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Melissa Jefferson-Wooden shared a strong message targeting the 2025 World Athletics Championships following her top victory at the Prefontaine Classic, where she defeated rivals Julien Alfred and Sha'Carri Richardson. She clocked another solid 10.75s (-1.5 m/s wind) to narrowly edge Olympic gold medalist Julien Alfred (10.77s), while Sha'Carri Richardson finished further behind in ninth with a time of 10.87s.
Based on her current form, Jefferson-Wooden looks solid to secure a place in the USA’s World Championships squad, with the trials happening from July 31 to August 3.
Following this remarkable victory at the Diamond League meet happening on home soil, Melissa Jefferson-Wooden was asked what has been different this year for her than previous years in a post-race interview. To which, she responded, saying (1:26 onwards):
“Yeah, I think the biggest thing for me this year is that I'm learning how to become a professional track and field athlete and what all that entails."
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"It's hard and it's easy to get complacent, but I know that if I want to be world champion this year, not only in the one and the two, but I'm going to have to be able to bring that on the dayto-day and I know that the people around me have done a really good job of making sure that I hold up my end of the bargain," she added.
The Olympic 100m bronze medalist is having a standout year, having lost only one individual race across all events she has competed in. That only defeat came with a third-place finish at the Grand Slam Track in Miami over the non-regular 200m distance, where she clocked 22.15s.
Melissa Jefferson-Wooden not shocked by her world-leading performance at Grand Slam Track in Philadelphia
Melissa Jefferson-Wooden opened up on whether her world-leading 10.73s performance in the 100m at the 2025 Grand Slam Track (GST) in Philadelphia came as a surprise. In a pre-race interview ahead of the Prefontaine Classic, she got candid about it, stating (0:56 onwards):
“When I saw the 10.73, honestly, it wasn't like a big shock because I know it's there. I know it's in me. Just the way I went about it, and how I've been approaching this season in general. I'm getting to the point now where I need to be comfortable with not being so shocked or surprised when certain things happen, because I've been putting in the work.”
Besides no longer being surprised by big performances, the 24-year-old emphasized the importance of staying humble, remaining true to herself, and using these moments as stepping stones toward becoming the athlete she envisions herself to be over time.
At the GST Philadelphia, she clocked this time as part of the short sprint group. What was even more striking was that she delivered the 10.73s mark without being pushed by any other athlete as the second-place finisher Tamari Davis was well behind, crossing the line in 11.03s.
