Melissa Jefferson-Wooden (née Jefferson; born February 21, 2001) is an American track and field sprinter who competes in the 100 meters and 200 m. A five-time World Champion, she won three world titles at the 2025 World Championships, capturing gold in the 100 m, 200 m and 4 × 100 m. She is the first American, and only the second woman, to do so after Jamaican Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce achieved the feat in 2013.
Jefferson-Wooden also won both the 100 metres and 200 metres at the inaugural World Ultimate Championship in 2026, with her winning time of 21.47 seconds in the 200 metres placing her as the third-fastest woman on the all-time list. She previously won the bronze medal at the 2024 Summer Olympics in the 100 metres. She has also won gold in several global championships: in the 4 × 100 m relay in Tokyo 2025 World Athletics Championships, in the 4 × 100 metres relay at the 2024 Olympic Games, as well as the 2022 and 2023 World Athletics Championships, and the 2024 World Athletics Relays.
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Career
2022: U.S. Champion and 4 × 100 m World championships gold
Jefferson competed at Coastal Carolina University and won the NCAA Indoor 60 m Championship in 2022. She won the 100 metres at the 2022 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships to qualify for the 2022 World Athletics Championships held in Eugene, Oregon. Jefferson reached the final and finished eighth. She won gold as part of the 4 × 100 metres relay team.
2023: 4 × 100 m World Championships gold
In 2023, she placed fifth at the 2023 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships and was selected for the relay team. The team won the 4 × 100 m relay at the 2023 World Athletics Championships held in Budapest.
2024: 100 m Olympic bronze, 4 × 100 m gold
In 2024, Jefferson was a member of the USA team which won the 4 × 100 m relay at the 2024 World Athletics Relays in Nassau, Bahamas. She won the 100m at the LA Grand Prix meet in May. In June, she finished second in the 100 metres at the U.S. Olympic trials in Eugene, Oregon, in a new personal best of 10.80 seconds. At the Paris Olympics, she won a bronze medal in the 100 m with a time of 10.92 s. She won gold as part of the 4 × 100 m relay team.
2025: Triple World Champion
In September 2024, it was announced that Jefferson had signed up for the inaugural season of the Michael Johnson founded Grand Slam Track taking place in 2025. She won both the 100 metres and 200 metres races in the Short Sprints category, ahead of Jenna Prandini and Jacious Sears, at the inaugural Grand Slam Track Kingston meeting on April 5–6, 2025, in Kingston, Jamaica. Jefferson ran 10.75 (+2.4 wind) to win the women's 100 metres race at the second slam event in Miami on May 2, 2025. The following day, she became the first athlete to claim back-to-back titles as third place in the 200 metres race, which meant she finished a point clear of 200 m winner Gabby Thomas in the two-race format. She ran a personal best of 21.99 seconds to win the 200 metres race at the 2025 Philadelphia Slam on May 31, 2025, beating the 2024 Olympic champion in the 200m, Gabby Thomas. The following day, she moved into the top-ten all-time for the 100 metres, running a personal best and current world lead of 10.73 seconds. On July 5, She ran 10.75 seconds to beat Olympic champion Julien Alfred into second in the 100 metres at the 2025 Prefontaine Classic into a headwind (−1.5 m/s).
She ran 10.65 seconds (+0.4) to win 100 metres at the 2025 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships, in Eugene, with the time making her the joint-fifth-fastest woman in history. She also ran a personal best to win the 200 meters at the championships in 21.84 seconds. Later that month, she ran 10.66 seconds (+0.1) to win the 100 metres at the Diamond League event in Silesia, and 10.76 (−0.3) to win at the 2025 Memorial Van Damme in the Diamond League, in Brussels, Belgium.
At the 2025 World Athletics Championships, she won the 100 meters in a new championship record time of 10.61 (+0.3), and became the fourth fastest woman in history. She also won the women's 200 metres at the championships, running a world lead of 21.68 seconds. She also won the gold medal with the American team in the women's 4 x 100 metres relay at the championships, completing the sprint triple.
2026: World Ultimate double champion and American 200 m champion
Jefferson-Wooden opened her season on June 4, when she was second to Julien Alfred in 22.17 seconds in the women's 200 metres at the 2026 Diamond League event in Rome. On June 7, in the Diamond League, Jefferson-Wooden won over 100 metres in 10.84 seconds (+0.8), at the Bauhausgalan in Stockholm, her fastest season opener over the distance. On July 4, she won the 100 metres at the Prefontaine Classic, winning in a photo finish ahead of Sha'Carri Richardson and Adaejah Hodge in 10.78 seconds (+0.0). Choosing to only compete in the 200 metres at the U.S. Outdoor Championships in a season without USA team trials, she won the title in 21.69 seconds ahead of Cambrea Sturgis and Camryn Dickson.
On August 23, she won over 100 metres equalling her season’s best time of 10.78 seconds (0.6m/s) to win ahead of Alfred and Richardson in the Diamond League at the 2026 Kamila Skolimowska Memorial in Silesia, Poland. On August 27, she ran 10.70 seconds but was edged out in a photo-finish by Alfred in the 100 metres at the Weltklasse Zürich, her first defeat over 100 metres since the 2024 Olympic final after a run of 11 consecutive victories at the distance. On September 12, Jefferson-Wooden won the 100 metres ahead of Alfred at the inaugural World Ultimate Championship in Budapest, running a season's best 10.62 seconds. The following day, she returned to complete the sprint double by winning the 200 metres final, with her time of 21.47 seconds making her the third-fastest woman on the all-time list. Following the race, Jefferson-Wooden expressed shock at her time, stating, "I was thinking 21.6 low, 21.5. I skipped all over 21.5 and went 21.4. I mean I'll take it!"
Athletics achievements
Information from her World Athletics profile unless otherwise noted.
Personal life
She married Rolan Wooden II in March 2025 in Florida. The ceremony featured Isaiah Likely as best man and Twanisha “Tee Tee” Terry as a bridesmaid, with fellow Olympians Sha'Carri Richardson, Kenny Bednarek and Christian Coleman in attendance. The couple live in Florida.