A star-studded series of events, indeed! Melissa Jefferson-Wooden completed a sprint sweep by capturing the 200m crown, Jefferson-Wooden claimed the first spot at the USA Track & Field Championship with a 21.84 finish, and Anavia Battle claimed second place with 22.13! However, everyone was eager to know who the third and final woman was heading to the World Champions after a photo finish. But wait — the battle was between three ladies, so who clinched the final spot?
Former Olympic champion Gabby Thomas, along with Brittany Brown and McKenzie Long, finished the race with 22.20. It wasn’t until later that the bronze medalist was confirmed upon a photo review. Thomas was the one who escaped the scare and clinched her berth for the World Championships in Tokyo. It was important top-three finish for Thomas, who doesn’t have a bye into September’s World Championship, as those are only reserved for the reigning world champions from 2023.
That’s why it was important for her to leave everything on the track. However, many, including herself, would feel that she could’ve had a more convincing finish. After the race concluded, Gabby Thomas herself attested to the fact that if she had known that she was in third position, she would’ve pushed herself harder. “Girl, I still don’t know what happened. I still haven’t seen it. But when I tell you, I thought I was comfortably in second. Like I did not know.” Thomas said.
Look out, world. @itsgabbyt is hungrier than ever. pic.twitter.com/ECFGOGrcws
— ATHLOS (@athlos) August 4, 2025
The 28-year-old claimed that she was oblivious to the fact that she was in third place; otherwise, she would’ve pushed harder for the finish. Nonetheless, things did work out in the end for Thomas as she claimed her ticket to the World Championship. More importantly, this is a lesson learnt for the sprinter, as she’s now hungry for a podium finish. “My takeaway from that is that you can’t just take things for granted. I think like going into this meeting, feeling so confident, feeling so comfortable. Like I needed that,” she explained. And after her Achilles injury, it’s a sentiment both understandable and admirable.
“I needed to feel hungry again. I need to feel that motivation like that, no, you need to lock in.” Thomas further emphasized, underlining her gratitude for this finish and confirming that it was a firm reminder for her not to take anything for granted. We do hope that’s the case because things are only going to get tougher for the Olympic champion. So, it helps that Thomas claims to be hungry once again and will be locked in for the championship in Tokyo, as she hopes to claim the 200m women’s title.
Before she does that, let’s take a look at the stunning season she’s had up until now!
Gabby Thomas’s 2025 season results until now
Ever since the 2024 Paris Olympics, Gabby Thomas has become a global athletic star. We mean, that’s not a huge surprise given that she claimed three gold medals for her country in the 200m, 4x100m, and the 4x400m events. However, she hasn’t let that success get to her as the 28-year-old remains as positive and hard-working as ever. If anything, she’s gotten better and faster. Apart from her 22.20 third-place finish in the 200m finals, Thomas has had great results this year.
source Gabby Thomas Instagram
This includes her stunning 11.02-second first-place finish at the Texas Invitational in Austin, Texas. That helped Thomas earn an automatic spot at the World Championships to be held in Tokyo later this year. More importantly, that means that the Olympic champ will be participating in two events in Japan, running in the 100m and 200m races. However, that’s not all. It has been an eventful season for Gabby Thomas, as she also transitioned to long sprints during the Kingston Slam in April. The 28-year-old bagged the 200m title with a stunning 22.62-second finish.
But it was her strong 49.14-second finish in the 400m for second place that caught everyone’s eye. That was truly interesting to see. However, on the other hand, she did not have the best time during the national finals as Thomas failed to make it into the 100m finals at the nationals. Melissa Jefferson-Wooden claimed both the 100m and 200m titles. Nonetheless, Gabby Thomas will now set her eyes on Tokyo as she enters the World Championship with the hopes of defending her 100m title.
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