Just like the women’s 100m at the Olympics, the 200m event has some curses for American athletes. Except in the 1984, 1988, and 1992 Olympics (Valerie Brisco-Hooks, Florence Griffith-Joyner, and Gwen Torrence), the female athletes in Stars and Stripes have failed to win the title consecutively. Furthermore, after Allyson Felix in 2012, Team USA has taken 12 years to reclaim the throne. However, Gabby Thomas does not care about those statistics. After grabbing the women’s 200m Olympic title today, she shot arrows at her opponents. Ultimately, the Jamaican powerhouse Shericka Jackson made it into the discussion. 

Today, the arch-rival was not present at Stade de France to counter the 27-year-old because she scratched out of the event. But the latter said that she wouldn’t have worried if the 200m world champion remained at the track today. “To be honest, Shericka Jackson is an incredible competitor, but I’m not really afraid to race anybody,” she boasted at the post-race conversation today. Meanwhile, for other competitors, she had a few more words: “Looking at everyone’s season trajectories, I understood that I was ready and prepared to win this race”. Another big shot toward the rivals! But today she has justified reasons to raise her voice. 

She entered the arena today with a bagful of factors backing her. In all the Heat and semi-final events of women’s 200m, Gabby Thomas had the best finishes. Additionally, she holds the world-leading timing record (21.78 seconds) in the same event this season. So, a podium finish had been on the cards for her beforehand. But could she be able to inflict the same dominance if the 4-time world champion remained there? 

Today Gabby took 21.83 seconds to claim the Olympic title. But what the scoreboard could not narrate was her thorough upper hand in the event. On the contrary, last year, when the American athlete locked horns with Shericka at the World Athletics Championships, she ended her race, claiming the silver. Shericka ended up better with the gold. So the question was already there regarding the fictional track war between the two. Gabby had to answer this. 

She added, “I wouldn’t say that I was relieved when Shericka pulled out…I was confident going into the race. I didn’t realize that I had won the race until I crossed the line. The race wasn’t over until it was over”. In the meantime, in her first conversation, Gabby did not hold herself back from praising the Tokyo Olympic medalist. 

Taking a moment, she added, “I would’ve liked to race her, and I wish her the best and hope she has a speedy recovery, but I’m really excited.” Her excitement may have a ton of reasons. After all, Gabby Thomas is in history now. But her promises are pushing her toward becoming a monument. 

Gabby Thomas is on her way to becoming bigger than her idol 

In several of her interactions, Gabby Thomas has taken Allyson Felix’s name to be her idol on the track. Surprisingly, after Allyson, she became the one to win the women’s 200m from Team USA. And now, her statements reveal that she wants to capitalize on this victory. If she succeeds on this route, Gabby could attain an unthinkable height. 

Her idol, Allyson, stood on the 200m Olympic podium 3 times. No other female American sprinter has achieved that feat. Noteworthy, Gabby Thomas has the chance to settle herself along with her idol. All she needs to do is gain another rank in the 200m podium at the LA 2028 Olympic Games. Her today’s words have said that she is now ready to take on any challenge in the event. Therefore, let’s get into the cycle of time to witness Gabby Thomas, the record breaker.