Gabby Thomas impresses as Sha'Carri Richardson misses out on 200m Olympic team at US trials

Gabby Thomas impresses as Sha'Carri Richardson misses out on 200m Olympic team at US trials

Abigael Wafula 07:40 - 30.06.2024

Gabby Thomas has cemented her place as a great 200m athlete, qualifying for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games as Sha'Carri Richardson narrowly missed out on the Olympic slot.

World 200m silver medallist Gabby Thomas has maintained her superiority in the US women’s 200m with a dominant win at the US Olympic trials.

Thomas clocked a stunning 21.81 to win the race ahead of Brittany Brown who finished second in a personal best time of 21.90 as Mckenzie Long sealed the podium in 21.91.

Reigning world 100m champion Sha’Carri Richardson fizzled out to finish fourth and will unfortunately miss out on the women’s 200m Olympic team.

After the race, Thomas was over the moon and knew that her work was cut out at the trials so she had to put in extra effort. She added that the first step is done and her focus will shift to winning a gold medal at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

“It feels really incredible and I knew I had to get today done and this was the first step because there is no gold medal in Paris without making the team today. I’m just ecstatic to be competing alongside these incredible women and getting to the final, it’s been such an amazing race,” Thomas said.

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Meanwhile, the 27-year-old has been impressive this season, being unbeaten only once. At the US trials, she won the preliminaries in 22.11 before claiming top honors in the semifinal, clocking a world leading time of 21.78 to cross the finish line.

She started her 200m season with a win at the Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays presented by Truist and went on to finish fifth at the USATF Los Angeles Grand Prix.

The Olympic Games 200m bronze medallist then won the 200m at the USATF New York City Grand Prix before the US Olympic trials.

Richardson will only compete in the women’s 100m in her individual event and also take part in the 4x100m women’s relay.