Melissa Jefferson-Wooden has reached the pinnacle of athletics. But as the Olympian tells Defiance, she’s desperate to add Grand Slam Track success to her impressive CV.
USA sprinter Melissa Jefferson-Wooden is one of the quickest women ever. In Paris last year, she picked up bronze in the 100 metres, along with her first-ever Olympic gold in the 400-metre relay. The 24-year-old has already lived the dream, but after her incredible performance in Philadelphia, she now has her sights firmly set on making more history by becoming the inaugural Grand Slam Track Racer of the Year.
“My ultimate goal is to win it,” she says. “Every year, I write down goals for myself, and being a part of Grand Slam this year made the main goal to go out there and be the best Melissa that I can be. When you have opportunities like this to capitalise on your goals, you have to make the most of it. I know that as long as I listen to my coaches, I’ll be able to accomplish the goals that I want and become Slam Champion four times.
“It would mean the world to win it. I would be very happy and humbled. I’ve been working for this. I’ve been praying for this. I’ve been speaking it into existence, and so to see those things that I worked so hard for come to fruition is just always a blessing to see, and I’m just grateful and happy.”
All the hard work paid off in Philadelphia over the weekend, where Jefferson-Wooden pulled off the performance of a lifetime to claim her third Grand Slam win. She is now the only woman in any category to come out on top in all three event weekends, putting her in pole position to achieve the feat of becoming Grand Slam Track’s first ever ‘Racer of the Year’.
First up was the 200 metres, where Jefferson-Wooden defeated the Olympic champion Gabby Thomas, with a personal best of 21.99 seconds. On Sunday, she completed the clean sweep by running another personal best in the 100 metres. Her pace of 10.73 seconds makes her the fifth fastest American woman ever and puts her tenth on the all-time women’s 100-meter list, but while speaking to Defiance prior to this weekend, she assured us that she had worked as hard as she could and was confident going into the races.
“I’m definitely confident for Sunday. The beauty in it for me is that this year, I’m planning on only doing the slams and one or two other races before US trails. I’m not being overraced, so I can focus on this competition, and I’m starting to reap the benefits of that.
“I’m excited to see what happens this weekend. I’ve been working my butt off in practice, and I’m desperate to walk away with another Slam championship.”
In the opening two slams, which took place in Kingston and Miami, Jefferson-Wooden had already come out of the blocks quickly, winning the short sprints category in both cities, which made her a two-time Slam champion and earned her $200,000 in the process. Her performance in Philadelphia over the weekend topped the lot and put her in the perfect position going into the upcoming final slam of 2025 in Los Angeles.
“It’s been amazing so far. The atmosphere is great. Just the way the athletes are treated and how everything is so tailored towards us and the fans. The staff are amazing. From the commissioner, Michael Johnson, all the way down the ladder. They make it their business to make sure that we feel appreciated. For so long, I never had that. It’s finally here. It feels good to have something like that.”
The Grand Slam Track is home to some of the biggest names in the sport, including Jefferson-Wooden’s relay partner Gabby Thomas and fellow American sprinter Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, but it’s also been the perfect platform for lesser-known athletes to propel their careers, make their names, and make life-changing money all in one good weekend’s work.
The first three slams have already brought us a host of feel-good underdog tales, including Dylan Beard, who has won $65,000 over the first two slams despite balancing a job at Walmart with a professional athletics career. Jacory Patterson also notably earned $50,000 after finishing second in the long sprints category, which is more money than he makes in a year at UPS, and Jefferson-Wooden believes that this is one of the things that makes the competition so amazing.
“It’s beautiful. I heard about the incident in Miami where one of the 400-metre guys worked at four in the morning loading trucks, but then he still found a way to go out there and make teams and practice. Grand Slam has given him an opportunity to focus on training rather than waking up to load trucks and losing sleep. You should never be labelled a professional in a sport and not be able to provide for yourself financially.”
Although Jefferson-Wooden is now one of the most famous figures in track, she hasn’t always had it her own way. On her road to success and fame, the 24-year-old stresses that she didn’t attend one of the big programmes in Tennessee or Texas like other athletes did, but instead a small college near her home in Georgetown, South Carolina. The sprinter didn’t have it easy growing up, but she thinks that the Grand Slam Track format can be the future for track athletics, and it will allow more athletes from unconventional backgrounds to make it to the top.
“What made me want to join the Grand Slam Track as a racer was the idea of being a part of something new and innovative that the sport had never seen before,” she says. “I’ve always said that I want to be a part of change, and even though change is not easy, I wasn’t afraid to take that leap with them as long as they believe in me and make me a part of it.
“It could be the future of track events. They have introduced something to us that we have never seen before. Michael Johnson had this vision, and it went from just an idea to actually happening so quickly, and who’s to say one day that Grand Slam won’t get to a point where they could add other events or make it even bigger?”
Grand Slam Track has allowed athletes at the top of their game to go toe-to-toe much more frequently, rather than going through the tedious process of peaking once every blue moon when the Olympic Games or World Championships come along. One false start or tweak to a muscle can leave athletes wondering if they will ever get another shot at stardom, but the Grand Slam Track is looking to put a stop to that.
“Another reason it’s so special is that we have all of these high-calibre athletes in the same place, and it’s not a championship,” Jefferson-Wooden says. “I don’t have to wait until the end of the year to see some of my biggest competitors or the US trials; I can see them four times a year and get some quality races in as well.
“It’s hard to get things going if you don’t have an audience to back and follow it. What they’re trying to do now is help us track athletes create a narrative that will get your everyday person interested in watching track events. That’s something that has never happened.
“In the NFL, you have football season, and your games are on throughout the week. People can’t wait until football season comes around because they know what they’re going to get every single weekend. With Grand Slam, what they’re trying to do is create a platform where you can get to see the best race all the time. It won’t always just be one time a year; it’s 4 times a year, which is great for us athletes and the fans as well.”
As athletics looks to enter a new era, a piece of history is up for grabs for Melissa Jefferson-Wooden, who, incredibly, still has the chance to win all four 2025 slams and be crowned the first-ever women’s ‘Racer of the Year’. It’s going to require a huge performance in LA at the end of June. Still, if she performs to her usual high standards, it could be a year to remember for the Olympic gold medallist.
