If there's one thing to know about American sprinting star Gabby Thomas, it's that she has a flair for the dramatic.
The 27-year-old appeared on the outside looking in when she took to the starting blocks during the U.S. track and field Olympic trials earlier in the summer. Many believed the race would serve as little more than a coronation for Sha'Carri Richardson. In the end, they were mistaken. Thomas took home the crown and punched her ticket to Paris, hoping to lay waste on her global competition just as she did to her domestic counterparts a few months earlier.
Thomas finally got that chance during Tuesday's 200m final. In a matter of seconds, Thomas left her foes ambling in her dust, striding beyond 100m gold medalist Julien Alfred to pick up the first piece of Olympic golden ore in her epic career.
Thomas cruised to a fairly uncontested victory, with neither Alfred nor third-place Brittany Brown climbing within .20 seconds of her orbit.
Thomas wasn't racing her opponents. She was racing ghosts of American sprint royalty past, including seven-time Olympic gold medalist Allyson Felix.
Felix may not hold a world record, but her history of success, particularly in the Olympics' individual events, knows few peers. Thomas strives to be one of them. It's unclear whether she's done enough to warrant that title at present.
Who is the better sprinter across 200m, Gabby Thomas or Allyson Felix? The Sporting News takes you through the fact and fiction regarding Thomas and Felix's legacy in the 200m.
Gabby Thomas vs. Allyson Felix
When Thomas races in the 200m, she's not just competing against her fellow competitors. She's also chasing shadows of sprinters past, including former American standout — and fellow Olympic gold medalist — Allyson Felix.
Felix hung up her spikes after the 2022 season, ending her career with a World Championship in the 4x400m relay. Her impact still lingers on record books, however, particularly in the 200m event she made her signature throughout her career.
The seven-time Olympic gold medalist owns one of the fastest times across 200m, recording a career-best 21.69s reading during the 2012 Olympic trials. And yet, she can't touch Thomas' personal best showing in the same apparatus; Thomas clocked in at 21.60s during the US Track and Field Championships.
The duo sit fairly close in the world rankings, with Thomas posting the fourth-fastest time in history. Felix sits in eighth, by comparison. Both are some ways behind Florence Joyner-Griffith's storied mark of 21.54s during the 1988 Olympics.
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Here is how Thomas and Felix's best individual event, the 200m, stacks up against one another.
| Gabby Thomas | Event | Allyson Felix |
| 21.60 seconds | 200m | 21.69 seconds |
When it comes to Olympic medals, the advantage lies with Felix, who took part in an otherworldly five Olympic Games throughout her career. Not only was Felix a competitor. She was a contender, claiming 11 medals — seven of the aureate variety — for her efforts on the world stage.
Thomas has just three to her name, by comparison.
Here's a closer look at Thomas and Felix's respective medal hauls over the course of her Olympic career.
| Gabby Thomas | Olympic Medal | Allyson Felix |
| 1 | Gold | 7 |
| 1 | Silver | 3 |
| 1 | Bronze | 1 |
| 3 | Total | 11 |
