Gabby Thomas and Julien Alfred are two of the athletes to watch out for in 200m at Paris Olympics. PHOTO: Both from Getty Images

Is Julien Alfred a threat to Gabby Thomas in 200m dash at the Paris Olympics? A look at 100m champion's record over the half lap event

Modified Aug 04, 2024 17:57 GMT

Gabby Thomas has been one of the world's dominant sprinters in the women's 200m. At the 2024 Paris Olympics, she is representing the United States in the 200m, also her second consecutive appearance in the event at the Summer Games.

Although Gabby Thomas is currently the top sprinter in the USA over this distance, her path to becoming the top Olympic sprinter will not be easy. She kicked off her Paris Olympics campaign by finishing first in Heat 2 in a time of 22.20s. However, what was even more impressive is that she posted the fastest time among all athletes in the 200m heats at the Games.

Following Shericka Jackson’s withdrawal from the heats of the 200m, the event certainly has become a better path for Gabby Thomas to clinch her first-ever Olympic gold medal. But, some athletes can stop Thomas from accomplishing the top-most finish on the podium. One of the athletes is none other than Julien Alfred who recently became the Olympic champion in the women’s 100m.

Although the reigning world champion Sha'Carri Richardson was favored to win the 100m, Alfred was simply unstoppable as she got off to a great start in the race and pulled ahead to give Saint Lucia its first-ever gold medal medal in Olympics, registering a time of 10.72s. Following her gold-medal triumph, she ran a 22.41s in heat 1 of the 200m to top the heat and qualify for the semi-finals, scheduled on August 5.

While Gabby Thomas has a personal best of 21.60s in the distance, her season best stands at 21.78s. Alfred's personal and season best in the 200m is 21.86s, achieved recently at the 2024 London Diamond League where she finished second to Thomas, who clocked 21.82s, to win the meet. Thomas holds a slight edge over Alfred, but Alfred could still pose a significant threat to the 27-year-old American sprinter.

A few more athletes to watch out for in the event are Favour Ofili, Dina Asher-Smith, and Daryll Neita.

Gabby Thomas’ Road to Paris Olympics 2024

Gabrielle Thomas of USA during the medal ceremony of the Women's 200m Final at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. (Photo by Jean Catuffe/Getty Images)

Gabby Thomas qualified for the Paris Olympics with a noteworthy performance at the 2024 U.S. Track and Field Trials, where she produced a dominant show, clocking a time of 21.81s to make her second Olympic team. She came ahead of Brittany Brown (21.90s) and McKenzie Long (21.91s), who also made it to the USA team for the Paris Olympics.

Notably, Thomas is a two-time Olympic medalist, having won the silver being a member of the USA women’s 4x100m relay team and a bronze in the individual 200m at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.