Melissa Jefferson-Wooden Beats Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone as Rai Benjamin Edges Noah Lyles for Top US Award
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World champions Melissa Jefferson-Wooden and Rai Benjamin have been honored as the 2025 USA Track and Field (USATF) Female and Male Athletes of the Year.
Jefferson-Wooden secured the prestigious Jackie Joyner-Kersee Award following a historic performance at the World Championships. 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). Notably, McLaughlin-Levrone was named the 2025 World Athletics Female Athlete of the Year.
Benjamin earned the Jesse Owens Award after capturing his first career world title in the 400m hurdles. He also anchored the U.S. men's 4x400m relay team to a silver medal.
USA Para Athletes Also Honored
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 award recipients 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 winners were Gabby Thomas and Grant Holloway, who both won gold at the Paris Games.
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