Gabby Thomas runs world-best 200 at Olympic Trials
A few minutes after New Balance’s Gabby Thomas opened the Olympic Trials 200 meters first round Thursday night with a world-leading 21.98, she paused for a moment to reflect on what had just happened.
“It’s surreal,” Thomas said.
She could have just as easily been talking about her drama-filled past year.
Only a few weeks ago, her Olympic season was threatened by a nagging hamstring injury. Then three weeks ago, an MRI found a tumor on her liver. The tumor turned out to be benign and eventually the hamstring healed.
And on a warm evening at Hayward Field that previewed hotter times and temperatures in the coming days, the Harvard graduate stamped herself not only as a favorite to make Team USA on Saturday but contend for a medal in Tokyo next month.
“I’m not surprised but it’s a great feeling,” Thomas said. “Especially at the Trials.”
While Thomas might not have been surprised by her time, the race opened a lot of eyes in Tracktown USA given the company she now keeps.
The mark, run with just a 0.7 m/s tailwind, well below the 2.0 allowable limit, is the fastest by an American since 2017 and placed Thomas 10th on the U.S. all-time list. The women above her on that list have won a combined 36 Olympic medals, 24 of them gold.
The time is all the more impressive when considering Thomas slowed at least 10 meters from the finish line, her victory and advancement to Friday’s semifinals well in hand.
“I still have more left,” Thomas said.
Jenna Prandini, the former Oregon star who now races for Puma, had Thursday’s second-fastest qualifying time at 22.14. Allyson Felix, the 2012 Olympic 200 gold medalist and three-time world champion in the event, advanced with a 22.56.
Thomas wasn’t the only athlete putting up big numbers on the first night of the Trials second half.
Five women broke the 60-foot barrier in the shot put, led by adidas’ Jessica Ramsey, who launched a Trials record 66-feet, 1/4-inch throw to become only the fourth American woman to crack 20 meters. The throw, the second best in the world this season, broke the meet record of 65-6 set only minutes earlier by Raven Saunders of Nike.
New Balance’s Emma Coburn set a Trials record in the 3,000-meter steeplechase at 9 minutes, 9.41 seconds. Joining the 2017 world champion on Team USA will be runner-up Courtney Frerichs, the 2017 Worlds silver medalist, at 9:11.79.
But the real drama came in the battle for third place. Leah Falland, a former NCAA champion at Michigan State, was with Coburn and Frerichs in a breakaway group that had opened up a 20-meter gap on the rest of the field with two laps to go. But Falland tripped on a hurdle, crashing to the track.
She regained her composure and still seemed set to claim third place, sitting on Tracksmith’s Val Constien with 200 ago. But Falland struggled on the final water jump and then faded to ninth in the homestretch. Constien held on for third in 9:18.34.
Thomas, inspired by a younger brother with autism, studied neurobiology, global health and health policy at Harvard. She still managed to find time to become the first Ivy League sprinter to win an NCAA title, capturing the 2018 indoor 200.
After graduation, she relocated to Austin, where she trains with coach Tonja Buford-Bailey, a former Olympic medalist in the 400 hurdles, and is a graduate student in epidemiology at Texas.
Thomas gave the Trials a hint of Thursday’s race with an 11.00 clocking in her 100 first-round heat. She later ran a wind-aided 10.95 in the semis and then placed fifth in the final (11.15).
“I was nervous going into it,” she said of Thursday’s heat. “I had good success in the 100 for me. I had high expectations. I wanted to compete for a good lane in the semis. I wasn’t expecting the time but I’m happy with it.
“It’s a testament to how hard I’ve been working. I feel super encouraged and motivated to do even more.”
Thomas was reminded that she shut it down early Thursday but declined to speculate how much faster she could run in the days ahead.
“I don’t chase times,” she said. “I chase medals. I want to be on that podium for that gold medal.”
OLYMPIC TRACK AND FIELD TRIALS
When: Friday
Where: Hayward Field, Eugene, Oregon.
Finals: Men’s discus, 3,000-meter steeplechase
TV: NBC (5 p.m.)
What to watch for: With American record holder Evan Jager out with a foot injury, the steeplechase is wide open. Keep an eye on Sean McGorty, Jager’s Bowerman Track Club teammate. McGorty was the last qualifier out of the heats after having to stop to put a shoe back on after getting flat-tired by a rival.