Just days ago, on September 13, Melissa Jefferson-Wooden produced a stunning 21.47 in the women’s 200m at the World Athletics Ultimate Championship, making her the third-fastest woman ever on the all-time list. “I did not see 21.47 coming tonight!” she said after seeing the number on the scoreboard. It was another huge moment in a rise that had already seen the 25-year-old run a 10.61 in the 100m at the 2025 World Championships, the fourth-fastest time in history at the time. Yet despite all those milestones, Jefferson-Wooden is not done just yet, as the 25-year-old has recently revealed the new goals she is now chasing.

During a September 23 interview with CBC Sports on YouTube, hosted by Aaron Brown and Perdita Felicien, Jefferson-Wooden was asked where she wanted to see herself by the time she turned 30. The question brought a smile, but her answer was serious. “I want to be a world record holder,” she said.  Asked if she meant the 100m or the 200m, her answer was just as clear: “Both.”

That answer caught Brown by surprise. “I always thought you could break the 100 meter world record,” Brown told her. “I thought you had that potential. I didn’t know you were like a demon like this in the 200.” The numbers explain why Brown was so surprised.

Jefferson-Wooden’s 21.47 is only 0.13 seconds away from Florence Griffith-Joyner’s 200m world record of 21.34, which has stood since the 1988 Seoul Olympics. Jamaica’s Shericka Jackson is the only other athlete ahead of Jefferson-Wooden, having run 21.41. That leaves Jefferson-Wooden just behind two of the greatest 200m performances ever recorded.

The 100m record is also within sight, at least statistically. Jefferson-Wooden’s 10.61 personal best is 0.12 seconds slower than Griffith-Joyner’s 10.49 world record, set at the U.S. Olympic Trials in Indianapolis on July 16, 1988. Griffith-Joyner later set the 200m record in Seoul, and both marks have remained untouched for nearly four decades.

Jefferson-Wooden knows that the 100m record is an enormous target. “10.49 is just really, really out there,” she admitted. Still, she believes that when athletes reach these kinds of times, the difference between a great run and a world-record performance can come down to the smallest details. That belief becomes even more interesting when she looks back at her 21.47.

Jefferson-Wooden said she actually eased off slightly before the finish, something she only noticed after watching the race again.

“I didn’t realize I did that. I thought I was running through the line,” she said. “You look at the race over and over again, you’re like, dang, that could have been so much faster,” Jefferson-Wooden added.

There was another challenge working against her in Budapest. Her 21.47 came with a 0.6m/s headwind. With that in mind, Jefferson-Wooden sees plenty of room for improvement. But she is not setting a deadline for either world record.

“In due time, right?” she said. “I also feel like everything happens the way it does for a reason.”

Now she has made it clear that the next step in her ambitions is even bigger: becoming a world-record holder in both sprints. But before setting her sights on two of the biggest records in sprinting, Jefferson-Wooden has a few more things on her plate.

Jefferson-Wooden has her eyes on 2027, but her immediate plans are different

After the Budapest Ultimate Championship, Melissa Jefferson-Wooden’s next major competitive target is the 2027 World Championships in Beijing, where she is expected to have another opportunity to pursue the 100m and 200m double. For now, though, her attention is turning away from the track.

Jefferson-Wooden is set to begin her Elementary School Tour in Georgetown County, South Carolina, from September 24-30, before returning for another stretch from October 6-9. She will also take part in a youth sprint clinic on September 26 as part of the Myrtle Beach Youth Sprint Series.

Her community work will then continue into October with the launch of The Village Initiative, her nonprofit aimed at supporting young people through education, sport and community programs. The organization has planned its first festival for October 10 in Hemingway, South Carolina, followed by an inaugural gala in Orlando on October 17. Before getting back into the grind of another season, though, Jefferson-Wooden also plans to give herself some time to enjoy the moment.

After a demanding 2026 campaign, she revealed that she plans to celebrate with her husband in San Diego. “I am going to celebrate by going on a getaway vacation with my husband to San Diego,” she said. The season has also left her with a desire to give something back. Reflecting on everything she experienced in 2026, Jefferson-Wooden said, “This year has taught me so much about myself and I want nothing more than to share that with the world through my gift of running.”

So while the next chapter of her track career could be about chasing two long-standing world records, Jefferson-Wooden’s immediate plans are a little different.