'The most special day of my life' - Olympic gold medallist Melissa Jefferson ties the knot with college best friend

Paris Olympic gold medallist Melissa Jefferson tied the marital knot with her college sweetheart Rolan Wooden II in a private wedding at Winter Parks Events Center in Winter Park, Florida on Sunday, March 2nd.

The "dream come true" wedding attended by 250 guests, included fellow Olympians and gold medallists Twanisha “Tee Tee” Terry as a bridesmaid and Sha'Carri Richardson, as well as training partners Kenny Bednarek and Christian Coleman, while Baltimore Ravens tight end Isaiah Likely was the best man.

The couple who met four years ago as student-athletes at Coastal Carolina University with Jefferson running track while Wooden played on the football team, got engaged in October 2023, after surprising her with a romantic proposal on the beach.

In an exclusive interview with PEOPLE, Jefferson and Wooden shared their love journey and how they look forward to what comes next in their marital life.

"This is definitely a dream come true," said Jefferson, who won the 100m bronze medal and ran the lead-off leg on Team USA's women's 4x100 meter relay squad that captured gold at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

"Melissa is the calm to my storm," Wooden told PEOPLE. "She brings peace and balance to my life and I love her for that. She makes me better."

"Rolan is the most patient person I know and he treats me like I’m the only girl in the world and protects me in every situation," Jefferson added. "The most special day of my life with my best friend in front of our family and friends."

"When planning the wedding, I envisioned an environment where our entire families could gather to celebrate our love," Jefferson continued. "It was imperative to create a memorable experience that our family would cherish, and the younger generation present has a visual of a healthy illustration of Black love."

Jefferson and Wooden will have their honeymoon in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. But it won't take place until her outdoor season concludes.

The track star will be gunning to add more medals to her growing collections at the Tokyo World Championships in August.