Gabby Thomas wins gold medal in women’s 200m at Paris Olympics

Gabby Thomas is finally golden.

After winning bronze at the Tokyo Olympics and silver in Budapest at the 2023 World Championships, Thomas has her gold medal in Paris. The Atlanta-born runner who trained at Harvard beat out women’s 100m champion Julien Alfred and ran a 21.83 to claim the sport’s top prize. She is the first American woman to win the 200m since Allyson Felix in 2012.

“I’m really in disbelief because having an Olympic gold medal is something in my wildest dreams,” she said. “But at the same time, I know how hard I’ve fought for it. This has been six years in the making, head down, working hard, going to really hard meets, pushing yourself, and now it’s here and I’ve done it. This is the happiest moment of my life.”

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It wasn’t much of a race after 100 meters. Thomas is an excellent turn runner and made up much of the stagger on Alfred during the turn, coming off ahead of Alfred. Thomas immediately gained a significant lead and held it all the way through the line, beating Alfred for gold by nearly two-tenths of a second. American teammate Brittany Brown out-leaned her competitors at the line to claim bronze in 22.20.

In addition to being an accomplished runner, Thomas is also a Harvard University neurobiology graduate with a master’s degree in Public Health from the University of Texas Health Science Center. She spends her nights volunteering at an Austin clinic for those without health insurance. Thomas wants her win to show girls everywhere that they can achieve their dreams.

“”I want young girls to look at us as strong female athletes and feel like they can do it, too,” Thomas said. “I want them to feel they’re encouraged to go into professional sports, I want them to feel encouraged to pursue their dreams, no matter how big or small.”

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