Florence’s Gabby Thomas breezed through her semifinal round in the 200 meters at the 2024 Paris Olympics on Monday, winning her heat with a time of 21.86 seconds.

She opened her 2024 Olympics on Sunday, easily winning her first-round heat with a time of 22.20 seconds. The final is Tuesday at 3:40 p.m, and Thomas is the No. 1 qualifier.

Thomas pulled away from second-place finisher Dina Asher-Smith with about 70 meters left and eased up as she rolled into the finish line, 0.45 seconds ahead of Asher-Smith.

“It’s my happy place,” Thomas said on the NBC broadcast after her race. “I feel so happy running when I see the finish line in my sights, I just have that boost that I know I can get there, stretch my legs out and go.”

Thomas won the bronze medal in the 200 in Tokyo with a time of 21.87. She holds the three fastest 200 times of 2024 (21.82, 21.81, and 21.78) and won the Olympic trials in the 200 in June.

Florence Griffith-Joyner’s time of 21.34 at the 1988 Seoul Olympics still stands as the world record, but Thomas holds the fourth-fastest 200 time ever, a 21.60 at the 2023 USA Track and Field Championships.

Jamaican sprinters Elaine Thompson-Herah and Shericka Jackson, the only two active women with a faster personal-best time than Thomas, both pulled out due to injury before qualification began. 

Julien Alfred, the sprinter from Saint Lucia, won the 100 on Saturday and ran the second-fastest time (21.98) in Monday’s semifinals. At a Diamond League meet in London on July 20 – the most recent Olympic tuneup event – Alfred took second place with a time of 21.86 and Thomas took first in 21.82. That 21.86 was the fifth-fastest 200 time of 2024, trailing Thomas’ three best times and fellow American Mckenzie Long’s fourth-place time.

“Well, it’s really great because I get to execute my race strategy,” Thomas said. “I come into each round feeling calm, in control and with the gameplan. I’m executing everything according to plan right now, so hopefully it all comes together [Tuesday].”

Thomas will be joined in the 200 final by Alfred, fellow Americans Long and Brittany Brown, Nigerian Favour Ofili, Côte d'Ivoire runner Jessika Gbai and British runners Asher-Smith and Daryll Neita.

Thomas’ track talents were first spotted at Williston Northampton School in Easthampton, where she attended from seventh to 12th grade. Former teammates and coaches marveled at her natural speed then, and are closely following her races in Paris. Her high school track coach, Martha McCullagh, is in Paris for the Games. 

For the past five seasons, Thomas has trained with Tonja Buford-Bailey, a three-time U.S. Olympian. When Thomas won bronze in Tokyo, she was a first-time Olympian, and only a few years into her career as a professional runner. Now, she’s the favorite for the gold.