PLENTY OF ARMCHAIR experts doubted Gabby Thomas in the 200, figuring that the defending USATF champion would find it difficult to handle a resurgent Sha’Carri Richardson, winner of the 100. Thomas, however, came to Eugene ready for anything, and came away with her second-straight Trials victory, this one in 21.81.
The Thursday heats identified the prime contenders. Richardson ran 21.99 to lead Abby Steiner (22.29) in the first. NCAA champ McKenzie Long (22.49) and Brittany Brown (22.29) won the next two, and Thomas took the last one in an easy 22.11.
Richardson sparked Friday’s semis with a PR-equaling 21.92; Long won the second over Brown, 22.01–22.08, with Tamari Davis 3rd in 22.10. Anavia Battle, a ’21 Olympian, did not advance with her 22.41. In the last semi, Thomas blistered a world-leading 21.78, leaving Steiner (22.03) behind.
When the results popped up, however, Richardson ended up with an “L” highlighted in yellow next to her name. Following a recent WA rule adjustment, she had been given a warning for stepping on the line in the semi; two consecutive steps would be a DQ.
Eight women stepped to the track for Saturday’s final; Tamari Davis did not. Richardson in lane 6, Long in 7, Thomas in 8 and Brown (the ’19 Worlds silver medalist) in 9.
At the gun, Thomas charged into the turn the fastest, followed closely by Long and Tamara Clark. Richardson got out well, but stayed so far away from the dreaded line that she ran her turn extra wide. By halfway though, she had nearly caught Thomas (11.31) with her 11.34. Brown and Long both remained close at that point.
Thomas surged on the straight, pulling away from Richardson and Brown. She crossed in 21.81, with the wind at 0.6. Brown held on for a PR 21.90 in 2nd, as Long, closing faster than anyone, hit 21.91. Richardson, with a marked fade at the end, would be 4th in 22.16.
Thomas said her goals were modest: “I came out thinking I just needed to make top 3. I had so many nerves going on in the moment… I can breathe now. It means everything to me.”
She added, “I feel like everything’s coming together, right where it needs to, I’ve done my job, and now we’re looking at the gold medal.”
It will be a first Olympics for Thomas’s Paris teammates. Said Brown, who ran on the outside, “I think sometimes when you don’t see people, you just focus on yourself, do what you can do… I feel like I had a really good start, I had to get out and push hard.”
For Long, the race was another chapter in a storybook season, one marked by the loss of her mother. “Just crossing that line, knowing that I’m an Olympian now, is so surreal. I know my mom is smiling.”
WOMEN’S 200 RESULTS
FINAL (June 29; wind +0.6)
1. Gabby Thomas (NBal) 21.81
(6.24, 5.07 [11.31], 4.99 [16.30], 5.51)(11.31/10.50);
2. Brittany Brown (adidas) 21.90 PR
(16.36);
3. McKenzie Long (adidas) 21.91
(6.26, 5.10 [11.36], 5.13 [16.49], 5.42) (11.36/10.55);
4. Sha’Carri Richardson (Nike) 22.16
(6.33, 5.01 [11.34], 5.15 [16.49], 5.67) (11.34/10.82);
5. Tamara Clark (adidas) 22.20
(6.30, 5.10 [11.40], 5.27 [16.67], 5.53) (11.40/10.80);
6. Abby Steiner (Puma) 22.24
(6.34, 5.07 [11.41], 5.21 [16.62], 5.62) (11.41/10.83);
7. Jenna Prandini (Puma) 22.58
(6.37, 5.03 [11.40], 5.40 [16.80], 5.78) (11.40/11.18);
8. Jadyn Mays (Or) 22.60
(6.43, 5.24 [11.67], 5.36 [17.03], 5.57) (11.67/10.93);
… dnc—Tamari Davis (adidas).
(lanes: 1. Mays; 2. Clark; 3. T. Davis; 4. Prandini; 5. Steiner; 6. Richardson; 7. Long; 8. Thomas; 9. Brown)
HEATS (June 27)
I(0.5)–1. Richardson 21.99; 2. Steiner 22.29; 3. T. Davis 22.66; 4. Madison Whyte (USC) 22.93; 5. Tiraih Kelley (Bay) 22.97; 6. Rosey Effiong (Ar) 22.98; 7. Kennedy Blackmon (unat) 23.00.
II(0.8)–1. Long 22.49; 2. Jayla Jamison (SC) 22.89; 3. Elise Cooper (unat) 23.05; 4. Kenondra Davis (Tx) 23.21; 5. Camryn Dickson (TxAM) 23.37.
III(0.2)–1. Brown 22.29; 2. Prandini 22.58; 3. Clark 22.82; 4. Jassani Carter (USC) 22.85; 5. Jada Baylark (unat) 23.20; 6. Adriana Tatum (AzSt) 23.25; 7. Lynna Irby-Jackson (adidas) 23.28; 8. Halle Bieber (Duke) 23.71.
IV(0.1)–1. Thomas 22.11; 2. Mays 22.50; 3. Anavia Battle (adidas) 22.57; 4. Twanisha Terry (Nike) 22.71; 5. Candace Hill (Asics) 22.88; 6. Caisja Chandler (unat) 23.08; 7. Cambrea Sturgis (adidas) 23.12.
SEMIS (June 28)
I(1.8)–1. Richardson 21.92 =PR; 2. Prandini 22.26; 3. Mays 22.33; 4. Terry 22.62; 5. Cooper 22.71 PR; 6. Sturgis 22.98; 7. Tatum 23.17; 8. Baylark 23.20; 9. Kelley 23.21.
II(0.6)–1. Long 22.01; 2. Brown 22.08; 3. T. Davis 22.10 PR; 4. Battle 22.41; 5. Blackmon 22.96; 6. Effiong 23.04; 7. Whyte 23.12; 8. Davis 23.13; 9. Bieber 23.86.
III(1.4)–1. Thomas 21.78 (WL);
2. Steiner 22.03; 3. Clark 22.12; 4. Carter 22.50; 5. Hill 22.61; 6. Jamison 22.68; 7. Irby-Jackson 22.85; 8. Dickson 23.05; 9. Chandler 23.25.
