Much before the third Grand Slam Track leg kicked off in Philadelphia, we knew this one would feature some really close battles. But, this is not the race we expected an upset in. The women’s Short Sprint race group in Philly featured a major twist. While Gabby Thomas eyed a comeback after she missed out on the Miami title, that dream just got a whole lot difficult after she was handed a shocking upset in her signature race!
Day 1 of the Grand Slam Track Philadelphia began with the 200m race, in a changed order from the past two slams. But Gabby Thomas seemed to have nothing to worry. She’s the reigning 200m Olympic Champion after all. Well, these hopes went south seconds after the start as Thomas struggled with a slow start. What happened next? Well, she pushed but could never recover from it.
Gabby Thomas was then left to play catch-up the entire race, and she ended up losing the 200m gold to Melissa Jefferson-Wooden by 0.11 seconds. After being undefeated in the 200m this season, Thomas just ended her streak by coming second in 22.10 seconds. This is surprisingly Thomas’ first 200m race loss since September 2024, when she came second at Athlos 2024.
Well, we get it. The weather conditions were difficult. After all, it’s drizzling down in Philly. But, it didn’t seem too big a challenge for Gabby Thomas’ expertise. Also, it was Melissa Jefferson-Wooden who was exceptionally fast today, dipping to a new 21.99s personal best (the first sub-22s time of her career) to hold off Gabby Thomas on home soil for the first time in 8 months. So yes, it is a big shock in any case.
21.99s!!
Melissa Jefferson-Wooden stunned the women’s 200m field at Grand Slam Track Philadelphia, running a PB of 21.99s (1.1) to win!
She beat Gabby Thomas who settled for 2nd in 22.10s, while Tamari Davis was 3rd in 22.59s.
What a race! pic.twitter.com/PpPSiu3bxp
— Track & Field Gazette (@TrackGazette) May 31, 2025
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