BRIGHTON, MASSACHUSETTS, February 04 — A stomach bug wasn’t going to keep Gabby Thomas away from the opportunity to perform in front of many of her longtime fans in her hometown. Still, the favorite daughter knew she would have to run hard to pull off a 300 win.
“Being in front of all my friends and family and being a back-to-back-to-back defending champion comes with a lot of pressure and a lot of distraction,” she said. “So, practicing channeling that energy into a race and focusing on my actual race and the discipline of that was really good preparation.”
It showed as she raced to a 35.75, the No. 9 performance in world history and just 0.02 off her best, taking the win ahead of LSU alum Favour Ofili (35.99). The early leader, Thomas lost some ground before lengthening her margin on the homestretch: “I really needed to lock in and being outside there by myself, I really needed to focus on my own race in my own lane. It felt good, but still some work to do.”
The straightaway revealed two leading contenders for the World Indoor team. Hurdler Tia Jones came out the winner in a big hurdle matchup, her PR 7.72 putting her into a tie for No. 5 all-time and turning back Tobi Amusan and her Nigerian Record 7.75, along with Bahamian Devynne Charlton (7.76) and Masai Russell (7.84).
Said Jones, “I’m healthy. I’m out here, I’m running. I’m confident. I’m more than capable. My goal is to stay consistent and anything that falls in line with that, I’m just proud for.”
In the 60, Mikiah Brisco zipped to a 7.10 win over Celera Barnes (7.15). Said the winner, “I just had more confidence in myself. Celera got out on me about two steps, so I was happy I was able to stay composed and finish my transition and have a good end of the race… The goal is faster, but I’m happy to be where I am right now and run faster in the future.”
The distances brought some fast times as well. In the 300, Elle St. Pierre returned to the track for the first time since her maternity leave and impressed by giving the American Record a scare. In the end, she missed that and the win. Aussie Jessica Hull shadowed her throughout the race. Several times she tried to pass St. Pierre and each time she was rebuffed until the final straight when she flew by to take the win, her 8:24.93 NR (No. 6 all-time) topping St. Pierre’s PR 8:25.25. The latter mark missed the AR by a mere 0.20, and put St. Pierre at No. 8 on the world ATL. Third went to Ethiopia’s Melknat Wedu in a U20 Record of 8:32.24.
Said Hull, “I kept trying to go with three to go, two to go, one to go and I couldn’t get past. I was like ‘OK, stay right here,’ and I got a chance in the last 50.”
Ethiopians dominated the 1500, and even though Gudaf Tsegay eschewed the pacing lights, she and teenage teammate Birke Haylom ran so far ahead of the pack it was as if there were two simultaneous races. Tsegay took the win in 3:58.11, with Haylom at a World Junior Record 3:58.43. The other race was won by Emily MacKay, who came from far back in the pack to kick faster than the others, scoring a PR 4:05.04 ahead of Addy Wiley’s 4:07.32.
The long jump was all a Tara Davis-Woodhall show, as all of her five attempts — topped by a world-leading 22-6¼ (6.86) — would have been enough to beat Quanesha Burks’s 21-9½ (6.64). The Budapest silver medalist’s first ’24 comp off her full approach included no fouls (she passed her fifth attempt) and, as she pointed out on Twitter (X), her toe was barely touched the board on her long opener.
NEW BALANCE GP WOMEN’S RESULTS
(200 banked)
60: 1. Mikiah Brisco (US) 7.10; 2. Celera Barnes (US) 7.15; 3. Destiny Smith-Barnett (US) 7.16; 4. Zoe Hobbs (NZ) 7.16;
5. Kiara Parker (US) 7.18; 6. Brianna Selby (US) 7.30; 7. Shannon Ray (US) 7.34; 8. Kennedy Blackmon (US) 7.40.
Heats: I–1. Hobbs 7.16; 2. Parker 7.18; 3. Barnes 7.21; 4. Briana Williams (Jam) 9.09. II–1. Smith-Barnett 7.17; 2. Brisco 7.18; 3. Selby 7.35; 4. Blackmon 7.35; 5. Ray 7.39.
