Julien Alfred seems to be becoming a major headache for Gabby Thomas. Thomas has been putting together an outstanding 2026 campaign, traveling across continents, from Africa to North America and now Europe, while winning almost everywhere she has raced. However, her only major setback came at the Monaco Diamond League on July 10, where Alfred won in 21.51 seconds while Thomas finished third. Now, once again in London, Thomas found herself on the losing side as Alfred continued her winning streak.

On July 18, the Olympic rivals lined up against each other again in the women’s 200m at the London Diamond League, with Thomas hoping to bounce back after her Monaco disappointment. But Alfred once again won as she crossed the finish line first in 21.66 seconds, while Thomas followed in second with 21.81 seconds, leaving a gap of 0.15 seconds between the two stars. Bahamas’ Shaunae Miller-Uibo secured third place in 22.24 seconds, while Great Britain’s Dina Asher-Smith finished fourth in 22.28 seconds.

Despite missing out on another victory, Thomas looked back positively on her European trip and praised the atmosphere created by the London crowd. “It was a good race. It is a nice end to the European trip. The crowd were fantastic and created a great atmosphere for all of us to race in,” Thomas said after the race.

For Alfred, the victory continued a remarkable run of form. The Saint Lucian star admitted she was not fully eager to compete in London but was thrilled after finishing the race on top. “I am happy, I won one again. I am healthy so I couldn’t be happier right now. Right now I am in a good place mentally and physically. I’m not going to lie, I didn’t want to run today, but my coach was like it is our last race for a while; we can go home and get to St Lucia too. I am here, I did it, and I won, so I am very happy with how it went today.

With back-to-back victories over Thomas in Monaco and London, Alfred has changed the momentum of their rivalry. Despite Diamond League setbacks, Gabby Thomas keeps her eyes fixed on LA28.

Gabby Thomas has one destination in mind: LA28

Gabby Thomas’ 2026 season has been extremely challenging. Even though many of the top sprinters have concentrated on a few Diamond League meets, Thomas has been consistently running across Africa, North America and Europe, establishing an impressive winning streak along the way.

Thomas started her season in Africa on April 18 in the Addis Ababa Grand Prix, Ethiopia. Soon after she made her presence felt by completing a sprint double, winning the 100m in 11.13 seconds before returning to claim the 200m in 22.15 seconds. Less than a week later, she was back on the track in Nairobi, Kenya, for the Kip Keino Classic. There, she produced another double victory, clocking 11.01 seconds in the 100m and 21.89 seconds in the 200m.

The African leg of her season continued in Botswana at the Botswana Golden Grand Prix. Thomas delivered one of the highlights of her year by running 10.95 seconds in the 100m, becoming the first time she had broken the 11-second barrier. The performance capped a highly successful African swing in which she won every race she completed.

After returning to the United States, Thomas continued her strong form at the Lone Star Grand Prix. Competing in the 200m, she powered to victory in 21.70 seconds, a time that stood as the world-leading mark at the time and ranked among the fastest performances of her career. From there, her campaign shifted to Europe. The first major stop came at the Monaco Diamond League on July 10 where she was defeated by Alfred.

She soon replied in Hungary at the Gyulai István Memorial in Budapest. There she won in 21.83 seconds ahead of teammates Kayla White and Anavia Battle.  Yet when the two met again in London, Alfred once again came out on top.

Thomas’ mind is, however, not on the losses in the Diamond League. For the Olympic champion, the races in 2026 are part of a much bigger mission – towards the LA 2028 Olympic Games.

Speaking to Olympics.com, Thomas explained that LA28 remains firmly in her sights. “It feels like just yesterday that Paris Olympics were happening, and we were training for it, and I was competing for it, so I know that the LA Olympics are going to be here in the blink of an eye, because those two years go like that,” the 29-year-old said as she snapped her fingers. “Each Olympics that I participate in, I think I learn something from each.”

With 1.5 years still remaining until LA28, Thomas has already shown she is willing to travel the world in pursuit of improvement.