The fastest woman over 200 meters in the world comes from Florence, Massachusetts.

Gabby Thomas blitzed a stacked field at the USA Track & Field National championships, breaking the tape in 21.60 seconds at Hayward Field in Oregon on Sunday. That mark set a personal best, broke her own meet record from the 2021 Olympic Trials and set the world lead. It was the sixth-fastest women’s 200 in history.

“Coming here last year and being injured was really heartbreaking for me. I was really ready this year,” Thomas said on the broadcast. “I was hungry, I wanted it I think more than anyone.”

She took the world lead from Jamaica’s Shericka Jackson, who set the mark at 21.71 just minutes before at the Jamaican national championships. Thomas knew about Jackson’s time before stepping on the track after hearing it in the hour and a half between the semifinals and finals.

Racing in Lane 8 second from the outside, Thomas chased Kayla White, who took third (22.01) around the turn. She dropped to fourth after 150 meters but hammered down the home stretch to claim another national title. Her second 100 meter split (10.56) was faster than her first 100 (11.12).

“She was flying, just flying,” said Williston Northampton track and field coach Martha Smith McCullagh, who was in Oregon as a meet volunteer and to support Thomas.

OH MY, GABBY THOMAS! 😱

A WORLD LEAD and MEET RECORD for the 200m title! @ItsGabrielleT | #USATFOutdoors pic.twitter.com/HwAjMsIynS

— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) July 10, 2023

Thomas, the Williston Northampton grad who starred at Harvard, chose not to run the 100 in Oregon to save her legs for her signature 200 on the advice, and at times urging, from her coach Tonja Buford-Bailey.

“She really had to convince me not to do the 100, and I had my doubts up until (Saturday),” Thomas said. “I was conservative this year, and it paid off.”

Her winning smile spread across her face as she broke the tape, and Thomas raised her arms in celebration. The stadium public address boomed, “Ladies and gentlemen, the fastest time in the world is here!” Thomas hugged second place Sha’Carri Richardson before dropping to the track where she’d run her two fastest 200s ever.

She walked the rail bridging the track and stands, talking with people, posing for selfies and signing autographs.

“It’s almost like a proud mom moment to watch this young woman who is so accomplished and still so wonderfully down to earth,” McCullagh said. “As she went around the stadium greeting people around the rail she stopped for every single person who wanted a piece of her time.”

Thomas greeted McCullagh, who she’s known since she was a freshman at Williston, with a large hug. They’d connected and spent time together over the weekend while McCullagh was in Oregon, but McCullagh wanted to give Thomas her space to work.

“When she got to me and I got that big hug she was grateful that I was there, meant the world to me. I couldn’t have been more happy to be there with her with tears streaming down my face,” McCullagh said. “It was a very special moment having that time to get a hug and acknowledge that great accomplishment. She had so much fun. She’s full of joy. That smile coming across the finish line is genuine.”

With the victory, Thomas qualified for the World Athletics Championships in Budapest, Hungary, in late August. The top three finishers made the team. Richardson, who won the 100 on Friday, placed second (21.94).

She could also represent the USA in the 4x100 and 4x400 relays. Thomas didn’t run either at the U.S. championships but has the third-fastest 400 time by an American this year (49.68 in April, fifth in the world) and a competitive 100 time at 11.08.

She has her sights set on a world championships gold medal this year and will be able to focus on track and field for the next year leading up to the 2024 Olympics in Paris. It’s the first time her schedule has ever been that clear after finishing graduate school at Texas this spring and still attending Harvard during the first two years of her professional career. 

“To have this next year where she can just completely focus on being a professional athlete, it’s going to be interesting to see what she can do,” McCullagh said.

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