American Gabby Thomas stormed to a brilliant victory in the women’s Olympic 200m in Paris on Tuesday to clinch the first major title of her career.
Thomas clocked 21.83sec to win ahead of St. Lucia’s new 100m champion Julien Alfred, who timed 22.08sec. Thomas’ teammate Brittany Brown claimed bronze in 22.20sec.
Team Nigeria’s Favour Ofili finished sixth in the final of the women’s 200m
Thomas, 27, a bronze medallist at the Tokyo Games three years ago, is the first American woman to win an Olympic short sprint title since childhood idol Allyson Felix won the 200m at the 2012 London Games.
St. Lucia’s Alfred had been hoping to clinch an Olympic sprint double after her dazzling win in the 100m on Saturday.
Thomas, the fastest woman in the world this year over this distance, was in no mood to let her date with destiny slip.
The Harvard-educated sprinter exploded out of the blocks and ran a superb bend to open up a sizeable lead coming into the home straight.
The American’s strength and finishing power never looked like waning as she powered over the line to claim a deserved gold.
