Gabby Thomas has finally won an individual gold medal.
The American won the country's 23rd gold medal in the women's 200m race on Tuesday afternoon, vaulting the U.S. above China, which sits at 22 golds for the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.
Thomas effectively led the race wire-to-wire, finishing with a time of 21.83 seconds into a headwind, good for a tie for the 24th-fastest 200m race of all-time.
She had closed at -270 at DraftKings to win this race. Thomas entered preliminary heats as the favorite, yes, at +100, but it took Jamaica's Shericka Jackson to drop out to see her odds catapult in this event.
Jackson is the reigning, two-time world champion at the 200m and has the second-fastest time in history. She was forced to drop out of both the 100m and 200m during this year's Olympics due to injury.
Still, Thomas' accomplishments can't be diminished. It's her third Olympic medal — but as aforementioned, her first individual gold medal across any competition. The closest she had previously come was in the 2023 World Championships, which she lost to Jackson to nab silver.
Next up? Perhaps the world record in the event. Thomas has the fourth-fastest time of all-time, which she set in July 2023.
