Saturday evening in Miramar began just as Gabby Thomas might have scripted it. With her hair and makeup drawing compliments, she stepped onto the track for Day 2 of Grand Slam Track’s Miami chapter, looking every bit the star she is. And on the track, she delivered — clocking a wind-legal 21.95 seconds to take the win in the women’s 200m. After a fourth-place finish in the women’s 100m event on Friday, the victory on Saturday felt like a proper blessing. But what started on a high note didn’t end quite the same.

Behind Gabby, 100m champion Melissa Jefferson-Wooden also crossed the line in 21.95 seconds, securing third place in the 200m. That result, combined with her earlier win in the 100m, gave Jefferson the edge where it mattered most — the points table.

When the final standings came in, Jefferson edged Thomas by the slimmest of margins: 18 points to 17. And with that, the $100,000 prize money slipped from Gabby’s grasp and landed in Jefferson’s. Instead, Thomas walked away with $50,000 — a convincing performance, but for a competitor of her caliber, it felt like a sting. A heartbreak? Absolutely. Fuel for a comeback? Without question.

With the next Grand Slam Track stop set for Philadelphia, Gabby was already plotting her return. She opened up after the race, discussing her preparation and where things may have fallen just short. But when pressed about which events she might target next, the 28-year-old Olympian chose to keep her cards close. “I think I’ll keep it as a surprise for now,” she said with a knowing smile. “But you will definitely be seeing me back in the short sprints and the long sprints at some point. I’ll come with it. I think I didn’t come with it yesterday, and it showed. I had to make up for it today, but it just wasn’t enough.” 

So while Miami may not have delivered the crown Gabby Thomas wanted, it may have lit a fire. And if history is any indication, that usually means something big is coming next. Well, the 28-year-old had an iron-solid confidence in herself despite losing the top place on the list. 

In the same conversation, Gabby said, “I trained for the 1, 2, and 4, so I did this every season. I decided it would be a great opportunity for me to come out and compete against the best of the best in both disciplines, and that’s what I did.” So, will she drop the 100m group to enter the 400m event? She has some reasons, though. 

Gabby Thomas faces issues in an unexpected field 

The women’s 100m in Miami was stacked. From the gun, Melissa Jefferson-Wooden exploded out like a cannonball, clocking a wind-aided 10.76 seconds that left little doubt about who owned the moment. Right behind her, Tamari Davis (10.79) and Favour Ofili (10.94) rounded out the podium. Then came Gabby Thomas, crossing in 10.97 seconds, her fastest 100m of the season.  A breakthrough? Sort of. A win? Not quite.

The time was quick — sub-11, finally — but it came with a +2.4 m/s wind, just over the legal limit. That meant no personal best, no official time on the books, and no spot on the podium. Fourth place. Windy. Bittersweet. And you could tell it stung. After the race, Gabby took to X with a short, biting post: “nvm I tweeted this before I ran another windy sub 11.” It was a callback to her earlier, upbeat tweet — “ugh I love running sm.” A simple shift in tone, but it said everything.

This isn’t unfamiliar territory for her either. Between May 25, 2018, and April 23, 2022, Gabby Thomas recorded eight sub-11 100m times, all wind-aided. Her fastest? A 10.80 (+3.2) scorcher, clocked on April 23, three years ago. So here we are again: fast, but not quite official. Promising, but just shy of fulfilling. As the Grand Slam Track tour heads to Philadelphia, one thing is clear — the weather might be just as decisive as the athletes themselves. Because for Gabby, it’s no longer just about crossing the line fast. It’s about finally making it count.