Injured Olympic 200m champion Gabrielle Thomas out of World Athletics Championships
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox
Olympic 200m champion Gabby Thomas will miss the upcoming World Championships in Tokyo as she has exacerbated her Achilles injury.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Follow topic:
LOS ANGELES – Olympic 200m champion Gabrielle Thomas has pulled out of the upcoming World Athletics Championships with an Achilles injury that has troubled her since May, in a blow to American hopes later this month in Tokyo.
Thomas, who was also a member of the United States 4x100m and 4x400m relay teams that won gold at the 2024 Olympics in Paris, secured her berth for the world meet by finishing third at the US championships in August.
However, she said on Sept 2 she had exacerbated the injury in July and it has not healed in time for the Sept 13-21 world championships.
“It’s tough news and I know some track fans will be disappointed,” Thomas said in a statement. “But I’ve come to accept that it’s okay to be human and prioritise my health.”
The withdrawal clears the path for a possible sprint double in Tokyo for St Lucia’s Julien Alfred, who finished second behind Thomas in the Paris 200m but is the fastest in the distance in 2025. Alfred won the Olympic 100m.
Thomas’ absence will sting for the Americans, who led the Paris athletics medal table by a considerable margin, but the 28-year-old said she had received plenty of get-well wishes after announcing she would not compete.
“I was a little nervous about sharing my injury news, but I have been met with so much support from partners and track fans,” said Thomas, who has not competed since her national championships.
“It truly means so much. I love track and can’t wait to get back to myself and racing the best in the world.”
Meanwhile, Uganda’s half-marathon world record holder Jacob Kiplimo and two-time Olympic champion Joshua Cheptegei will also miss the world championships due to personal reasons, the country’s athletics federation confirmed.
Kiplimo, 24, became the first person to run the half-marathon in under 57 minutes when he set a stunning world record of 56min 42sec in Barcelona in February.
Cheptegei, 28, won gold in the 5,000m at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 and the 10,000m at the Paris Games, but finished ninth at the Tokyo Marathon in March.
Uganda’s Olympic committee president Donald Rukare said it was “unfortunate” that the two stars would miss the championships in the Japanese capital.
“We are respecting the personal reasons the two have earlier advanced,” Rukare told AFP.
“We are having consultations on the way forward, but there should not be any reason for Ugandans and sports enthusiasts to be alarmed.” REUTERS, AFP
