The excitement was palpable at Doug Shaw Memorial Stadium in Myrtle Beach on Oct. 4, 2025, as Olympic and World Champion Melissa Jefferson-Wooden returned to her home state to give back to the community that shaped her.
Known as the fastest woman in the world this year with a 100m time of 10.65 seconds (tied No. 5 all-time), and the first American woman ever to win both the 100m and 200m at the World Championships, Jefferson-Wooden didn’t come home to compete, she came home to invest in the next generation of athletes.
A Carvers Bay High School and Coastal Carolina University alumna, Jefferson-Wooden led the first session of Myrtle Beach’s 2025 Track & Field Fall Development Series, designed for kids ages 6-18 to introduces youth to the sports’ fundamentals.…