Melissa Jefferson-Wooden eased into the 200 metres semi-finals on Wednesday in Tokyo as she began her quest to become the first woman to achieve the individual world sprint double since Jamaican legend Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce in Moscow in 2013.

Were she to do so -- emulating German Katrin Krabbe's world individual double in Tokyo in 1991 -- it would be an excellent launching pad in her goal to follow the "greatest", as she called Fraser-Pryce, and win "multiple medals."

The task for the 24-year-old American, who timed 22.24sec at the National Stadium, has been made easier with both last year's Olympic champion Gabby Thomas and silver medallist Julien Alfred absent because of injury.

Jefferson-Wooden said she had gone against coach Dennis Mitchell's advice to conserve energy in her heat,

See Full Page