Melissa Jefferson-Wooden stunned the track world by making history at the recent Toyota USA Track and Field Outdoor Championships in Eugene, Oregon.
According to GOCCU Sports, she became the first woman to win the national title in both the 100 and 200 meters since Torri Edwards in 2003.
The 24-year-old set a personal record of 10.65 in the 100 meters on August 1, the fastest time in the world this year and the fifth-fastest time ever, and then ran a personal best in the 200 meters on August 3 with a time of 21.84.
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“Oh, I’m getting me a big bowl of fries,” she said when asked how she’d celebrate her double, “and really just chill out and hang out with my family.”
“Obviously,” she continued, “the 100 is my preferred event and it’s also my favorite. But also I’ve spent so much time in my career shying away from how good I can be in the 200. And now I’m just starting to embrace that because I know that the more my times get faster in the 200, the more it’s going to help my 100.”
She first demonstrated her ability to compete with the best by winning a bronze medal in the 100-meter event at her debut Olympics in Paris. She described it as feeling like receiving a gold medal because of everything she had gone through to get there.
Now that she has established herself as a force to be reckoned with in women’s sprinting, Jefferson-Wooden will represent Team USA in the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo from September 13 to September 21.
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During her time with the Chanticleers from 2019 to 2022, the native of Georgetown, South Carolina, won the 100-meter outdoor national championship and the 60-meter indoor national championship.
According to the Olympics website, Jefferson-Wooden used her maiden name, Melissa Jefferson, until she married Rolan Wooden II in March and added his surname to her last name.
The two met at Coastal Carolina University, where she was on the track squad and he played American football. They have been residents of Claremont, Florida, since 2023; in October of that year, he proposed to her.
Georgetown went all out to celebrate their hometown hero after she won two medals in Paris in 2024. On October 12, she was honored with a parade, and the city declared that day to be Melissa Jefferson Day.
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