Back in 2023, when Melissa Jefferson-Wooden was struggling to clock personal bests, her mother’s voice echoed in her ears, “delayed doesn’t mean denied.” She kept affirming, “I want to be an Olympic medalist,” until her moment came at the 2024 Paris Olympics, when she clinched 100m bronze. But she wanted more. Something big. And voila! Jefferson-Wooden just concluded her 2025 season with a historic run and three World Championship titles. However, she had her fair share of challenges, as she ran the races a bit blindsided, but she kept her vision clear.

On October 13, the athlete revealed that she often competes without seeing much beyond the track. In a conversation with On Her Turf, she said, “I’m running blind. I’m Melissa Jefferson-Wooden, and I’m the fastest girl in the world. Fun fact: if anybody pays attention, I really try, off the track, to have glasses on, and on the track, you don’t—and you would think that I have contacts in. Absolutely not.”

She further added how she tries to keep a measure of things when running and rely on her senses to define the objects in reach. “Okay, I’m running blind. It’s just something about me putting things in my eye that I just don’t really—just sit right with me. Okay, like I would be like this. So, like the minute my finger gets right here to put the contacts in my eyes, just shut. I’m really relying on what I’m feeling. In a sense, I’m using the things around me to be able to measure where I am. If I run fast enough, away from the people, then I won’t have to worry about trying to find where the line is at the end and lean for it, and I can just run straight through the line, you know. It’s a good plan.”

Her exact level of vision impairment remains unknown, but Melissa Jefferson-Wooden’s recent revelation only highlights her remarkable resilience. Her “blind sprinting” didn’t stop her from dominating World Championships in Tokyo, where she smashed the 100m championship record with 10.61 seconds and clocked 21.68 in the 200m, while also powering the U.S. women’s 4x100m relay to victory.

Back home, she clocked a personal best of 10.65 at the USA Outdoor Championships and carried her winning streak through the Diamond League, conquering Silesia and Brussels. Time and again, she’s been shattering records, dominating the 100m scene. And interestingly, Gabby Thomas has played a part in fueling Jefferson’s phenomenal rise.

A win over Gabby Thomas boosted Melissa Jefferson-Wooden’s confidence

In an interview with Citius Mag, Melissa Jefferson-Wooden revealed that as she prepared for the Grand Slam Track in Philadelphia, her mind was set on getting one over Gabby Thomas.“It was, but it wasn’t a shocker because I knew I was going to beat her. I will be honest to say that I did not like losing in Miami like that. I was swimming at the end and getting beaten by Gabby,” Melissa Jefferson-Wooden explained.

She further added, “I fell to third because Tamari came back and passed me as well. Yeah, I didn’t like that too much. I was happy that I still won the slam, but I was like, I didn’t want to lose that. And so, getting ready for Philly, I was like, ‘Yeah, like you’re not going to get me twice. That’s why I kind of don’t know if you remember, like my face when I came through the line in Philly, it was kind of like, ‘Oh, wow. I did that.’ But I was looking like that because earlier that day, like I said, I always feel like I’m getting in my own way when it comes to the 200.”

Interestingly, before arriving in Japan, the triple world champion was fresh from competing at the Grand Slam Track in Miami, where she finished second in the 200m, as Gabby Thomas and Tamari Davis finished first and second, respectively. The third-place finish in the women’s 200m in Miami was Melissa Jefferson-Wooden’s only loss of the season in her individual events, as she was unbeaten in the 100m.

But after the shocker in Miami, she was willing to go out of her way to prove a point. Jefferson-Wooden explained that it gave her the morale ahead of the World Athletics Championships and made her realise that she could make history.

Melissa Jefferson-Wooden believes that anyone stepping onto the track can achieve anything with an optimistic mindset. With her phenomenal performance at the World Championships, the athlete is now looking forward to clinch a gold at the 2028 LA Olympics.