Shericka Jackson, when an athlete of her stature enters a race, the competition is most of the time for a second-place finish. We mean, two Olympic medals, being world champion four freaking times, and having won the Diamond League thrice is no joke. But none of it mattered when a 26-year-old track and field athlete took her mark against the Olympian on April 26. Xiamen witnessed the beginning of the 2025 season of the Diamond League, and the shocker it brought in the women’s 200m event—it was just unbelievable!

Shericka Jackson took to lane number 6, as next to her was Anavia Battle, the athlete who was about to shatter her dream in lane 7. Once started, the track and field star took the lead and didn’t even let Jackson come close. Jackson finished second with a time of 22.79, while Anavia clocked 22.41. What does the winner have to say about her win?

Now this was the season opener for the Anavia Battle, so the nerves have got to be tense, right? Speaking over that, the athlete said, “I was a little nervous because I haven’t ran the 200 yet. But I’m happy I did it here. Had good competition, had a really good feel.” The 26-year-old was more than happy to have her first 200m in a while at the Diamond League. The last 200m she ran was also for the Diamond League, but that came in August 2024. That year she clocked 22.27 and had to settle for silver. But this time around, the time difference of 0.38 seconds with Shericka speaks volumes about the competition there was in the race, and yet Anavia managed to stand at the top.

She further said, “That 15-hour flight really hurt.” Battle is a Michigan native, and the distance from there to Xiamen is 7624.82 miles, so you could imagine. But the track and field athlete knows better than to complain! She said she knew she had to suck it up and give her best on the track, and so she did. She also answered yes to the question asked by the interviewer, that is, she is going to attack both the 1 and the 2 at US Champs the same way. And the strategy for it, she tells.

“So my coach and have really been working on the first half of the race for my 100. So I feel like that’s been paying off a lot.” She said. The woman had already taken the lead in the race in the first 100 meters. She was also asked what was next for her, to which she replied, “Well, we have Shanghai next.” The next Diamond League race is in the Chinese city on May 3rd, 2025, but before that, she has also said that she needs some rest. Talking of US champs, she said she aims to make the team in both events (100m & 200m).

Though this might be another setback for the Olympian, this is not the first time for Anavia to get into battle with the legends of the sport and come out as the winner.

Anavia Battle has had her battle with a track and field legend

This wasn’t the only instance when Anavia Battle went against a big name. On June 26, 2021, at the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials in Eugene, Oregon, Anavia secured her place on the U.S. Olympic team by finishing third in the women’s 200-meter final. She clocked a time of 21.95 seconds—her then personal best. And who did she defeat?

Perhaps the most decorated track and field athlete—Allyson Felix. Felix had 9 Olympic medals at that time. She has a combined 20 gold medals for her Olympic and outdoor world championship races. But Allyson Felix finished fifth by clocking 22.11. But for Anavia Battle, the race made sure she qualified for the Tokyo Olympics, her very first one, and she said after the Trials, “It has not hit me yet… I’m still feeling normal, like nothing has happened. But once I get on the plane to Tokyo, I’ll be like, ‘Oh, this is real.”  Though she did not make headlines in Tokyo, she has got the potential, don’t you think?