• Faith: Christian
• Career: Athlete
• Birthday:  February 21, 2001

Melissa Jefferson is a track and field sprinter who attends and competes at Coastal Carolina University. In 2022, she won the NCAA Indoor 60m championship and also won the 100 meters at the 2022 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships to qualify for the 2022 World Athletics Championships in Eugene, Oregon. She reached the final and finished eighth. She was also a member of the U.S. team, which won the 4x100m relay at the 2023 World Athletics Championships in Budapest.

In April of 2024, she was a member of the USA team, which won the 4 x 100m relay at the 2024 World Athletics Relays in Nassau, Bahamas. She won the 100m at the World Athletics Continental Tour Gold LA Grand Prix meet in May 2024, and in June 2024, she finished second in the 100 meters at the 2024 United States Olympic trials in Eugene, Oregon, running 10.80 seconds. In an interview, Jefferson discussed the highlights of her 2022 season, saying, “For me, the highlight of my season wasn’t even the race that I won at Indoor Nationals. It was actually the prelim race. That was the highlight because I think it kind of gave me a sense of, ‘Hey, you’re supposed to be here.’ So now, after that race was over, I was like, ‘Well, you know, the hard part is over.’ The hard part for me was making it to the final. And so once I was able to do that, I felt like this was a race I would forever cherish because I had a realization within myself of who I am, what I’ve been working so hard for and praying for, and what I’m capable of doing.” 

She continued, “I think the next race that probably stuck out to me was USA Nationals. When I won the 100 meters, that was another that one was another kind of realization for me and just reassuring myself like, ‘Hey, on this road, like you know, everything’s not going to go as planned.’ But if you can keep your composure while things aren’t going that well, then when the time comes for everything to come together, it’ll be that much better for you, or it’ll feel that much better. When you know you’ve overcome your hardships to get there.” 

What religion is Melissa Jefferson?

Melissa Jefferson identifies as a Christian. In the same interview where she discussed her 2022 season, Jefferson also talked about her faith. She said, “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.”