Melissa Jefferson-Wooden has already done something only one other woman in history has managed. In Tokyo last year she swept the 100m, the 200m and the 4x100m relay, becoming the first American to pull off the sprint treble and only the second woman ever, after Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce. A year on, sitting down for an exclusive chat, she is still working out how to talk about it.

“Sometimes it still kind of hits me. Still to this day I’m like, oh yeah, I did go to Tokyo last year and won three gold medals. Unbelievable.”

Ask her to rank it against everything else in her career and there is no hesitation.

“I think it tops the cake of everything I might try to put against it. But I think it has more so to do with the way that it happened. Last year was a really, really good year for me, and it was one of those where good things just kept happening and stacking on one another. By the time I got to Tokyo, it was literally just like, okay, just get me to the start line and let me execute my race.”

Chasing the clock, not just the medal

By the time she reached the National Stadium, Jefferson-Wooden felt ready for whatever the races brought. What stuck with her was the number on the board.

“In the hundred, when I cross the finish line, it’s like I had already felt that I won. I just wanted to see what time I ran. When I saw 10.61, it was like, dang, I thought I could go faster. But who can be mad with 10.61? It’s the fourth fastest time ever.”

The 200m brought a different feeling entirely, even with a season’s best of 21.68 on the clock.

“Instead of it being like a breath of fresh air, it was kind of like, man, that was a good one.”

And the relay, run alongside her training partners, is the one that broke her.

“Watching everybody do their legs and come around, and we finished in first place, it was just really special. After that I just lost it. I was like, oh my gosh, I got three gold medals.”

Perfectionism in the 100m, calm in the 200m

It is a rare admission from a three-time world champion: she finds her favourite event harder to control than the one she considers secondary.

“I think because I love the hundred so much, I just wanted to be perfect every single time, so I probably put a little bit more pressure on myself when it comes to the hundred. Whereas the 200, I know that as long as I set it up right, I’ll be good.”

Her approach to both comes down to staying where her feet are.

“I would say it really just starts with me trying to be in each moment that I’m in. Not trying to look too far ahead, not trying to look too far behind me. Just trying to stay in whatever moment I’m in at this specific time.”

Following Fraser-Pryce into the history books

Becoming only the second woman to complete the sprint treble puts Jefferson-Wooden in company she grew up watching on television.

“To be in talks in the same realm of conversation with Shelly-Ann is so humbling and inspiring, because I grew up watching her along with so many other amazing female sprinters. Four years ago, when I actually started to insert my name into the track and field world, I was part of the season where she basically ran 10.6 every race. I don’t think that got the amount of love and respect it should have at the time. Me being in some of those moments, it was like I was a part of history in a sense.”

The two have spoken, briefly, over the years.

“She’s been rooting for me, and I’m happy to have someone like that wishing me well and wanting to see me do good.”

The rivalry the sport has been waiting for

Jefferson-Wooden’s rivalry with Olympic champion Julien Alfred produced two meetings inside the space of a week, with Jefferson-Wooden winning in Poland before Alfred edged her by five-thousandths of a second in Zurich. She knows exactly why the sport is fixated on it.

“At this point, all you know is that it’s going to be a good race any time both of us are on the track. I think it’s safe to say this is something our sport has been looking forward to for a while. It makes me put things into perspective. If you say you want to be the greatest to ever do it, if you say you want to be the fastest woman alive, you’re going to have to bring your A game every single time.”

Losing narrowly in Zurich, she says, was almost useful.

“I feel like it was a good thing that happened, that I lost. Not that I got comfortable or anything, but it really shed light on things I need to work on with my race, as far as being more consistent with who I am and what I bring to the table.”

Off the track, she plays it cool with her rivals.

“I would say for me it’s kind of like, you get what you give. If you want to be friendly or cordial, I’m all for that. If you don’t, then I’m okay with that too. The ball is always going to be in your court.”

The one title that’s still missing

“The one thing that I don’t have is Olympic champion in an individual event, and that’s what I want. That’s my goal. Over these next two years, the goal is to defend all of my titles and then go on to LA to make the team and represent Team USA on the biggest of stages. This is something I’ve started to dream about.”

For all the world gold, there is still one major prize missing from Jefferson-Wooden’s collection: an individual Olympic title, and she is fixed on closing that gap in Los Angeles.

“Paris was my first Olympics. I had come back from injury, I was able to make the team with my training partners, and I ended up medaling individually with a bronze, plus gold in the 4x100m. Going into LA, my hope is that all of the things I had to face going into Paris, I don’t have to face again. It was a great time, but it was also very overwhelming. The one thing I want to do well in LA is protect my space, make sure there isn’t too much going on around me that’s within my control.”

She names Alfred, Sha’Carri Richardson and the Clayton twins, Tia and Tina, among the names she expects to be in the mix for that title.

“If these last two races were any indicator, Julien, Sha’Carri, the Clayton sisters. They’re going to be there. As time goes on, there’s going to be new people who pop up. So just never settling, never taking for granted where you are.”

Quickfire round

Asked who has the best running style on the circuit, she does not overthink it.

“I like the way I run. I would say me, if we’re talking about sprinters.”

Best dressed goes to two people from her training circle.

“It would have to be Tonia Marshall, who’s my training partner, she’s a hurdler, and TT Terry. They actually help dress me a lot of the time.”

The funniest athlete on the circuit takes a moment to come to her, before she settles on a discus thrower she knows as Loggy. For restaurant advice, she goes to teammate Masai Russell, who she says “be finding all the no booze spots.”

Asked who she would swap places with for a day, her answer has nothing to do with sprinting at all.

“I would swap with Joe Kovacs. I want to see what it’s like to be a shot putter.”

[Editor’s note: quotes lightly edited for clarity and flow.]