Gabby Thomas Eyes Olympic Gold in Paris, Why This Time Around Is Different

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We are less than a week away from the Women’s 200m final at the Summer Olympics and Gabby Thomas is favored to win.

The New Balance athlete came in first in the 200-meter final at U.S. track trials last month, in Eugene, Ore., with a time of 21.81 for the win. This is her second straight national title. She beat out fellow runner Sha’Carri Richardson who finished fourth in the race.

At 27, the track star already has four medals from the Olympic Games and World Championships, winning silver in Women’s 200m and bronze in Women’s 4 x 100m Relay in Tokyo in 2020.

And this time around, she has a different attitude.

“The first time, I was this new professional athlete who didn’t know what was going on. And you know, I was going into it just happy to be there — wide eyed like, ‘oh my gosh, this is so cool.’ And now I’m like, Okay, I know exactly what I’m capable of. I know what’s expected of me. I have so much support through partners and in friends and family and my training group. So I have higher expectations for myself. And not in a way where I feel pressure. I just feel I feel more comfortable,” she told FN in an interview from 2023. “And I feel ready.”

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Thomas is the second-fastest 200-meter runner the U.S. has ever seen, behind only Florence Griffith-Joyner. In 2021, at the 2020 U.S. Olympic Track & Field Team trials in Eugene, Ore., Thomas won the women’s 200 meters final in 21.61 seconds. It was the third-fastest time ever. The only other person who held faster times was the late Flo-Jo.

“I’ve been looking forward to this since immediately after Tokyo ended, just because I knew it would be so special just having the world come together over something so positive after such a weird last few years,” she said.

Thomas will compete in the Women’s 4 x 100m Relay race for Team USA in Paris. She said on the team dynamic: “When we come together for these championship meets like being on Team USA together, there’s just this genuine respect for one another and respect for the hard work that everyone’s done. What it took to get here because we know what it takes to make the U.S. team, and so there’s just that true respect there. And then it’s understanding that we’re trying to accomplish a goal that’s bigger than us, which is bringing home medals for our country.”

The Women’s 200m final will take place on Aug. 6.

Contributions from Jennie Bell.

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