Olympic Champion Gabby Thomas withdraws from Tokyo World Championships
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Reading Time: 2min | Tue. 02.09.25. | 22:06
Her withdrawal opens the door for McKenzie Long, who finished fifth at the USATF Championships but holds a season’s best of 21.93
Olympic 200m champion Gabby Thomas has withdrawn from the upcoming World Athletics Championships slated for Saturday, 13 to Sunday, 21 September in Tokyo after failing to recover from a lingering Achilles injury.
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The 27-year-old who stormed to triple gold at the Paris 2024 Olympics in the 200m, 4x100m, and 4x400m, had been battling the issue since May.
Despite attempting to manage the pain, the injury worsened in July, forcing her to make the difficult decision with less than two weeks to the championships.
Thomas had automatically qualified for the Worlds after placing third in the 200m at the USATF Outdoor Championships in Eugene, clocking 22.20 to edge Brittany Brown by just one-thousandth of a second.
However, she admitted the turnaround time to Tokyo was too short for a full recovery.
“I understand that it will be disappointing for some track fans to hear this news but I’ve finally come to the realisation that it is ok to be human and take care of myself,” Thomas said in a press release.
“As an athlete you always want to keep grinding but sometimes you simply can not outwork an injury. Sometimes it is about patience and making the right decision for the long-term. All the best to my Team USA teammates fighting for medals in Tokyo," she continued.
Her withdrawal opens the door for McKenzie Long, who finished fifth at the USATF Championships but holds a season’s best of 21.93.
She joins Brown, who secured her place by winning the Diamond League Final in Zurich.
Thomas’ absence is a major blow for Team USA, given her status as one of the fastest women in the world over half a lap.
She clocked 21.95 at the Miami Grand Slam in May, making her the fourth-quickest 200m runner this season.
Only Olympic silver medallist Julien Alfred (21.71), US champion Melissa Jefferson-Wooden (21.84), and Long (21.93) have gone faster in 2025.
At last year’s World Championships, Thomas claimed silver in the 200m, before ascending to Olympic glory in Paris.
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