by Deji Ogeyingbo
Top 10 US Female Athletes of the Year 2025 (5-1)
Last time, we started our countdown of the top female athletes in the United States in 2025, focusing on their remarkable performances in events like the Diamond League and the Paris World Championships. Now, it’s time to spotlight the very best.
Here’s a closer look at the top 5 female athletes of the year:
5. Tara Davis-Woodhall (Long Jump)
Tara Davis-Woodhall had a flawless 2025 season in which she won all the events she competed in. Her season unfolded with confidence and clarity, built around timing and belief in big moments. It began in July at the Prefontaine Classic in Eugene, where she delivered a winning jump of 7.07 meters on her final attempt. The mark gave her the victory, a world lead, and an early signal that her championship rhythm had returned.
Weeks later, Davis-Woodhall reinforced that form at the U.S. Championships. Competing with purpose, she won her third straight national title with a jump of 7.12 meters, extending an unbeaten run that had now stretched beyond two years. The performance secured her spot on the world team and confirmed her command of the event through the domestic season.
The year reached its peak in Tokyo. In the long jump final at the World Championships, Davis-Woodhall rose to the occasion once more, leaping 7.13 meters to win her first world title. The jump added global gold to her Olympic crown and capped a season defined by precision under pressure.
What makes Davis-Woodhall special is her composure when it counts. She waits, trusts her instincts, and delivers when the margin is smallest. That consistency earns her the No. 5 spot among the top U.S. women of 2025.
4. Anna Hall (Heptathlon)
Anna Hall’s 2025 season was built on momentum and belief that steadily turned into history. The year showed clear signs of what was coming when she joined the 7,000-point club earlier in the summer, confirming that her range across seven events was finally aligning at the highest level.
In early August, Hall delivered a commanding performance at the U.S. Championships in Eugene. She won the heptathlon with 6,899 points, taking victory in five of the seven events and securing another national title. More importantly, it locked in her place on the team for Tokyo.
The World Championships provided the stage she had been chasing. Over two demanding days, Hall took control early and rarely let it slip. She ran strongly in the hurdles, cleared 1.89m in the high jump, and stretched her lead with a powerful shot put. As the competition thinned, Hall stayed composed and finished with 6,888 points to win gold, becoming the first American woman in more than three decades to claim a global heptathlon title.
What makes Hall special is her balance. She is strong without being rigid and fast without forcing races. That blend earns her the No. 4 spot among the top U.S. women of 2025.
Eugene, Oregon, USA
July 31 – August 3, 2025, photo by Kevin Morris
3. Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone (400m, 400mH)
After years of owning the 400m hurdles, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone made a deliberate choice to step away from what she had already mastered and focus on the flat 400m. It was a risk, but one taken with clear intent.
From the start of the season, McLaughlin-Levrone looked at ease in her new focus. She raced the 400m throughout the year without defeat, learning the event as she went and refining her rhythm with each outing. The shift was not about abandoning hurdles, but about testing the full range of her ability.
Everything came together in Tokyo. In the final of the women’s 400m at the World Championships, McLaughlin-Levrone delivered one of the fastest races in history, stopping the clock at 47.78s. The run set championship and North American records and earned her a first world title in the flat event. McLaughlin-Levrone was indeed named the 2025 World Athletics Female Athlete of the Year (and overall World Athlete of the Year) at the World Athletics Awards in late 2025
What makes her special is her willingness to grow when she already stands on top. That mindset earns McLaughlin-Levrone the No. 3 spot in our ranking of the top U.S. women of 2025.
2. Valarie Alman (Discus)
Another athlete that went on a flawless season, winning every final she competed in was Valarie Alman. Alman’s 2025 season followed a familiar pattern, steady control followed by something extra when the stage grew larger. By July, she was already in command. At the Prefontaine Classic in Eugene, Allman won for the fourth straight year, throwing 70.68m to set a meet record and extend a winning streak that had quietly become one of the longest in the sport.
That sense of ease carried through the summer. Meet after meet, Allman looked composed, rarely pressed, and rarely challenged. The confidence came from repetition and trust rather than force. By the time she arrived in Tokyo, she had not lost a competition in more than two years.
The World Championships final ended almost as soon as it began. Allman opened with 67.63m, then put the competition out of reach with 69.48 on her fifth throw. When it was over, she lay on the track and made a snow angel, finally a world champion after previous bronze and silver finishes.
What makes Allman special is her calm. She throws with patience and clarity, never rushed by expectation. That dominance, capped by gold in Tokyo, earns her the No. 2 spot among the top U.S. women of 2025.
1. Melissa Jefferson-Wooden (100m, 200m)
Taking our No. 1 spot is Melissa Jefferson-Wooden. This was the year no one could touch her. There were attempts, but she thwarted them while they were still whispers. That’s how dominant Jefferson-Wooden was in 2025. 10.61 seconds. That was the moment Melissa Jefferson-Wooden’s 2025 season came fully into focus.
The year began with speed that hinted at something bigger. Early in the summer, Jefferson-Wooden lowered her personal best to 10.73, then stunned the sport by running 10.65, making her the joint fifth-fastest woman in history. At the U.S. Championships, she confirmed her range. She won the 100 meters, then returned two days later to claim the 200m title in a personal best 21.84, beating a field that included Olympic champion Gabby Thomas.
Tokyo turned promise into dominance. In the 100m final at the World Championships, Jefferson-Wooden delivered a championship record 10.61 to win her first individual global gold. Days later, she completed the sprint double, powering to victory in the 200m in 21.68. The margin was nearly half a second, a gap rarely seen at this level.
What makes Jefferson-Wooden special is her clarity under pressure. She runs without hesitation, trusting her form when the stage is biggest. The 100m–200m double crowns her season and earns her the No. 1 spot among U.S. women in 2025.
