If this year's edition of the World Athletics Championships has proven anything, it's that there's a new star on the American track and field stage.
Melissa Jefferson-Wooden of Georgetown, S.C., won the 200-meter world championship Friday in Tokyo with a time of 21.68—the best in the world this year. In doing so, she became the first female sprinter since Jamaica's Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce in Moscow in 2013 to sweep both the 100- and 200-meter events.
The Coastal Carolina product entered this year's competition with a relatively sparse medal record, having won two world championship relay golds and an Olympic 100-meter bronze in Paris in 2024.
That is no longer the case. Jefferson-Wooden soared to a world championship-record 10.61 in the 100 meters Sunday before adding to her haul Friday.
Amy Hunt of Great Britain won silver with a time of 22.14, while two-time reigning gold medalist Shericka Jackson of Jamaica took bronze at 22.18.
More on Sports Illustrated
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Melissa Jefferson-Wooden Makes History, Sweeps 100-Meter and 200-Meter World Titles.
