Sprint Star Gabby Thomas Blazes to New 200m Record en Route to Paris 2024 Olympics

Olympic bronze medalist Gabby Thomas is steering her 2025 season into uncharted territory after a summer that mixed podium finishes with unexpected withdrawals and candid revelations about her health. Fresh off a third-place 200 m finish at the USATF Outdoor Championships in Eugene, the 27-year-old Harvard graduate shocked fans by scratching from the 100 m final, later pointing to lingering Achilles soreness and the need to “listen to my body before Paris 2028 even becomes a conversation.” Her decision came amid what she called “post-Olympic blues,” an emotional slump she says many athletes hide behind highlight reels and medal photos. Thomas’ openness did not stop there. In a wide-ranging interview published this week, the sprinter revisited the tumor scare discovered on her liver just weeks before the 2021 U.S. Trials—a life-threatening jolt she now credits for sharpening her perspective on racing and public-health advocacy. “I run free now because I know what it’s like to think the lane might be taken away,” she said, revealing she still schedules quarterly scans while finishing her MPH practicum in Austin. The medical vigilance dovetails with a packed fall calendar. Thomas and fellow U.S. sprinter Alexis Holmes have co-founded Athlos NYC, a women-only twilight meet slated for 10 October at Icahn Stadium, where Thomas plans to double in the 100 m/200 m as a tune-up for the Tokyo World Championships in November. Despite World Athletics’ rankings locking her into lane five for the global final, her exact lead-up remains fluid: organizers of the 22 August Lausanne Diamond League say they “expect” the American star, but Thomas told reporters she has “not confirmed anything past Zurich” while prioritizing rehab work. Training-wise, coach Tonja Buford-Bailey has shifted Thomas’ weight-room emphasis from max-strength to unilateral stability to reduce Achilles load—an approach that delivered a season-best 21.80 s in Eugene, her fastest post-Tokyo mark. If the progression holds, Thomas could threaten Florence Griffith-Joyner’s 21.34 s American record when cooler autumn air meets the fast Mondo surface in Tokyo. Beyond the oval, Thomas continues her two-day-a-week stint at a volunteer hypertension clinic in Austin, a side role she says “keeps my MPH more than a fancy degree.” She recently signed a three-year extension with New Balance rumored to include performance bonuses for sub-21.70 times, adding a commercial spark to what already shapes up as a pivotal championship cycle. From a frightening tumor diagnosis to launching a women-centered meet, Gabby Thomas’ 2025 narrative is bigger than split times. Yet if her early-season form and sharpened mindset are any indication, the story she most wants to write still ends in gold.