Olympic champion Julien Alfred and world champion Melissa Jefferson-Wooden will resume their rivalry in the women’s 100m at the Wanda Diamond League meeting in Silesia on August 23.
Alfred and Jefferson-Wooden have dominated the 100m in the past two seasons and will meet for an explosive Diamond League head-to-head for the second year in a row in Silesia.
St. Lucia star Alfred won gold at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games and also claimed the Diamond League title in the 100m in both 2024 and 2025.
Yet her claim to supremacy was challenged last season amid a formidable run of form for Jefferson-Wooden.
The US sprinter raced to three Diamond League victories in 2025, before winning gold at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo in September.
In July, she beat Alfred at the Prefontaine Classic in Eugene, claiming her first ever Diamond League win.
She followed that up with another stunning victory in Silesia a few weeks later, equalling Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce’s meeting record of 10.66.
The two women meet again in Silesia this season, with Alfred looking to defend her Diamond League title for the third year in a row and Jefferson-Wooden chasing her first ever Diamond Trophy.
“Silesia last year was one of the best days of my entire season. The atmosphere in Poland surprised me in the best possible way. After competing in Poland for the first time in 2022 I always expected a great crowd, but I got the impression it had got even better,” said Jefferson-Wooden.
“On the track you can feel the energy and the emotions – that is something that stays with you after the race. So, when the opportunity to go back this summer appeared, I did not have to think for long.”
Alfred said she saw her first appearance at the Kamila Skolimowska Memorial as one of the highlights of the upcoming season.
“I have high aspirations and the will to present the best version of myself. I have already heard the Polish fans are worth giving your best for,” she said.
The two champions will be joined in the blocks by Polish star Ewa Swoboda, a two-time European silver medallist.
Silesia is the 13th leg of the 2026 Wanda Diamond League, which begins in Doha on May 8 and ends at the two-day series final in Brussels on September 4-5.
The series unites the biggest names in track and field in some of the world’s most iconic arenas, crossing four continents and 15 cities over the course of the season.
