Gabby Thomas, an American, surged to a spectacular victory in the women’s Olympic 200m in Paris on Tuesday, winning her first major gold.
Thomas won in 21.83 seconds, beating St. Lucia’s new 100m champion Julien Alfred, who ran 22.08 seconds. Thomas’ teammate Brittany Brown won bronze in 22.20 seconds.
Thomas, 27, who won a bronze medal at the Tokyo Games three years ago, is the first American woman to win an Olympic short sprint gold since childhood idol Allyson Felix won the 200m at the London Games in 2012.
Favour Ofili of Nigeria finished sixth in the race after making it to the final after being disqualified from the 100m race due to administrative errors.
Alfred of St. Lucia had hoped to complete an Olympic sprint double after her stunning victory in the 100 metres on Saturday.
But Thomas, the fastest woman in the world this year over this distance, wasn’t about to miss her rendezvous with destiny.
The Harvard-educated sprinter blasted out of the blocks and ran a fantastic curve to establish a sizable lead into the home straight.
The American’s strength and finishing power never wavered as she blasted across the finish line to capture a well-deserved gold medal.