Mellisa Jefferson celebrates after clinching the sprint double at the first Grand Slam Track event in Kingston.
The Grand Slam Track, which officially kicked off in Kingston, Jamaica last weekend has met resistance from elite athletes like Noah Lyles and Tara Davis-Woodhall.
Olympic gold medalist Melissa Jefferson-Wooden has thrown her full support behind Michael Johnson’s ambitious Grand Slam Track series.
Jefferson-Wooden, who delivered bronze in the 100m final of the Paris Olympic games, claimed the sprint double in the women’s short sprints category. The US sprinter battled a strong headwind (-4.7m/s) to win in 23.46 with Jenna Prandini 0.10 behind.
A teammate of Sha’Carri Richardson, Jefferson-Wooden was the sole Star Athletics club representative in the short sprint event, and is now 100,000$ richer.
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Speaking to the media after her 100m race on Saturday, Jefferson-Wooden was in full support of Johnson’s initiative, which has received its fair share of resistance from elite athletes like Noah Lyles, Rai Benjamin and Tara Davis-Woodhall.
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The American sprinter made it clear that she’s all in on the project—and not just for one meet, but for the long haul.
“Being here for the first meet was very important to me. I’m actually a signed racer, so I’ll be at all four,” Jefferson-Wooden revealed.
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“When the opportunity presented itself for me to be a part of it, I was like, ‘Sign me up.’”
The Grand Slam Track is being touted as a game-changer for the sport—especially for athletes in need of more consistent exposure and financial backing. For Jefferson-Wooden, the vision resonated deeply.
“I’m a firm believer in change having to start somewhere. I feel like Michael Johnson—his vision for the athletes—it’s a good start.
“ Even though we don’t necessarily have the field events right now, if this continues to grow and go in the way that it should… the sky’s the limit,” she said. “I feel like it’s better to start somewhere than not start at all.”
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When asked whether Richardson and her other teammate Twanisha ‘Tee Tee’ Terry —the three who famously swept the U.S. Trials for the Olympics in the 100m alongside her—have discussed potentially linking up again in future Grand Slam races, Jefferson-Wooden kept it hopeful, yet grounded.
“I haven’t really talked to them much about it, even though I see them every day. But they have their own things going on,” she explained.
“Hopefully, fingers crossed, we may get to come on the track together and dominate like we did at Trials. But we’ll see.”
With athletes like Jefferson-Wooden backing the initiative and committing to its growth, Grand Slam Track may very well become the springboard the sport needs to elevate to new heights both in visibility and athlete empowerment.
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