In a record-breaking 35 minutes of track and field, three collegiate records fell. Not one or two but three, with two of those records leading to the Georgia women’s track and field team winning their second consecutive title. And yet, the headline didn’t belong to them. Why would it? The spotlight deservedly went to Adaejah Hodge. It’s not every day a college sprinter outdoes an 11-time Olympic medalist.

That’s right: with her collegiate record-breaking run in the 200m final at the NCAA Outdoor Championships, Hodge surpassed Allyson Felix. The very same Felix who won seven Olympic gold medals.

Hodge clocked 21.68, a time that was good enough to move her to equal eighth on the world all-time list. It puts her level with Melissa Jefferson-Wooden (21.68 (-0.1)) and one spot ahead of Felix (21.69 (+1.0)). 

It’s also a world-leading time and a new collegiate record, improving upon the time set by Abby Steiner (21.80) in 2022. That was what she was after from the very start, and the 20-year-old made sure she got it.

“Man, that was one of my goals, so it’s amazing to see that I ran 21.6, you know, broke the collegiate record,” Hodge told trackside reporters after the race. “Now I have both of them. And now, me and D (Dejanea Oakley) we did it. We swept everybody off the short sprints and put Georgia up there.”

The kicker? That would be the fact that the 20-year-old lost in the 100m a little over 45 minutes before her 200m race. Yet, she shook it off and stepped back onto the track for the 200m, lining up alongside Shawnti Jackson, Camryn Dickson, and others. Texas A&M’s Dickson started off superbly, pushing Hodge to her limits. 

Dickson was ahead, but by the time they came out of the turn, the Georgia sprinter flew forward. The Texas star tried to keep up but ran out of steam, and by then, Hodge was gone. She kept her foot on the throttle and didn’t let up until the very end. By the time she crossed the line, Adaejah Hodge had something close to a 1m lead over Jackson (22.12).

Dixon (22.18) came in third, followed by Gabrielle Matthews (22.29) and Yahnari Lyons (22.31). It marked yet another remarkable run made even more sensational by the fact that she’s a freshman.

Hodge already has two collegiate records, is one of the ten fastest women ever, and is now an NCAA champion. And all that happened after she lost in an event despite being the bona fide favorite going into the race. A discipline she last lost in 2024. However, Hodge puts it all down to her ability to compartmentalise.

Adaejah Hodge reflects on losing the 100m final

Going into the final day of the NCAA Outdoor Championships, many Georgia fans believed that Adaejah Hodge was winning two titles. The 100m seemed in the bag after she broke the collegiate record, and she was the favourite in the 200m as well. That was until Shenese Walker produced a magnificent run to upset the favourite.

It was a stunning loss and one absolutely nobody expected, especially after Adaejah Hodge took down the collegiate record earlier in the meet. The Georgia star clocked 10.63, a world-leading time and broke Sha’Carri Richardson’s NCAA 100-meter outdoor record.

The Florida State star, Walker, registered 10.88 seconds to Hodge’s 10.93 to win the 100m title. Despite that, the Georgia star brushed it off and stepped up to win the 200m less than an hour later. When asked if she was upset, Hodge refuted those claims and instead believed that it was simply a part of the sport.

“In track and field, you’ve got to learn how to compartmentalize,” Hodge said as per The Register. “I think I did a great job of forgetting the 100, coming back and running my heart out in the (200).

“It was definitely just about going back, like, ‘Hey, it is what it is. It’s all part of God’s plan. Move forward to the next event.’ That just shows my maturity in the sport.”

Losing the 100m final could easily have derailed her day; instead, it’s nothing more than a footnote in Adaejah Hodge’s history. Now, only time will tell just how far the 20-year-old will truly be able to go.