in the 200 in Olympic and World Championships competition, Bednarek steamed past Seville in the closing stages to a clear win in a season best 9.85. Seville was second in 9.90, while veteran Ronnie Baker came through for third in 9.93 and Christian Coleman was fifth in 9.94. Bednarek is also entered in the 200 with hopes of a sprint double.
 
Jefferson-Wooden added another global title to her collection with a commanding 10.62 to win the women's 100 and kick off her pursuit of the 100/200 sweep she turned at the World Championships in Tokyo last year. Just .01 off her PB, Jefferson-Wooden's 10.62 is the equal seventh fastest time ever.
 
Lined up next to St. Lucia's Julien Alfred, the Olympic champion and the woman who handed her her only loss of the year in the 100 at the Zurich Diamond League meet two weeks ago, Jefferson-Wooden burst from the blocks and made the race her own with a confident performance that distanced her from the field in the final 10 meters. Alfred held onto second in 10.74 against a fast-closing Sha'Carri Richardson, who was third in 10.76.
 
Ten years after earning her first global medal, a renewed Sandi Morris had one of the best jumps of her career to earn the women's pole vault title with a second attempt clearance at 4.90. Morris, 34, had to take extra attempts at 4.70 and 4.80 while emerging star Hana Moll had a clear card through 4.85, but Moll needed three tries to get over 4.90, handing the title to Morris after both were unable to clear 4.95. Katie Moon was sixth with a best of 4.70, and Emily Grove was eighth at the same height.
 
Flying to a big lead in the first half of the men's 400, Botswana's Collen Kebinatshipi put to rest any questions about his superiority over one lap with a masterful 43.39 that made him the fifth fastest man in history and destroyed a hugely talented field. The reigning world champion and still only 22, Kebinatshipi went through 200 in 20.67 and had a .3 lead over the nearest challenger.
 
Rai Benjamin was more than a half-second adrift at that point but starting to make up ground on the rest of the field as the Botswanan went by 300 in a stunning 31.37. Benjamin finished well  to grab second in 44.15, with Trinidad's Jereem Richards third in 44.23. Chris Bailey was the fastest over the final 100 to place fourth in 44.27, while Jacory Patterson was sixth in 44.59.
 
Olympic champion Marileidy Paulino hasn't lost a 400 all year and she again overtook the field coming off the final bend to win, this time in 49.07 as the rest of the field struggled to keep up. Paulino started out at conservative pace and was last at 100 and 200 before moving to fifth at 300 in 35.90. She then went by early leader Lieke Klaver of the Netherlands and powered down the home stretch, with only European champion Henriette Jaeger of Norway able to stay in striking distance down the stretch. Jaeger ended up second in 49.28, and USATF champion Aaliyah Butler was sixth in 50.12.
 
Adding a World Ultimate title to the Diamond League women's 1500 final she won last week in Brussels, Klaudia Kazimierska of Poland held off a strong challenge from Britain's Georgia Hunter Bell over the final 50 to come away victorious in 3:57.55. Bell was second in 3:57.72 and Nikki Hiltz nabbed third in 3:58.16.
 
Early pace was honest with France's Agathe Guillemot taking the field through 400 in 63.32. Tempo slowed a bit in the next 400 as they went by 800 in 2:11.31 with the whole pack in contention. Guillemot held the lead through the bell in 3:00.06, but on the backstretch Kazimierska made a decisive move to the lead. Tied with Hunter Bell at 1400, the Polish star used a 14.27 final 100 for the win. Emily Mackay, who was fourth with 300 to go, ended up seventh in 3:59.16.
 
Unbeaten outdoors and now the undisputed queen of halfmiling, Switzerland's Audrey Werro led from start to finish in the women's 800 to win comfortably in 1:55.88 over Olympic champ Keely Hodgkinson of Britain and Femke Broeders-Bol of the Netherlands. Addy Wiley made a valiant effort to crack the top three and was fourth in a season best of 1:57.54.
 
The 22-year-old Werro, who has three sub-1:54 clockings this year, assumed the lead at the break and went through 200 in 27.37. She hit the bell at 57.83 with Broeders-Bol on her heels and then passed 600 in 1:27.57. Her final 100 of 14.04 put her out of reach of Hodgkinson, who was second in 1:56.26, with Broeders-Bol settling for third in 1:56.74.
 
The second semifinal in the women's 400 hurdles looked a bit like an intramural event for the U.S., with three American women coming off the final bend at the front. World Championships silver medalist Jasmine Jones looked the best down the stretch and won in a season best of 52.77, with Olympic silver medalist Anna Cockrell second in 53.31 and two-time Olympic champ Dalilah Muhammad safely through in fourth at 53.79.
 
Jones had the fastest time overall as Emma Zapletalova of Slovakia won the first semi in 52.93. Shamier Little was seventh in that race with a time of 54.53.
 
Ensuring his place in the final of the men's 800, Brandon Miller went from third to first in the final 100 to win the first semifinal in 1:43.86 ahead of Olympic champ Emmanuel Wanyonyi of Kenya. Donavan Brazier made a late charge in the second semi but finished sixth in 1:44.47 and did not advance. Ireland's Mark English won that section in 1:43.74.
 
Less than two hours after he took second in the 400 final, Rai Benjamin added 10 barriers that gave him little trouble as he cruised to second in the first semi of the 400 hurdles in 47.49. World record holder Alison Dos Santos of Brazil won in 47.25. Trevor Bassitt's 48.59 in eighth did not earn him advancement. Former world record holder Karsten Warholm of Norway won the second semi in 47.68.