One of the best talents seen at Michael Johnson’s GST was Mellisa Jefferson-Wooden. Then at the USATF Championships, she showed the world what she is really made of. Her 10.65 equaled Richardson’s ’23 Worlds time as fastest by an American since Carmelita Jeter’s 10.64 in ’09. She also joined GOATS like Shelly Ann and Elaine Thompson in clocking sub-10.70 multiple times. Her 21.84 at the same event in the 200m now has her standing at No. 12 all-time among half-lap Americans. But the journey has not been easy.

“Yeah, so I actually grew up in a small town as well. So being the underdog or, you know, facing adversity and not being, or not having access to all the other resources that bigger schools and other cities may have, like it’s nothing, that’s new to me. It’s been, it’s who I am. It’s what drives me to be the person that I am right now.” Answered Melissa Jefferson-Wooden at the Brussels Diamond League press conference on August 21, when she was asked to explain how she has always been under the radar in the track and field world, yet she did not go to a big NCAA college.

She competed for Coastal Carolina University, a mid-major school, where she became the first individual national champion in the university’s history by winning the 60-meter dash at the 2022 NCAA Indoor Championships. The 24-year-old was also a part of the U.S. 4×100-meter relay team that won gold at the World Athletics Championships in Eugene, Oregon. However, she was not compared to big names until this year, when she dominated the GST and clocked two sub-10.70s, a feat that even Sha’Carri Richardson hasn’t achieved. But none of it has disappointed her.

The US athlete explained, “The one thing that I have learned from this is that, you know, everybody in this life, we all have different starting points. And sometimes we get to cross paths. Sometimes we end up at the same point, and we took a way different journey.” She added that she loves her journey, saying the challenges she faced shaped her into a strong, resilient person. Even without always having what she needed in her sport, she feels ready for anything life brings. Jefferson also acknowledged that she never lacked basic necessities while growing up.

“But it’s just as far as that, like being in this sport, you know, I’ve always learned to just deal with the things that are in my control, learning how to navigate those things and the things that aren’t in my control, to leaving that up to God and whoever else is supposed to be up to,” she added. Melissa Jefferson-Wooden has faced both these kinds of challenges in her career.

While she prepared for Paris, she missed 2½ months of training before the Games because of a stress fracture in her shin. Yet she recovered and won a bronze in the 100, behind Alfred and Richardson, and a gold as leadoff runner on the 4 x 100.

Meanwhile, she was supposed to earn $300,000 before GST ended prematurely, and a deadline passed without payment of prize money. Yet, she is now defending Michael Johnson’s brainchild. Because she believes, “I may not have had the things that I needed, there are people who are way worse off than me.” That perspective keeps her grounded and helps her push forward to achieve what she wants to do.

Melissa defended Michael Johnson’s GST

In the same press conference, Jefferson mentioned, “Like, it gave me the platform that I needed in order to show everyone what I was capable of and what I intended to do this year. And so, you know, even though there’s been a lot of talk around what’s been going on with them and everything like that, I don’t regret them.” She had the world talking when she defeated three-time Olympic gold medalist Gabby Thomas in the Philadelphia Slam, clocking 21.99 seconds in the 200m to edge out Thomas, who finished in 22.10 seconds.

Melissa also clocked a 10.73 in the 100m, one of the fastest times of 2025.

It is no news anymore that Michael Johnson’s Grand Slam Track is facing severe backlash, primarily because the league owes about $13 million in unpaid athlete fees and prize money. Yet, she fully supports them because she believes that, in the end, making necessary changes in the sport is never easy or widely accepted.

“It’s not easy, but, you know, they took a limb and they stepped out on faith and wanted to bring something new and exciting,“ she pointed out. Jefferson feels they delivered a really good product. And since the focus is on performances and bringing the best athletes together, she thinks they did a pretty good job in their first year. What are your thoughts on this?