MIAMI, FL — A pair of top sprinters, Gabby Thomas and Abby Steiner will not compete in the women’s 100 meters at the 2022 Toyota USATF Outdoor Championships and will focus on just one event at the trials, which start next week.
Both sprinters were strong candidates to make the U.S. team in the 100m after posting some of the nation’s leading times in the event this season.
Steiner and Thomas are stronger over the 200m
Steiner owns two sub-11 seconds clockings this year, including her 10.90 personal best at the just concluded NCAA Outdoor Championships, while Thomas, who has posted three quick sub-11 seconds wind-assisted time this year, owns a PB of 11.00.
However, after a very long and demanding collegiate indoor and outdoor campaign with Kentucky, Steiner has decided to focus on just the 200m.
To many, this seems like a no-brainer, given that this is her stronger event and she also leads the world’s top list this year with a flashing 21.80 seconds, set when winning the NCAA title a week ago.
The 22-year-old who has also twice split sub-49 seconds in 4x400m relay splits believes that if she can recover in time, she will be one of the three athletes representing USA at the World Championships next month.
Besides her PB, the collegiate star ran a fast 10.92 (0.5 m/s) in Baton Rouge in April and clocked a wind-assisted 10.99 (+2.5 m/s) at the 2022 East Preliminary Round in Bloomington, IN, on 26 May.
In the meantime, like Steiner, Thomas’ strength is over the longer sprint event. Read more: Gabby Thomas pulls out of New York Grand Prix with leg niggle
Some fast wind-aided times for Thomas
The Olympic bronze medalist from Tokyo, Japan, last summer started the campaign hoping to contest both the 100m and 200m at the trials and showed great form early in the season with three wind-aided sub-11 seconds performances.
After clocking 10.92 secs (+2.9) to win the Texas Relays 2022 race, Thomas registered 10.86 (+3.3 m/s) at the Mt. Sac. Relays in Walnut, on 16 April before returning to the track a week later to post 10.80 (+3.2 m/s) at the 2022 Michael Johnson Invitational in Waco.
The 25-year-old withdrew from the 2022 USATF New York Grand Prix on Randalls Island in New York City on 12 June with a minor leg problem and that issue could have been part of her decision not to attempt the sprint double at the US championships.
In terms of the world and the US rankings this season, Steiner is the 5th-fastest American in the 100m and No. 8 in the world overall.
Thomas, in the meantime, is the 13th fastest performer among the American women’s 100m runners in 2022 and 27th overall on this year’s world list.
Another notable scratch from the women’s 100m is 2016 World Junior champion Candace Hill, who has a season-best of 11.11 secs and owns a PB of 10.98 from 2015.
The 2022 Toyota USATF Outdoor Championships will be held at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon, from 23-26, June. Live TV broadcast and webcast streaming coverage will be on NBC, CNBC, and Peacock TV. Watch on TV and on Webcast
