Maia McCoy Explains Transferring to Liberia, Coming Back to Represent the United States, Then Becoming One of the Top Sprinters in the World

In today's conversation, I speak with Maia McCoy of the United States who is a rising star in women's sprinting.Born and raised in Tennessee, she attended the University of Tennessee where she was an All-American in the sprint events both indoors and outdoors.She likely popped onto many people’s radars in 2025 though as she frequently competed on the international circuit at both diamond league and continental tour meetings, finishing the year ranked 14th in the world in the 100m and setting a personal best of 10.96 seconds.Prior to 2025 though you may have heard of her for representing Liberia where she won 100m silver at both the 2024 African Championships in Cameroon and African games in Ghana.But representing Liberia didn’t work out and she is now in the process of transferring back to represent her home country of the United States.In our conversation we discuss Maia’s transfer to Liberia, as well as the process of transferring back to the USA.We also break down that amazing 2025 season, finding a pocket of consistency, and becoming one of the top ranked sprinters in the world. She breaks down sponsorships, training under Coach Ken Harden at Auburn, the progress she's made in practice, as well as goals for 2026.⁠-------------------------------------------📱Twitter: https://x.com/EmeroleAnderson🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheFinalLeg📱Instagram: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/atkoeme/🎧⁠Subscribe and leave a review on Apple Podcasts⁠-------------------------------------------Chapters:00:00 Intro01:16 Start of the 2026 Season03:06 Running Indoors in 202604:23 Maia’s 2025 Outdoor Season08:24 Breaking 11 seconds in the 100m11:08 Getting comfortable on the pro circuit12:52 Competing at Tennessee in the NCAA15:09 Turning Pro After College17:38 Sponsorships20:44 Representing Liberia and Transferring back to USA30:11 Current Training32:30 Becoming a student of the sport36:28 Competing across Africa39:13 Goals for 2026