Well, Gabby Thomas looked like she was on a cruise after floating past her rivals with ease at the Texas Invitational, where she got out smooth, controlled the field by 60m, and powered through to a winning time of 11.02s (+1.0). A strong finish, but just shy of breaking that stubborn 11-second barrier this season. Cambrea Sturgis chased hard for the second spot in 11.15, with Semira Killebrew not far behind at 11.29. And with Grand Slam Track Miami just around the corner, it felt like Gabby was winding up for that elusive sub-11. Well… she did. She finally dipped under. But at what cost? It wasn’t the kind of finish anyone expected. The time was there, sure, but the feeling? Off. Something didn’t sit right. And now, the Olympic medalist has something to say.

Well, just days after breezing to a smooth 11.02s win in Texas, Gabby Thomas stepped into Grand Slam Track in Miami in the short sprint category, which includes the 100m and 200m dashes. A shift from her long sprint category, where she just bagged the Grand Slam title in Kingston with a 22.62 in the 200m and a PB of 49.14 in the 400m. And a short sprint brought its different challenge.

Starting with 100m, the field was stacked. Melissa Jefferson-Wooden shot out like a cannon, clocking a wind-aided 10.76s. Tamari Davis (10.79) and Favour Ofili (10.94) followed. Gabby? She ran her fastest 100m of the season—10.97s. Sub-11, finally. But it came with a +2.4 wind reading. And a fourth-place finish.

No podium. No official PB (11.00). And it stung. She took to X later with a short, pointed post: “nvm I tweeted this before I ran another windy sub 11.” She was referring to her earlier X tweet, where she wrote,” ugh I love running sm.” You could feel it. The mix of pride in the time… and disappointment in how it played out. Because when you’re chasing the best, fourth doesn’t feel like enough—even when the clock says otherwise.

Well, all is not lost for Gabby Thomas, with the 200m still to come.

Gabby Thomas has 200m left—and that’s where she’s always dangerous

Despite finishing fourth in the 100m with a time of 10.97 seconds and earning just 5 points, Gabby Thomas isn’t backing down just yet! She’s still very much in the race for the Grand Slam Track title, and all eyes are now on the 200m, where she’s the best in the world.

Gabby, the reigning 200m U.S. champion and an Olympic medalist, is known for her dominance in the half-lap event. The 200m hasn’t even been contested yet in this series, and this is her chance to soar straight to the top. A first-place finish in the 200m would earn her 12 points, pushing her total to 17, putting her in striking distance of the leaderboard.

But here’s the twist! If Melissa Jefferson-Wooden finishes second or third in the 200m, she’ll earn 8 or 6 points, respectively, bringing her tally to around 20 or 18, keeping her in the lead. And if Jefferson finishes fourth, things get interesting… It could be a tie! So, how does it transpire? Well, the first tiebreaker favors the athlete with the better finish in either of the two events. If it’s still tied? The second tiebreaker is the combined time.

Let’s not forget Tamari Davis and Favour Ofili; they’re still in the hunt! But, here’s the kicker: Neither can top Gabby’s total if they finish second in the 200m!