Julien Alfred and Sha’Carri Richardson entered the 2025 season with sharply contrasting trajectories. Alfred, the reigning Olympic 100m champion, produced the most commanding form of her career, lowering her national record in the 200m to 21.71 seconds at the London Diamond League and matching that standard in the 100m with a series of sub-10.80 performances. Richardson, the world champion over 100m, endured a disjointed start, opening in 11.47 seconds in Tokyo and battling back from a February injury that slowed her preparation. Their differing fortunes had set the stage for a compelling meeting in the Diamond League circuit — until the plan fell apart.

Alfred’s progression in 2025 has been both decisive and sustained. She began her 200m campaign with a world-leading 21.88 seconds in Miramar, just shy of her 2024 national record, and then eclipsed it in London with a 21.71 that broke Gabby Thomas’s 2024 meeting record of 21.82. Her 100m performances were equally consistent, including wins in Oslo (10.89) and Stockholm (10.75, a meeting record), a second-place finish at the Prefontaine Classic in a headwind (10.77), and another victory in Monaco (10.79). Her coach credited an expanded race schedule with building “a new level of fitness and confidence, especially in the 200m,” making her a formidable candidate for both sprints at the World Championships in Tokyo.

Those prospects dimmed with a sudden announcement from Lausanne organizers. Alfred will not compete in this month’s Diamond League meets due to injury. She had been scheduled for the 100m in Silesia and the 200m in Lausanne. This development halts not only her campaign but also ends the anticipation of a pre-Worlds encounter with Richardson. The two have not met on the track since the Olympic final, and their absence from a shared stage before September leaves the championship as the only certain setting for their next contest.

Sha’Carri Richardson’s season, in contrast, has been defined by interruptions. After her slow opener in May, she confirmed that an injury had compromised her early form. Her return to competition at the Prefontaine Classic produced a ninth-place finish in 11.19 seconds, and she withdrew from the 100m semifinals at the USATF Championships. She did, however, contest the 200m there, signaling her intent to broaden her competitive range. Off the track, she faced a domestic violence arrest, though charges were later dropped. As the reigning world champion, she retains automatic entry into the 100m in Tokyo and will attempt to defend her title under unusual preparation circumstances.

With Alfred sidelined, the Lausanne and Silesia meetings will proceed without their most anticipated sprint showdown. The loss of that head-to-head not only deprives the Diamond League of a marquee race but also removes a valuable opportunity for both athletes to measure their form against elite opposition before the World Championships. In Tokyo, their next meeting will carry the weight of an untested rivalry, sharpened by the season’s diverging paths and the absence of any preview. Amid this, another rising phenom outpaced Julien Alfred while Sha’Carri Richardson endured a disappointing return in Eugene.

Melissa Jefferson-Wooden halts Alfred’s streak as Richardson struggles in Eugene 100m

Melissa Jefferson-Wooden produced an unyielding display in the women’s 100 metres at the Prefontaine Classic, withstanding a determined late challenge from Julien Alfred to secure victory in 10.75 seconds. Into a 1.5 m/s headwind, Jefferson-Wooden’s start proved decisive, allowing her to command the race from the outset. Alfred, the Olympic champion and unbeaten in 2025 until this meeting, drew level in the closing stages but was unable to pass. The result marked Jefferson-Wooden’s second-fastest time of the season, narrowly outside her 10.73 world lead from Philadelphia.

For Alfred, the race brought a rare reversal after a year of dominance. Her time of 10.77 was her slowest of the season, yet still enough to separate her from the rest of the field, where Marie-Josée Ta Lou-Smith impressed with a season’s best 10.90. Tina Clayton followed in 11.02, ahead of a tightly packed group, but the contest at the front was already settled by the time they crossed the line. Jefferson-Wooden, who has been refining her race execution across the early circuit, demonstrated here that she is capable of withstanding pressure from the highest calibre opposition.

Sha’Carri Richardson’s return to Hayward Field proved far less rewarding. In only her second appearance of the season following a February injury, the reigning world champion finished ninth in 11.19, though it was her fastest time of the year. “I prayed for a healthy race, and I got a healthy race, so I accept that,” she reflected, noting her intention to improve ahead of the U.S. nationals later this month. She acknowledged the need to sharpen her speed endurance and arrive “more confident” for the trials that will determine selection for the World Championships, where her ambitions will demand considerably more than this subdued showing.