The world that best describes Melissa Jefferson-Wooden’s 2025 season will be one of iconic proportions. The American athlete achieved feats that only veteran athletes, such as Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, can boast of, including winning the 100m-200m double at a Single World Championships. She became the first American to achieve the feat.
However, these accolades in a record-breaking season weren’t enough to earn Jefferson-Wooden among the finalists for the World Athletics Female Track Athlete of the Year. Her American counterpart, Masai Russell, had a two-word obvious reaction to it.
How Did Russell React to Melissa Jefferson-Wooden’s Exclusion From the Finalists’ Spot for the Award?
World Athletics recently announced the finalists for the Female Track Athlete of the Year Award on their Instagram. To everyone’s surprise, Jefferson-Wooden’s name was missing, despite her unbeaten run in the season and heroic feats in Tokyo, as Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone and Femke Bol made it to the final two spots.
Russell reacted in shock to the Instagram post and questioned Jefferson-Wooden’s exclusion from the final spots. She wrote, “No Melissa??”
Screenshot of Russell’s commentMcLaughlin-Levrone and Bol had notable success at the World Championships in Tokyo, winning the gold medals in the 400m dash and 400m hurdles, respectively. However, none of them had two individual gold medals to boast, unlike Jefferson-Wooden.
Even though Jefferson-Wooden is out of luck in the World Athletics award, she has an opportunity to bag a significant award for her performances. She has been nominated for the Jackie Joyner-Kersee Awards by the USATF, alongside McLaughlin-Levrone, Katie Moon, and Tara Davis-Woodhall.
Jefferson-Wooden Opens Up About Her Emotions of Winning Three Gold Medals at the World Championships
Jefferson-Wooden recently reflected on the immense amount of hard work she put in during the lead-up to the World Championships in Tokyo, where she solidified her name among the greats.
“Dream come true. Honestly and truthfully, just looking back at it now, it feels like it happened so quickly, but it took so long to get there. I’m just happy,” she said.
Jefferson-Wooden further opened up about her mentality throughout the season, stating, “When I get to the line, I always tell myself before or once the starter says, On your marks, I’m just like, ‘Here we go’. Every time I stepped on the track, not only at the World Championships but throughout the whole season, it was just like, if they beat you before, they won’t get you again.”
Besides her World Championships exploits, Jefferson-Wooden also showcased her skill set with podium finishes at the USATF Championships, winning the 100m and 200m National Championships.