Melissa Jefferson burst onto the sprinting scene with the U.S. 100m title in June. The 21-year-old had an amazing 2022 season as she ran in 49 races which included a win in the NCAA 60m Indoor title and ended with a Gold Medal at the 2022 World Championships in the 4x100m relay.
This is a continuation of our conversation, focusing on her life outside of the track. In Part One, we discussed her athletic career and phenomenal 2022 season.
My questions and comments are italicized and Melissa’s replies in bold.
Idols Become Rivals
So on your Instagram earlier, in April, you posted about racing against you know, the great Allyson Felix. What can you tell me about that moment for you?
It was very special since I grew up watching her. I remember the 2012 and 2016 Olympics, and in between all those years, I’d watch her race. So to actually have the chance to race against her, and in her last season running as a professional, I felt like it was a very special moment for me, because I say all the time that I see myself as one of the next (ones up) you know. I feel like this was her era, much like Serena Williams to tennis.
I feel like with the next era coming up, I’m going to be…or I’m going to play a big part in that. And, in a sense, I feel like being able to meet her and get to not only race against her, but we ended up being on the same US team. I just felt like that was just a very, very, very, very special moment for me.
At first, when I found out I was running against her it was very deep. People have asked me what would you say if you had to race against her? I’ve always said, ‘Of course when I’m running, you know, I am going to be focused on winning, but afterwards I want to be like, {Oh my god, Hi,}’ And that definitely was me in April.
I’m just glad that I got the opportunity to not only compete against her, but to meet her in person and know that she’s a very sweet, nice person and she’s so genuine and I’m just really thankful for all that she’s done for this sport.
Faith
I talked to you after the USA Finals, and you talked a lot about your faith and I want to talk to you about how that affected your career as an athlete but also your life?
I’ll tell you firsthand, my faith is a big part of who I am, and without me having a personal relationship with God, I feel like none of this would have happened the way it did. It was simply me just going to Him and telling Him what I expected of myself and Him putting me in the position, and having me in the rooms and places to see it through. I realized a lot of the times, you know, when it comes to having faith, especially in God, a lot of people…they don’t necessarily understand, you know, the depth of what it is to have a personal relationship with Him.
Daddy’s Donor
I noticed on your Instagram bio, you say my daddy’s donor can you tell me about just that in general?
At the age of 17, my dad was diagnosed with a blood disorder syndrome that’s called myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS). And basically it’s a blood disorder that if it’s not treated properly, then it can develop into leukemia.
Originally, they tested my two older sisters and my dad’s sister, and they were partial matches. But with parent consent, they decided to test me last and I was not only a match, but I was the preferred match [for stem cells] because I was younger and I hadn’t had any children. So I went through that process. I went through about maybe five days of getting injections.
It was a very smooth process, for the most part there were little bumps in the road, but it was just about how much stem cells I was producing a day. And so by the time I got done with my portion of it, and I got out of the outpatient care, me, my aunt, and my mom would head over to the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston where my dad was, and they were already about to set him up to get ready to receive my stem cells. I was glad I was able to play a part in it.
Hopes for the Future
As I look around at track and field for the US Women it has never been brighter. It’s you, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, Abby Steiner, and Anna Hall, just to name a few. What can you tell me about the future?
I feel like it’s definitely something that has come a long way.
I feel like there have been people in place who have been making strides towards making sure that the people coming up behind them won’t have to necessarily go through what they did. And I’m really thankful for that.
So I’d say, when you look at the women that are in our sport today, like Sydney McLaughlin and Dalilah Muhammad, you know, just everybody in general…I’d say there are a lot of shoes to fill, but I feel like within the US, there’s a lot of talent that’s there and it just needs to be pushed in the right direction. It needs to be protected and I just really hope that it will continue to move in the right direction. And you know, there are going to be bumps along the way but as long as we can keep our composure we’re going to see some miraculous things continue to happen.