300: 1. Gabby Thomas (US) 35.75 (x, 9 W; x, 4 A);
2. Favour Ofili (Ngr) 35.99 PR; 3. Lynna Irby-Jackson (US) 36.05.
400: 1. Kendall Ellis (US) 52.77; 2. Raevyn Rogers (US) 53.00 PR; 3. Helena Ponette (Bel) 53.43; 4. Lisanne de Witte (Neth) 53.58; 5. Junelle Bromfield (Jam) 53.60; 6. Nicole Yeargin (GB) 54.29.
800: 1. Sammy Watson (US) 2:01.20 PR (59.26/61.94); 2. Isabelle Boffey (GB) 2:01.53; 3. Allie Wilson (US) 2:01.84; 4. Carley Thomas (Aus) 2:01.96 PR; 5. Lorena Martin (Spa) 2:02.03; 6. Olivia Baker (US) 2:02.71; 7. Wilma Nielsen (Swe) 2:02.91 =PR; 8. Ellie Baker (GB) 2:03.78; 9. Camille Laus (Bel) 2:06.03; 10. Kristie Schoffield (US) 2:06.78;… rabbit—Aziza Ayoub (PR) (58.17).
1500: 1. Gudaf Tsegay (Eth) 3:58.11 (x, 10 W);
2. Birke Haylom (Eth) 3:58.43 WJR (old WJR 4:01.57 Lemlem Hailu [Eth] ’20) (5, x W) (in/out: x, 5 WJ);
3. Emily MacKay (US) 4:05.04 PR (9, x A);
4. Addy Wiley (US) 4:07.32 PR; 5. Esther Guerrero (Spa) 4:07.67; 6. Dani Jones (US) 4:07.83; 7. Lucia Stafford (Can) 4:08.36; 8. Marta Pérez (Spa) 4:08.40; 9. Nozomi Tanaka (Jpn) 4:08.46 NR; 10. Ayal Dagnachew (Eth) 4:13.15; 11. Kaela Edwards (US) 4:13.37.
3000: 1. Jessica Hull (Aus) 8:24.93 NR (6, 10 W);
2. Elle St. Pierre (US) 8:25.25 PR (8, x W; 2, 2 A; in/out: 2, 2 A);
3. Melknat Wedu (Eth) 8:32.34 WJR (old WJR 8:33.56 Tirunesh Dibaba [Eth] ‘04) (in/out: 4, 4 WJ);
4. Medina Eisa (Eth) 8:32.35 PR (in/out: 5, 5 WJ); 5. Senayet Getachew (Eth) 8:32.49 PR (in/out: 6, 6 WJ);
6. Aynadis Mebratu (Eth) 8:33.01 PR; 7. Melissa Courtney-Bryant (GB) 8:37.74 PR; 8. Marta García (Spa) 8:38.34 NR; 9. Hannah Nuttall (GB) 8:45.61 PR; 10. Julie-Anne Staehli (Can) 8:51.19; 11. Izzy Fry (GB) 8:52.15 PR; 12. Fantaye Belayneh (Eth) 8:58.34 PR; 13. Aimee Pratt (GB) 9:06.81.
60H: 1. Tia Jones (US) 7.72 PR (=5, =6 W; =3, =3 A);
2. Tobi Amusan (Ngr) 7.75 NR; 3. Devynne Charlton (Bah) 7.76; 4. Masai Russell (US) 7.84; 5. Christina Clemons (US) 7.94; 6. Cindy Sember (GB) 8.00; 7. Megan Tapper (Jam) 8.02 PR; 8. Mariam Abdul-Rashid (Can) 8.06 PR.
LJ: 1. Tara Davis-Woodhall (US) 22-6¼ (6.86) (22-6¼, 22-¾, 22-5, 22-2¼, 22-5) (6.86, 6.72, 6.83, 6.76, 6.83); 2. Quanesha Burks (US) 21-9½ (6.64); 3. Ese Brume (Ngr) 21-7¼ (6.58); 4. Ruth Usoro (Ngr) 21-2¾ (6.47).