The U.S. track and field star won the gold medal that has long eluded her by finishing first in the 200-meter with a time of 21.83.
However the last time Gabby Thomas was at the Olympics, she was mostly there to have a good time. And was competing in her first Games.
This time around in Paris, she came for gold. And got it on Tuesday night.
Stade de France was bursting with more than 77,000 screaming fans, Thomas won the women’s 200-meter final, sprinting to the finish in 21.83.
Thomas, 27, beat Julien Alfred of Saint Lucia (22.08) and Team USA’s Brittany Brown (22.20) who got silver, and bronze, respectively. Alfred won the 100 on Sunday evening, earning her country’s first-ever medal.
Thomas looked in control of the whole race, taking the lead as runners came around the curve. Her joy was seen as soon as she crossed the line first, screaming in jubilation and overcome with emotion
“I’ve envisioned this race in my head so many times over and over, as I do with every race,” said a beaming Thomas. “That’s how I win races. But I did not expect to feel how I felt when I crossed that line. You prepare for this moment and train so hard for this moment but when it comes, it’s indescribable.
“I never would have imagined in my wildest dreams that I would become an Olympic gold medalist and I am one. I’m still wrapping my head around that.”
It is Thomas’ second individual Olympic medal. She has a bronze from the Tokyo Olympics 200 final, as well as a silver from the 4×100 relay. She is expected to run on the 4×100 relay team in Paris, too. She said Tuesday that she also wants to run in the 4×400.
It is also her first gold medal at any major world championship. Last year, at the 2023 World Championships, she took silver in the 200.
“This is my favorite win, obviously,” Thomas said. “This is six years in the making. All of it was for this moment … I was prepared and mature and I was ready. It’s incredible.”
Thomas joked afterward that she was so in the zone at the line “I blacked out for the race.”
“I knew what I wanted to do: take the lead and finish strong,” she said. “It’s kind of like tunnel vision at that point. I got out of the blocks and I couldn’t tell you where anyone was. But I knew I was ready, I knew I trained for this. It’s the most bizarre feeling when you get into a flow … I wasn’t thinking about anything but getting to the finish line. As far as I was concerned, I was the only one in that race.”
In a sport desperate for star power, particularly as the U.S. prepares to host the 2028 Olympics in LA, Thomas oozes charisma is needed as far as her competitors are concerned, she’s exactly what Track needs.
Said Long, who has gushed repeatedly about how much she admires Thomas: “She’s the female that needs to be in front of the track world.”
