Melissa Jefferson reflects on 2024 Paris Olympics

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (WBTW) — Local track star Melissa Jefferson made her first Olympics appearance last summer at the 2024 Summer Games in Paris.

Jefferson reflected on her achievements saying, “Girl, you really went to your first Olympic games and came back with two medals. That is rare, not a lot of people in this lifetime can say that they did that. I didn’t necessarily foresee it happening so soon with me being only 23 years old, but I’m grateful that I was able to go out there and represent not only me, God, and my family but also the country.”

Melissa still hasn’t quite comprehended everything she achieved in Paris.

Her journey to the podium started with the 100-meter final, where the weather conditions were not in her favor.

“We were about to start warming up again and it actually started raining, Jefferson said. “I was like ‘wow, really, seriously,’ but then that just kind of went out the window because at that point it was like ‘okay it’s not only raining for me, it’s raining for everyone’.”

Rain was not stopping the Coastal Carolina National Champion anytime soon. Instead, she decided to embrace the experience.

Jefferson told herself, “You worked your butt off right now for this moment, so don’t let a little bit of rain stop you from achieving what it is you really want to achieve.”

“The gun went off and all I could do is worry about getting to the line as quick as I can and in whatever place that was,” Jefferson recalled. “Even though I won a bronze medal, I feel like I did win.”

Even on the biggest stage in the world, Melissa was not rattled when it came to the bright lights and the packed stadiums.

“That stadium was literally packed out at 10 o’clock in the morning,” Jefferson recalled. “The stadium was packed; I’m talking +70,000 people that was there that morning. I’ve never performed on a stage that big before, but it didn’t necessarily get to me. I really sat back there and thought ‘wow all these people are really here right now to watch us’.”

The day after winning her first Olympic medal, she got to live out the balancing act that comes with the Olympic experience, by making appearances and doing media interviews. With all these distractions, she still had to stay mentally ready for the next race ahead of her.

“The adrenaline from the hundred and then the next day, you have to do all of these appearances and media,” Jefferson said. “It was really just trying to balance all of that, come down, and get prepared to race again. It worked out for us, and we ended up coming home with the gold, it was definitely a rollercoaster, just the mental aspect of the Olympic games in general.”

Her “village” is what helped Melissa get to this level of her career. No matter where she is in the world, she takes her village with her wherever she goes.

“I’m a village kid,” Jefferson said. “I’ve been raised that way; everyone had a part in getting me to where I am. All of the places that have made me who I am, the community of Dunbar, the city of Georgetown, the school district, Carvers Bay, and Coastal Carolina. Everyone now is a part of this village, and I take the village wherever I go.”

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