“Nvm I tweeted this before I ran another windy sub 11.” That was Gabby Thomas’s follow-up to a cheerful earlier post: “ugh I love running sm.” A subtle change in tone, but it spoke volumes. Once again, Gabby found herself in a wind-assisted race, clocking a sub-11 time in the 100m. The timing of her tweet was telling — it came just after she finished fourth in the women’s 100m at the Miami leg of the Grand Slam Track. That result was a setback, hurting her bid to become the Slam champion. At the time, fans didn’t make much of it. But 50 days later, the mood has shifted. Now, track and field fans aren’t buying her explanation.

On June 28, Gabby Thomas went head-to-head with Favour Ofili in the women’s 100m final at the ATX Sprint Classic. Ofili ultimately claimed victory, clocking 10.78 seconds with a +3.1 m/s tailwind — clearly a wind-aided race. As for Thomas, the three-time Olympic medalist finished second with a time of 10.95 seconds. So once again, the question arises: is Gabby’s sub-11 performance simply the result of strong wind conditions?

Yes — and on that very day, Travis Miller posted a tweet highlighting Gabby Thomas’ history of wind-assisted sub-11 performances over the past seven years. Her result from the ATX Sprint Classic was the latest addition to that list. With this race included, Gabby now has 10 such wind-aided sub-11 runs on record. But here’s the catch — have her rivals faced the same wind conditions in those races and delivered similar times? Apparently not. That’s exactly what track and field fans have started pointing out — the numbers reveal more than just fast times.

Under Travis Miller’s tweet, one fan summed up the growing sentiment bluntly: “Nah it’s not the wind…Gabby is not a top tier 100 M sprinter, just not her best event. Now the 200….different story.” That comment hit a nerve. Gabby Thomas’s fastest time in the 100m is 10.80 seconds — but it came with a +3.2 m/s tailwind, disqualifying it from official recognition by World Athletics. Without the wind, her best legal mark stands at 11.00 seconds (+0.8 m/s). That contrast says a lot: her most eye-catching 100m performances have leaned heavily on wind assistance.

And while Gabby has built an impressive resume on the track, her dominance lies elsewhere. In the 200m, she’s a force to be reckoned with — Olympic gold medalist in Paris, and a double relay champion in both the 4x100m and 4x400m for Team USA. But in the 100m? The story’s different. She didn’t even contest the 100m at the U.S. Olympic Trials, and earlier this year, she finished fourth at the USATF Los Angeles Grand Prix in the same event. That underwhelming track record likely fueled the criticism she faced after the ATX Sprint Classic, where, once again, she dipped under 11 seconds, thanks to a hefty tailwind. For many fans, it’s no longer just about the stopwatch — it’s about context.

Track and field fans question Gabby Thomas’s suitability in the event 

“So the wind only blows too much or too little when Gabby run a 100 meter race?” one fan quipped sarcastically, mocking Gabby Thomas’s recurring trend of wind-aided sprint times. This time, though, Gabby has kept quiet — no tweets, no commentary on the conditions. But others are talking, and not kindly. “It is cooperating with her tho that’s why it’s sub 11,” another user snapped, pointing to what many now see as a pattern. 

And there’s truth buried in the criticism. Just last year, Gabby clocked a 10.88 in the 100m at the Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays — again, a wind-aided race (+2.2 m/s). Once more, her sub-11 came with an asterisk. One fan even brought hurdler Trey Cunningham into the conversation, writing, “Surely this number of misses is unmatched?! Cunningham has run 13.00 3x (I think) and I thought that was annoying but this? Nah!” The comparison struck a chord. Cunningham, known for repeatedly brushing just under the elite benchmark, at least does so under legal wind conditions. Gabby? Ten sub-11s, all aided. And then came the relay debate.

 “And somehow, she’s on the 4×100 team, but other sprinters that have run under 11 seconds plenty of times like Amari Davis and Aaliyah Hobbs are not,” another fan questioned, “The U.S. team can’t set a new world record with that ship anchor name Gabby.” It’s a pointed jab, especially when the anchor leg in Paris belonged to Sha’Carri Richardson, not Thomas. Still, the comment reflects a growing frustration among fans, not just with Gabby’s wind-aided times, but with what they perceive as undeserved selections. Gabby Thomas may be a 200m queen and a multi-time Olympic gold medalist, but in the 100m, she’s running against more than just the wind — she’s racing public perception now.