The year 2025 was a turning point for American track and field, highlighted by Melissa Jefferson-Wooden running the fourth-fastest women’s 100-meter in history, to Cordell Tinch, who went from selling phones to world champion in the 110 m hurdles, to Jacory Patterson securing his first sponsorship deal after his Grand Slam Track Miami performance.

There were many stars who changed the direction of the sport this year. But here are our picks for the top five stars who really showed 2025 belonged to them: 

Melissa Jefferson-Wooden

The year 2025 began with some great results for Jefferson-Wooden, which hinted at the big year to come. She began her season with GST victories at Kingston and Miramar, and made it very clear in Philadelphia, where she swept the 100 m in 10.73 and the 200 m in 21.99.

That momentum exploded at the U.S. Outdoor Championships. Jefferson-Wooden ran 10.65 seconds in the 100 m, a time so fast it placed her joint fifth-fastest in history, alongside Sha’Carri Richardson and Marion Jones. She followed it by winning the 200 m in 21.84,  showing she was not limited to just one race.

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By the time she arrived at the Prefontaine Classic in Eugene, the question was no longer whether she was good, but whether anyone could stop her. Running into a strong headwind, she still clocked 10.75 and edged out Olympic champion Julien Alfred. A few weeks later in Brussels, she backed it up with another elite win, running 10.76 against the world’s best, leaving Sha’Carri Richardson behind at 11.08. But all of it was leading somewhere.

Jefferson-Wooden ran the race of her life at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo. She also set a 100 m world title in 10.61 seconds (PB), a championship record, and the fastest time of the year.

And just a few days later, she competed in the 200m and won in 21.68 seconds (PB), the eighth-fastest time in history. With that, she became the first American woman ever to win both the 100 m and the 200 m at one World Championships, along with 4x100m relay gold.

Cordell Tinch

Cordell Tinch ended his 2025 season as the world’s top-ranked men’s 110 m hurdler. His first race of the year came in the 60 m hurdles at the Rumble in the Jungle Invitational, held at the Robert W. Plaster Center. Tinch ran 7.72 seconds, a solid opener that gave him confidence.

At the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix, he stepped onto a much bigger stage. Tinch clocked 7.61 seconds in the 60 m hurdles, finishing third in a stacked field. Grant Holloway won in 7.42, with Freddie Crittenden second in 7.54. Sure, Tinch did not win, but the race made one thing clear: he was closing the gap.

Once the indoor season ended, Tinch shifted outdoors, and that is when everything changed.

At the Xiamen Diamond League, he won the 110 m hurdles in 13.06 seconds, one of the fastest times in the world at that point. A week later at the Shanghai and Keqiao Diamond League, he delivered a breakout performance, running 12.87 seconds, a personal best, the world lead, and a time that tied him as the fourth-fastest man in history.

From there, the wins kept coming. Tinch dominated multiple stops on the Diamond League circuit, including victories in Lausanne and the Diamond League Final in Zurich. Every race felt like a step closer to something bigger.

That moment arrived in September 2025 at the World Athletics Championships.  Tinch won the 110 m hurdles world title in 12.99 seconds, securing his first global championship. And the best part is that just a few years earlier, he was selling phones, installing cable, and working on machines that made toilet paper. And now is the 110 mh World Championship.

Jacory Patterson

Jacory Patterson’s season started slowly but on purpose. He started his year at the Bob Pollock Invitational in Clemson on January 31, where he took first in the short track of 300 m, winning in 32.18 seconds. It was the first hint of the season.

The signal became the actual recognition at the World Athletics Indoor Championships in Nanjing, China. Patterson competed in the final of the men’s 400 m race and won the bronze medal with a time of 45.54 seconds. Everything changed, however, when he began his outdoor season.

On May 3, 2025, at Grand Slam Track Miami, Patterson delivered a breakthrough performance. He won the 400 m in 43.98 seconds, setting a personal best and the world-leading time for the season at that point. The win also came with a $50,000 prize.

At the time, Patterson was still working overnight shifts loading UPS trucks while training. That GST victory pushed his career forward and secured him his first sponsorship deal, and that too with Nike. And this allowing him to leave his night job and focus fully on the track. But the rise was only beginning.

At the U.S. National Championships, the most important domestic meet of the year, Patterson delivered again. He won the 400 m title in 44.16 seconds, finishing ahead of Christopher Bailey and Khaleb McRae. The victory earned him a spot on Team USA for the World Championships and confirmed him as the top American quarter-miler heading into global competition.

The season’s biggest statement came on August 28, 2025, at the Diamond League Final in Zurich. Patterson won the men’s 400 m in 43.85 seconds, a new personal best. The performance placed him among the top five 400 m runners in the world for 2025 and secured an extra wild-card entry for Team USA at the World Championships.

At the World Athletics Championships, Patterson reached the 400 m final and finished seventh in 44.70 seconds, competing against the very best in the world. While he did not leave with a medal, making the final capped off a season that transformed his career.

Anavia Battle

Anavia Battle started her 2025 season on March 29 at the Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays in Austin, winning the 100 m in 11.01 seconds. It was a strong start, but the real statement came less than a month later.

At the Tom Jones Memorial Invitational in Gainesville, Battle broke 11 seconds for the first time, clocking 10.98 seconds. And in doing so, she became the first woman in 2025 to achieve that mark.

But the heart of her season was the 200 m, where she truly shone. Battle dominated the Diamond League circuit, opening with a win in Xiamen (22.41 s) over Olympic medalist Shericka Jackson and setting a meeting record. She followed it with victories in Shanghai (22.38 s), holding off Rhasidat Adeleke, Rome (22.53 s), and Paris (22.27 s), running some of her fastest times of the season.

At the USA Outdoor Championships, Battle delivered one of her strongest domestic performances, finishing second in 22.13 seconds behind Melissa Jefferson-Wooden. The result confirmed her as one of the top 200 m sprinters in the U.S. and secured her spot on Team USA for the World Championships.

In Tokyo, she carried that form onto the global stage, running 22.21 seconds in the 200 m final to finish second, just behind Brittany Brown, who won in 21.89 seconds. Although she narrowly missed a medal, Battle proved she belongs among the world’s elite .

T’Mars McCallum

T’Mars McCallum’s 2025 was a year where potential became reality. He started strong indoors, as early in January, he ran a personal best of 6.61 seconds in the 60 m dash. Soon after, he improved it to 6.59 seconds. Also, in the indoor 200 m, he clocked 20.76 seconds. These early indoor results set the stage for a massive outdoor season.

Once the outdoor season began, McCallum wasted no time. At the Tom Jones Memorial Invitational, he ran 10.04 seconds in the 100 m for third place and a lifetime-best 20.21 seconds in the 200 m.

Then came the big breakthrough. At the NCAA East Preliminary Rounds, he stunned the sprint world with 19.83 seconds in the 200 m. This was not only a school record but also the fastest 200 m in the world at that point in 2025.

McCallum kept the momentum going at the NCAA Outdoor Championships, earning three First Team All-America honors. However, at the USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships, he ran a lifetime best of 9.83 seconds in the 100 m, finishing third and earning a spot on Team USA for the World Championships in Tokyo. He also competed in the 200 m and 4×100 m relay.

In Tokyo, McCallum reached the peak of his season. He represented the United States in the 100 m (but did not advance to the final) and ran on the gold-medal-winning 4×100 m relay team.

Together, all these stars redefined what American track and field looks like in 2025. Each record, each breakthrough, and each medal showed that the next generation of stars has truly arrived.