When Dejeana Oakley crossed the line in a personal best 49.65 seconds to claim silver in the 400m at the 2025 NCAA Division I Championships in Eugene, Oregon on Saturday, it was more than a medal-winning moment — it was a personal reckoning. After years of near-misses, self-doubt, and deferred goals, she had finally done it. Sub-50. A barrier broken. A dream realized.

“I’m kind of speechless,” Oakley said, reflecting on the biggest race of her life so far. “I’ve been praying and working with my coaches all year to get to sub-50. I started doubting myself, to be honest. But my coach kept saying, ‘If you run how I know you can, sub-50 will come easy.’ I didn’t believe him. Until it happened.”

Her 49.65 clocking placed her second behind teammate Aliyah Butler, who won in a lifetime best and championship-leading 49.26, and elevated Oakley to the top of Jamaica’s 400m rankings this year. She now heads into the Jamaica National Championships set for June 26–29 as the fastest Jamaican woman over one lap in the world this season — but with not such a clear path to qualify for the 2025 World Athletics Championships in Tokyo.

The breakthrough, she said, began with a crucial semifinal performance. “After I ran that 50.18, I thought, ‘Okay, that wasn’t bad… it actually felt kind of easy.’ So in the final, I just told myself to push and see what I could actually do. When I saw 49.65, I was shocked. But my coach wasn’t — he just said, ‘I already knew you were going to do it.’”

The result was a moment of vindication, not just for Oakley’s talent but for her bold decision to transfer from the University of Texas to the University of Georgia ahead of this season. “Coming here wasn’t just about running fast,” she explained. “It was about taking care of me, personally. Coach Caryl [Smith Gilbert] isn’t just a coach — she’s like a mom. When I visited Georgia, she told me, ‘I’m not just going to grow you as an athlete. I want you to leave here ready for life.’”

Smith Gilbert, who this past weekend became the first woman to lead two different programs to NCAA team titles, leads with detail and empathy. Oakley said that attention to detail has made all the difference. “She’ll call me at 7 p.m. and ask, ‘Have you eaten yet?’ If I say no, she stays on the phone until I go get something,” Oakley revealed. “She sends us packing lists before every meet — down to what the weather’s going to be. It takes all the pressure off us. All we have to do is run.”

The effect of that support was immediate. In less than a year, Oakley dropped her 400m personal best from 51.75 to 49.65 — a massive leap that few athletes ever make. “I feel like most athletes take more than a year to adjust to a new program. For it to start working so quickly for me… it just shows how perfect this choice was.”

She also feels she now understands exactly how to run a sub-50 race. “At Georgia, we usually go out fast for the first 200, then back off, and finish hard. But I realized that instead of backing off, if I maintain that speed and add more near the end, that’s how you get to 49. That’s now my blueprint.”

With her ticket to Tokyo now within reach, Oakley is taking a smart, patient approach. “My body’s a bit tired,” she admitted. “I ran multiple rounds of the 400, did the 4x4 and even the 4x1. So I’m doing active rest now — I’m still moving but not pushing too hard. Once I make the team — and I’m saying ‘when,’ not ‘if’ — I’ll go back to Georgia, keep training but not too intensely, and maybe run one or two meets before Worlds. You can’t take two months off.”

Interestingly, despite a sharp 22.43 clocking in the 200m earlier this season, Oakley chose not to double at the national championships. “My 200m looked better on paper, but I realized I’d been avoiding the 400 for a while. It’s hard. I even kind of took a gap year from it last year,” she confessed. “But my coaches believed in me. They left the decision up to me, and I went all-in on the 400. Plus, more athletes qualify for Worlds in the 400 than the 200.”

That decision has clearly paid off — and the accolades haven’t just come on the track. In a groundbreaking move mere weeks ago, Oakley signed a Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) contract with Swiss athletic brand On, becoming the first Jamaican athlete to do so.

“It meant a lot,” she said. “On isn’t one of the big three — Nike, Puma, Adidas — but they go for quality. They looked at me not just as a runner, but as a whole person. That was huge. Their gear is amazing too — I’m not gonna lie. And I get to be different. It feels good to walk out in On gear knowing I’m blazing a new path for other Jamaican athletes. I’m the first, and now I get to be an ambassador and show it’s okay to sign with a brand that fits you — not just the traditional choices.”

She’s proud of what she’s accomplished this year, but equally proud of how far she’s come mentally. “I’ve exceeded even some of my own goals,” she admitted. “But what makes it even more special is knowing that people have been watching and supporting. That means a lot.”

Oakley is expected to arrive in Jamaica on June 24, just two days before the start of the national trials. What happens there could define the next phase of her career. But whatever comes, she’s running with belief — and gratitude.

Recovery and mental strength are everything. “But I’ve got a great team around me, and I’m ready. This was always the goal.”