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Sport Bilder des Tages Diamond League Gabrielle Thomas celebrates victory in the Womens 200m at the Diamond League at the London Stadium, Stratford UK Newspapers OUT Copyright: xGraemexWilcocksonx FIL-20385-0073
Imago
Sport Bilder des Tages Diamond League Gabrielle Thomas celebrates victory in the Womens 200m at the Diamond League at the London Stadium, Stratford UK Newspapers OUT Copyright: xGraemexWilcocksonx FIL-20385-0073
Gabby Thomas just clocked 11.00 in the 100m at Texas in her season opener, and instead of celebrating, she’s headed straight into the kind of race most sprinters avoid. The Harvard graduate, who dominated in Paris, is set to travel more than 8000 miles to make a rare appearance on a new addition to the circuit and one that elite American sprinters typically ignore, signaling a shift in how the world’s fastest athletes view competition beyond Europe and the United States.
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The news was officially confirmed by the Ethiopian Athletics Federation, which announced Thomas’ participation in the landmark event.
“Olympic and world Champion Gabby Thomas is coming to Addis Ababa! 🇪🇹🔥,” reads the statement on the Ethiopian Athletics Federation’s official Facebook page. “The Paris 2024 Olympic 200m Gold Medalist has officially confirmed her participation in the Addis Ababa Grand Prix World Athletics Continental Tour (Bronze Level). April 18, 2026.
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“Addis Ababa Stadium History in the making as Ethiopia hosts its first ever international one day athletics meeting!”
As the statement revealed, the meet will be historic, as it is set to be the first-ever World Athletics Continental Tour meet Ethiopia will host. That comes as no surprise, given that the 2026 World Athletics Continental Tour will feature more than 280 meets, divided into four levels (Gold, Silver, Bronze, and Challenger).
According to World Athletics’ official statement, the differences between levels are based on “quality of competition and prize money on offer.”
That’s a big signing! Gabby Thomas is due to race in the new WACT Bronze event in Addis Ababa on 18 April. pic.twitter.com/qCFugWj5jZ
— Steven Mills (@srmills90) April 7, 2026
Gabby Thomas will participate in the new WACT Bronze event in Addis Ababa, which will take place on April 18 at the Ethiopian Sport Academy, Addis Ababa.
However, no one knows which event the 28-year-old Olympic medalist will take part in, especially as the event hosts multiple events in which Thomas specializes.
That includes the women’s 100m, 200m, 400m, and 4x400m relays as well, although it’s likely that Thomas will race in the 400m. And that expectation is hardly surprising, given that Thomas has already made it clear that the 400m will be a major focus for her this season.
Gabby Thomas sets sights on 400m as primary focus for 2026
That shift in focus comes as part of a broader plan to expand her range in a year without a major global championship. The 28-year-old had to withdraw from the 2025 Tokyo World Championships because of an Achilles injury, but prior to that, she raced well in the 400m. Before 2025, she had only run in that discipline a handful of times, but added to her arsenal in 2025, clocking a personal best of 49.14 seconds at the 2025 Grand Slam Track meet in Kingston, Jamaica.
She came second in that meet and registered her best time since 2023 (49.68), and Thomas decided to focus on the 400m in 2026 because of that success.
“I’ve had success in the 400 this last season, running 49.1,” Thomas told Marathon Handbooks’ Youtube channel in January. “Um, and yeah, so I’m like maybe maybe it’s time to just try it. And we have an off year. I think it’s a really good opportunity for me to see what I’m capable of and just having a new challenge, you know?”
She echoed those sentiments in another interview ahead of the Texas Relays, offering further insight into her plans for the season.
“I want to throw some more 400m races in the schedule this year,” Thomas told AW. “ I really do think that I have a lot of potential in the 400m, but that being said, the 200m is always going to be my favourite event. It’s my baby and that’s the one I’ll run in Budapest.”
By Budapest, Gabby Thomas was pointing towards the World Athletics Ultimate Championships, which premiere in September 2026. But before turning her attention to that, everyone will watch her long-awaited appearance in Addis Ababa, where she will take part in a historic first for the sport in Ethiopia.
Written by
Edited by
Firdows Matheen