Jefferson-Wooden's Ultimate double earns her USATF Athlete of the Week honors

INDIANAPOLIS -- Dominating the women's 100 and 200 at the inaugural World Ultimate Championship, Melissa Jefferson-Wooden (Clermont, FL/USATF Florida) earned recognition as the 33rd USATF Athlete of the Week award winner for 2026.

Completing the same sprint double she won at the World Championships in Tokyo last summer, Jefferson-Wooden blitzed star-studded fields at National Stadium in Budapest to win the 100 in 10.62 and the 200 in 21.47. Her 100 time was the equal seventh fastest ever by a woman, and her 200 clocking made her the No. 3 all-time world performer.

Jefferson-Wooden beat the runner-up, Olympic champion Julien Alfred of St. Lucia, by .12 in the 100, and she finished .3 ahead of Olympic champ Gabby Thomas, who was second in the 200.

Other top performances from last week:

• Kenny Bednarek won the men's 100 and 200 at the World Ultimate Championship, upsetting the world champion in the 100 with a season best 9.85 and dominating the 200 in 19.52, moving to No. 7 on the all-time world performer list.
• Lucien Beardsley won the men's title at the USATF 10,000 Race Walk Championships in 47:55.20.
• Maria Michta-Coffey added to her record-setting career national championship tally by winning the women's USATF 10,000 Race Walk Championships in 51:35.87.
• Rachael Rudel won the women's title at the USATF 20K Championships by almost a minute with her 64:58 clocking.
• Zouhair Talbi became the first American man to win the Great North Run half marathon in England, clocking 59:47.

Now in its 25th year, USATF’s Athlete of the Week program is designed to recognize outstanding performers at all levels of the sport. USATF names a new honoree each week when there are high-level competitions and features the athlete on USATF.org. Selections are based on top performances and results from the previous week. 

2026 Winners: January 15, Jonathan Simms; January 22, Michelle Rohl; January 29, Josh Hoey; February 5, Roisin Willis; February 12, Jordan Geist; February 19, Cole Hocker; February 26, Cynthia McNamee; March 5, Chase Jackson; March 12, Lauren Harris; March 19, Garrett Kaalund; March 26, Cooper Lutkenhaus; April 2, Rudy Winkler; April 9, Max Thomas; April 16, Sam Mattis; April 23, Tahmar Upshaw; April 30, Kaitlin Bounds; May 7, Karissa Schweizer; May 14, Anna Cockrell; May 21, Tatyana McFadden; May 28, Masai Russell; June 4, Joe Kovacs; June 11, Gabby Thomas; June 25, Tate Taylor; July 1, Jamal Britt; July 8, Nikki Hiltz; July 15, Jamal Britt; July 22, Cierra Jackson; July 29, Noah Lyles; August 13, Tate Taylor; August 27, Ethan Strand; September 3, Masai Russell; September 10, Chase Jackson; September 17, Melissa Jefferson-Wooden.

We welcome your nominations!

To nominate an athlete for USATF Athlete of the Week, please send a detailed email about their performance to communications@usatf.org.

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