Women’s 200 Final: Gabby Thomas Wins, Sha’Carri Richardson 4th
Team USA will send Gabby Thomas, Brittany Brown, and McKenzie Long to Paris
By Joseph Carroll
A day after running a world-leading 21.78 in the semifinals of the 2024 US Olympic Track & Field Trials, Worlds silver medalist Gabby Thomas got out to a good start and held on to take home her third national championship in 21.81 (+0.6). World finalist Brittany Brown finished second in 21.90 and close behind was NCAA champion McKenzie Long of Ole Miss in 21.91.
World 100m champ Sha’Carri Richardson, who earlier at the Trials won the 100m, failed to make the team. She was even with Long at 150m but Long pulled away and Sha’Carri threw in the towel in the final meters, clocking 22.16 for 4th after running sub-22 in the first two rounds (21.99, +0.5 in round 1, 21.92, +1.8 in the semis). We don’t know what Richardson feels about the race as she did not make herself available to the media post-race. But she shouldn’t feel too bad about not making the team as she needed to PR to make the team — her 21.92 pb, which she ran to get bronze at Worlds last year and in the semis yesterday, would not have been fast enough to make the team.
Race video
| PLACE | ATHLETE | TEAM | AGE | STATUS | RESULT | LN/POS | WIND |
| 1 | Gabby Thomas | New Balance | 27 | OLY STD | 21.81 | 8 | 0.6 |
| 2 | Brittany Brown | adidas | 29 | OLY STD | 21.90 | 9 | 0.6 |
| 3 | McKenzie Long | adidas | 23 | OLY STD | 21.91 | 7 | 0.6 |
| 4 | Sha’Carri Richardson | NIKE | 24 | OLY STD | 22.16 | 6 | 0.6 |
| 5 | Tamara Clark | adidas | 25 | OLY STD | 22.20 | 2 | 0.6 |
| 6 | Abby Steiner | PUMA | 24 | OLY STD | 22.24 | 5 | 0.6 |
| 7 | Jenna Prandini | PUMA | 31 | OLY STD | 22.58 | 4 | 0.6 |
| 8 | Jadyn Mays | Oregon | 22 | OLY STD | 22.60 | 1 | 0.6 |
| DNS | Tamari Davis | adidas | 21 | OLY STD | – | 3 | 0.6 |
Gabby Thomas Is The Gold Medal Favorite
For Thomas, this marks her second Olympic team after making the squad back in 2021 where she took home a bronze medal. Thomas looks to be in prime position to bring home a gold medal in Paris as she emerged as U.S. champion when the top nine fastest times this year have all been run by Americans. Thomas now has the top two times in the world this year with her world-leading 21.78 from the semifinal and her 21.81 today.
2016 and 2021 Olympic champ Elaine Thompson-Herah won’t be in Paris due to injury and 2022 and 2023 world champ Shericka Jackson of Jamaica hasn’t run faster than 22.67 this year (but will have the chance to go faster at the Jamaican trials on Sunday).
Brittany Brown 2nd Place
For Brown, this marks her first Olympic team after making the world final last year in the 100. Brown said that she had a great start and that her coach said that “that was the most executed race I’ve ever ran with him so far.” Brown said that this U.S. team is the hardest team to make but also took time to voice her opinion that the world rankings system is flawed and not equitable for everyone.
MacKenzie Long 3rd Place
It is also the first Olympic team for McKenzie Long, whose storybook season continued as the NCAA champ at 100, 200, and 4×100 at NCAA’s will now be representing her country at the Olympics.
Long said she had a conversation with her late mother, who died earlier this year of a heart attack, on the starting line and that was what got her through the race and gave her the strength to make the team. Long said that she was not discouraged by not making the 100 final at the Trials as she knows that the 2oo is her event and she was able to look back to what she has done this season for confidence.
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