'Ecstatic' Gabby Thomas cruises to 200m win at U.S. Trials as Sha'Carri Richardson misses out on top three
Gabby Thomas brought her best to the U.S. Olympic Team Trials - track & field in every round of the women's 200m.
The Tokyo bronze and reigning world silver medallist, Thomas led from start to finish in the final on Saturday (29 June) at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon, clocking a 21.81 for the win.
It will be a second Games for Thomas, but there will be no second event for Sha’Carri Richardson at the Olympic Games Paris 2024, as the 100m champion could not break into the top three with a fourth-place finish.
Instead, Thomas will be joined by first-time Olympians Brittany Brown and McKenzie Long, who finished two-three in 21.90 and 21.91, respectively. Richardson clocked in at 22.16.
"This is incredible," a breathless Thomas, 27, said on NBC. "I knew what I needed to get today done. There was no gold medal in Paris without making the team.
"I'm just ecstatic."
Long took her disappointment from failing to make the 100m team and channelled it into the 200m. The NCAA champion in the 100 and 200m on this track just a few weeks ago, the Ole Miss star recently lost her mother to a heart attack at age 45.
"All I have to say is, 'Mom, your baby girl is going to Paris,'" Long said. "I'm just really happy that I was able to execute my race, given what happened in the 100m. 'I'm doing it for you, mom.'"
You can see a full list of qualifiers here.
Women's 200m: Long shares emotional connection with Sha'Carri
Richardson was fourth around the curve and looked like she was gaining ground down the stretch on third-place Long, who was in Lane 7 between her and Thomas. But it wasn't to be. Instead of Sha'Carri putting on the jets, it was Long who went with Thomas, who was well and away the leader of the pack.
"It was an amazing 200m final," Thomas said of the women's race. "I didn't know who was going to make this team. ... We all had to fight for that... all the girls are incredible contenders."
Relief and joy splashed across Thomas' faced as she crossed the line, especially after she and her team made the decision to withdraw from the 400m ahead of U.S. Trials.
The journey has been emotional for Long, who had lost her mother just prior to this season starting. She said that Richardson approached her before the 200m final to say, "I understand what you're going through," with Sha'Carri having lost her mother just prior to the 2021 Trials.
"She was like, 'You've got this,'" Long continued. "That was really empowering in and of itself, to have her say those words to me. It was like a weight lifted off of my shoulders; I think it was really what I needed."
Richardson congratulated Long after the race; Thomas then approached Long to tell her that she'd had a dream that they would make the Olympic team together. Dream realised on this day.
The same goes for 29-year-old Brown, who was the world silver medallist in this event back in 2019. Her 21.90 was a personal best.
"I feel like I imagined this moment," she told reporters. "I imagined me being here and being strong and competitive. I imagined it in Lane 9... 8, 7, 6... "
Brown won the Diamond League stop earlier this season in Oslo out of Lane 9, too, something she says her coach and agent pointed out to her prior to the final: "Every situation is preparing you for the next," she said. "I'm grateful for the hard stuff."