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Gabby Thomas is the fastest woman of 2024 in the 200m leading up to the Paris Olympics. The rest of the top five are completed by her fellow Americans, including impending Olympian Sha'Carri Richardson.
Thomas has been on a roll this year, except for a couple of lukewarm performances in the middle of a season during a training block. She began her year at the Texas Relays, clocking a 22.08 for the win. She then moved on to the USATF Los Angeles and New York Grand City Prix, clocking 22.68 and 22.42 respectively.
Next, the 27-year-old moved on to the Olympic Trials, where she truly shone through. She ran times of 22.11 and 21.78 in the heats and semis, the latter being good enough for a world lead. Gabby Thomas later stopped the clock at 21.81 in the finals, winning the trials and sealing her spot at the Games.
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The next fastest 200m sprinter of 2024 is McKenzie Long, who is also on the U.S. Olympic Team for the distance. Running at the NCAA Division I Outdoor Championships in June, the 23-year-old ran a 21.83 that gave her the gold and made her the second-best 200m sprinter of this year.
Rounding out the first three on the season’s top list and the U.S Olympic Team for the 200m is Brittany Brown. The 29-year-old clocked a 21.90 in the finals of the U.S Olympic Trials, marking a new personal best for her and only the second time she's dipped under the 22-second mark in her career.
The next two fastest women of this Olympic year are Americans Sha'Carri Richardson and Abby Steiner, but neither of them will make an appearance in the distance at the Games. Richardson’s time of 21.92 at the semifinals of the trials makes her the fourth-fastest woman of the year, while Steiner sits in fifth with a 22.03.
Interestingly enough, the next four spots on the season’s top list for the 200m also belong to an American, with Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone being sixth with 22.07. JaMeesia Ford is seventh with her 22.08, Tamari Davis is eighth with her 22.10, and Tamara Clark is ninth with her 22.12.
Gabby Thomas shares advice for student-athletes after making it to her second consecutive Olympic Games
For Gabby Thomas, her best performances on tracks started rolling in after her high school years. The American joined Harvard University as a student-athlete, studying neurobiology and global health as an undergraduate while setting a collegiate record in track.
Recently, in an appearance on the "Sincerely, Sloane" podcast, Gabby Thomas shared a crucial piece of advice for student-athletes looking to balance all aspects of their life, saying,
"You are going to be on your own journey and you're going to take your own path. What's really important is to not compare your journey to anybody else's. Each decision you make has to be right for you and your own personal growth.”
After completing her bachelor's, Gabby Thomas earned her Master's Degree in epidemiology at the University of Texas Health Science Center. While studying, the 27-year-old simultaneously won a silver and bronze at the Tokyo Olympics, and she now has a chance to improve upon that in Paris.
