'Not an easy decision' - Melissa Jefferson-Wooden withdraws from major meet in October

Newly crowned triple world champion Melissa Jefferson-Wooden has withdrawn from a major meet scheduled to take place next month.

The American sprint queen who had record-breaking performances at the just concluded Tokyo 2025 World Championships, will no longer participate at the ATHLOS meet on October 10, to cap off her exceptional season.

Jefferson-Wooden was one of the standout performers in Tokyo, sweeping the sprint double titles and being part of the American 4x100m quartet that claimed the gold medal, thus becoming the second woman in history after the legendary Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce (2013), to achieve the triple feat in a single world championships.

In addition, her 100m winning time of 10.61s broke Sha'Carri Richardson's championship record of 10.65s set in 2023, and her 200m victorious mark of 21.68s is the sixth-fastest in history.

Being the undisputed sprint queen for the season, Jefferson-Wooden was confirmed to cap off her season at the ATHLOS meet, but has now withdrawn after a hectic season.

She released a statement on her social media handles stating the reason for her withdrawal, but she will be there to cheer on the athletes competing in New York.

"Not an easy decision, but the right one. Thank you to all my supporters! See you soon @athlos on 10.10!!!," she wrote as the caption to her post.

As a conclusion to every athletics year, the ATHLOS meet, a women-only track and field competition founded by Serena Williams' husband Alexis Ohanian, was created in 2024 to encourage and promote women's sports, paying the highest winning prize money for a single-day meet in athletics history.

In its first edition last year, each event winner copped $60,000, with stars such as Olympic champions Gabby Thomas, Marileidy Paulino, and Faith Kipyegon running at the meet.

The event organizers also combined sports with entertainment by inviting top music star Megan The Stallion to perform to the excitement of the participating athletes and spectators.

This year has promised to be much bigger at the Icahn Stadium in New York, with more sports and stars in the entertainment world expected to grace the occasion.