Who is Melissa Jefferson? All about the South Carolina sprinter who topped the semifinals of the Women's 100m event in Paris Olympics

By Soumik Bhattacharya

Modified Aug 03, 2024 18:44 GMT

Melissa Jefferson is an American track and field sprinter who recently topped the charts during the semifinal rounds of the Women's 100m event at the Paris Olympics 2024. Running in the semifinals (first leg) of the event, the 23-year-old registered a run time of 10.99 seconds to reach the finals of Women's 100m in her debut Olympic appearance.

After finishing second in the third heat of the event, Jefferson elevated her performance at the right moment to top the semifinal leaderboard. Cote d'Ivoire's Marie Jose Ta Lou Smith finished in the second position behind Jefferson with a run time of 11.01 seconds while Switzerland's Mujinga Kambundji finished third in the semifinals (11.05 seconds) to book a place in the finals of the event.

On that note, let's explore more about the Women's 100m finalist at the Paris Olympics, Melissa Jefferson.

Melissa Jefferson: Family and hometown

Jefferson at the 2024 Summer Olympics (Image via: Getty)

Jefferson was born in the town of Georgetown in South Carolina on February 21, 2001 to Melvin Jefferson and Johanna Jefferson. She has five half-siblings and currently resides in Hemingway.

Melissa Jefferson: Educational details

Jefferson at the 2024 Paris Olympics

Jefferson completed her higher education at the Coastal Carolina University in South Carolina. During her time there, Jefferson was also a part of the University's athletics team, Coastal Carolina Chanticleers.

Melissa Jefferson: Other achievements of the athlete

Jefferson in the eighth day of the 2024 Olympics (Image via: Getty)

So far in her career, Jefferson has put up some high-level performance in both her collegiate career as well as her elite career. In 2022, running at the NCAA Division I Track and Field Championships, she clinched the gold medal in the Women's 60m event with a personal best run time of 7.09 seconds.

In the same year, the South Carolina native won another gold medal in the 100m event at the USATF Outdoor Track and Field Championships. Besides, Jefferson has also been a part of two gold-medal-winning US 4x100m relay teams at the World Championships (in 2022 and 2023).

In 2024, she also clinched another gold in the 4x100m relay event along with Tamari Davis, Gabrielle Thomas, and Celera Bernes. At the 2024 US Olympic Trials, Jefferson run a personal best run time in the Women's 100m event (10.80 seconds) to book a place at the Paris Olympics 2024. She finished just behind Sha'Carri Richardson who clocked a run time of 10.71 seconds.