USATF Awards 2025: Melissa Jefferson-Wooden and Rai Benjamin crowned Athlete of the Year winners

World champions Melissa Jefferson-Wooden and Rai Benjamin have beaten Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone and Noah Lyles to the 2025 USA Track and Field (USATF) Female and Male Athletes of the Year award.

Despite being snubbed for the World Athletics Athlete of the Year honour, Jefferson-Wooden earned the prestigious Jackie Joyner-Kersee Award following a historic performance at the World Championships in Tokyo.

She became the first American woman to achieve a clean sweep of the 100m, 200m, and 4x100m relay titles at a single global event.

Her remarkable season placed her ahead of a field of decorated nominees, including world champions Valarie Allman (discus), Tara Davis-Woodhall (long jump), Anna Hall (heptathlon), Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone (400m, 4x400m), and Katie Moon (pole vault).

Meanwhile, Benjamin secured the Jesse Owens Award after a stellar year in which he captured his first individual world title in the 400m hurdles. He also anchored the U.S. men's 4x400m relay team to a silver medal.

The other finalists for the men's award were world champions Ryan Crouser (shot put), Cole Hocker (5000m), Noah Lyles (200m, 4x100m), and Cordell Tinch (110m hurdles).

In a significant first, USATF also named its inaugural Para Athletes of the Year. The honors went to world champions Annie Carey, who triumphed in the T44 200m, and Jaydin Blackwell, who won both the T38 100m and 400m events.

The introduction of the Para Athlete of the Year awards marks a key step in unifying the Olympic and Paralympic movements. This year, the U.S. Paralympic track and field program was integrated into USATF, which included combining their respective national outdoor championships.

The winners were determined through a combination of fan and media voting, with the official announcement made on Friday at the USATF Annual Meeting in Orlando. The 2024 recipients were Gabby Thomas and Grant Holloway, who both won gold at the Paris Olympic Games.