21.51 on the clock, and all Gabby Thomas could do was watch in awe. The 29-year-old was indeed running the Monaco Diamond League neck and neck until Julien Alfred turned up the pace. By the end, all Thomas could do was watch as Alfred clocked the third-fastest 200m in history. Now, ahead of one of the toughest races of the season, Thomas believes that the world record is within reach.

The current women’s 200m world record stands at 21.34, set by Florence Griffith Joyner when she crossed the line in 1988. Since then, no woman has come within 0.05 seconds. Shericka Jackson changed things by clocking 21.41 in 2023. Gabby Thomas, however, remains the closest American with 21.60, and now, after Alfred’s electric run, she thinks the record is there for the taking.

“Oh gosh,” Thomas told reporters ahead of the London DL (via X). “It is a very, very hard record to achieve. And you know, the faster you go, it just gets even harder and harder to get faster. Every tenth, every thousandth just gets more difficult to reach.

“But that being said, I don’t think it’s impossible. I think if all of the conditions are right and everyone feels good and the competition is pushing each other, I do think it’s possible.”

That usually tends to be the case, as when Audrey Werro clocked her 1:53.98 to reach third on the 800m all-time list, Keely Hodgkinson was pushing her to the line. The British star wasn’t quite as fast as Werro but registered a personal best of 1:54.33 to take sixth all-time. Go back into track and field history, and the examples will be right there staring you in the face.

Hicham El Guerrouj set the long-standing mile world record in 1999, and right alongside him was Noah Ngeny. He pushed him to the line with the second-fastest time. Go a little further down, and Jakob Ingebrigtsen set the third-fastest time.

Right there alongside him, pushing him, was the fourth-fastest Yared Nuguse. That trend continues throughout history, with competition often forcing an athlete to do something extraordinary.

Even Alfred’s personal best of 21.51 in the 200m likely only came up because she had to call up untapped reserves to surge past Thomas. In the end, Thomas eased off in Monaco to finish third with 21.84 while Adaejah Hodge took second place. It’s not Thomas’ fastest time of the season, and once again both Alfred and the American will likely be pushed in London.

The two will lock horns, but standing right alongside them will be Amy Hunt, Dina Asher-Smith and Shaunae Miller-Uibo. That’s the 61st, 31st and 16th fastest women of all time alongside the third (Alfred) and the fifth (Thomas). It’s not a slow field, and yet Gabby Thomas sided with a healthy dose of scepticism.

“But again, we’re not quite close enough for me to say with confidence that it will be broken tomorrow or soon,” the Olympic gold medalist added. “But I’m not saying it’s impossible either. 

“The idea is that we all have to be a little bit delusional enough to believe that we will achieve it every time we step on the track. And so if you go with that mindset, anything is possible.”

That mindset has shaped far more than Thomas’ approach to world records. Every race she runs now is part of a much bigger plan stretching well beyond this season.

Gabby Thomas focused on building for LA 2028

Despite a tough start to 2023, Gabby Thomas ended up building a rather epic resume heading into the end of the season. She finished with a silver and gold from the World Championships, and was even the national champion in the 200m. But the start she endured had many wondering whether Thomas would be able to find the right groove going into an Olympic year.

In hindsight, clearly, fans had nothing to worry about. The 29-year-old had a catalogue of wins and lost a race just thrice over the course of the year. That included big wins in the 200m and the 4x100m relays as Thomas took home two Olympic gold medals. A truly marvellous showcase of speed from the American and one that she continued into 2025 until an injury hurt it.

She won two by early April and would never win again, with an Achilles tendon injury forcing her to end her season early. It helped her realign her focus, and now, Thomas is focused on one thing and one thing only; LA 2028.

“Sights are really pointed towards the LA Olympics,” Thomas told Olympics.com. “Paris has come and gone. Every year there’s a new crop of athletes coming for the crown. Every year an athlete might look entirely different, so each season is different.

“It doesn’t matter what you did the season before. It doesn’t even matter what you did the race before, so I’m taking it race by race and season by season. The eyes are on the LA Olympics.”

And so far, things have been near perfect. She hasn’t finished off the podium all season and has “lost” just one race since April. In fact, she even set a meet record at the Hungarian Athletics Grand Prix, clocking 21.83 after losing her first race. 

Alfred’s run may have reignited talk of the world record, but Gabby Thomas isn’t losing sight of the bigger picture. Every race, record, and rivalry now feeds into one destination: LA 2028.