The 200-meter race at the Paris Olympics carried immense expectations, with many anticipating a thrilling three-way showdown among some of the world’s top athletes: Shericka Jackson, Gabby Thomas, and Julien Alfred. Shericka was widely regarded as the favorite in this category, a status solidified by her dominant performances, including gold medal wins at the 2023 World Championships and the Diamond League.

It seemed like Gabby Thomas and Julien Alfred were hunting for a close second-place finish. However, Sherika’s unexpected withdrawal from the race because of an Achilles tendon injury changed the whole situation. Now, all eyes rested on Gabby and Julien. This made the whole affair very intriguing. However, Gabby Thomas didn’t seem to care much about Sherika’s exit. Instead, she worried about the dark horse from St. Lucia.

Gabby Thomas was aware of the challenge posed by Julien Alfred in the 200-meter race

The fourth episode in the second season of Netflix’s Sprint documentary delves into the atmosphere before the 200-meter Olympic race. After Shericka Jackson’s unexpected exit from the heats, all eyes shifted to Gabby Thomas and Julien Alfred. Gabby had secured the silver medal at the 2023 World Championships with an impressive time of 21.81 seconds, while Shericka had claimed gold with a blazing 21.41 seconds. Now, with the Jamaican out of contention, many anticipated Gabby to seize the top spot. However, standing in her way was a formidable challenge in the form of Julien Alfred.

She was just coming off an unexpected 100-meter gold medal victory beating Sha’Carri Richardson. This made the St. Lucian athlete most definitely Gabby’s biggest challenger. The US athlete did realise that. In the documentary, when she learns that Sherika withdrew from the heats, she didn’t pay much heed to the situation. “I’m hearing that Sherika did not race right now on my phone. I don’t know what that means for her. But I can’t worry about her. I have a new Caribbean girl to worry about,” she remarked, referring to Julian.

On the other hand, the St. Lucian athlete was struggling to get sleep during the preparation of the race. When Julian Alfred was training for the first heats, she admitted that she had barely gotten any sleep. She may have also felt immense stress before the race, as she also confessed about breaking her nails. “Right now, I am running off of two hours of sleep and some coffee. And broken nails,” she said while on a break from her training. Eventually, both Julian and Gabby Thomas won their heat categories with times of 22.41 and 22.20, respectively. This helped set up an incredible final in Paris.

What really transpired at the 200-meter final showdown between Gabby Thomas and Julien Alfred

The 200-meter final showdown between Gabby Thomas and Julian Alfred was set to be quite close, with both athletes ready to fight for the gold. Eventually, it was the US athlete who took the prize home. She led the race from start to finish without ever giving away her lead. Gabby finished with a time of 21.83 seconds. On the other hand, Julian ended the race in 22.08 seconds, never really seeming to challenge Gabby Thomas’ dominance. Gabby was the superior athlete that evening. “I’m really in disbelief because having an Olympic gold medal is something in my wildest dreams,” said Gabby, speaking to the NBC.

“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.” added the Olympic gold medalist. Gabby Thomas would end up winning two other gold medals in Paris after this at the 4x100m and the 4x400m categories. This would put her in an elite category of US female athletes like Florence Griffith-Joyner and Allyson Felix, who won three gold medals at a single Olympics. Thus, it was a great campaign for her.