Gabby Thomas, the American sprint queen, has revealed the details of her 2025 season, signaling a thrilling start that will see her compete against fierce rivals Shericka Jackson and Elaine Thompson-Herah. Thomas, a reigning Olympic champion, is looking to build on her successes from 2024, where she claimed gold in the 200m, 4x100m, and 4x400m relay events.
As she embarks on her 2025 campaign, Thomas has decided to scale back her race schedule, similar to her approach last year. The sprinting powerhouse has indicated that she won’t be appearing at numerous events this season. Instead, she intends to focus on a few select competitions that will offer both prestige and lucrative rewards.
In an exclusive interview, Thomas revealed that her first race of 2025 will take place in Kingston, Jamaica, in early April. This event will mark the opening leg of the inaugural Grand Slam Track and Field series, a new competition that promises to add another exciting layer to the athletics calendar. Thomas has stated that this race in Kingston will be the first of four Grand Slam events she will feature in before the summer months. After Kingston, the series will move to Miami in early May, before continuing in Philadelphia and Los Angeles later in the spring and summer. Each Grand Slam race offers substantial cash rewards, with winners set to earn up to $100,000 per leg. These rewards will continue to decrease for subsequent finishers, making the competition particularly intense.
The Grand Slam series is being spearheaded by legendary American sprinter Michael Johnson, and its introduction has already generated significant excitement within the track and field world. While the opportunity for a large payday is certainly a draw for Thomas and other top athletes, the level of competition will be fierce, as Thomas will be pitted against some of the world’s best, including Jackson and Thompson-Herah, both of whom have established themselves as formidable challengers.
Beyond the Grand Slam series, Thomas has her eyes set on the 2025 World Championships, which will be held in Tokyo, Japan, from September 13-21. This will be a crucial event in her season as she looks to capture her first World Championships title in the 200m. In the 2023 World Championships in Budapest, Thomas narrowly missed out on gold, settling for a silver in the 200m after a tense final. That result only fueled her desire to break through and secure the coveted world title in 2025.
The World Championships in Tokyo will be an important stepping stone in Thomas’s pursuit of global dominance, and she is likely to face fierce competition from both Jackson and Thompson-Herah, who will also be looking to add to their medal collections. Given the stakes of this event, Thomas has already begun her preparations, having started her training regimen in December. By the time she steps onto the track in April for her first race, she will have put in over four months of intense training.
In addition to the World Championships, Thomas will also compete in the Athlos, a women-only track league that will take place after the global event in September. The Athlos league promises to be another lucrative competition, offering $60,000 in rewards for each of its winners. The series is part of the broader push to increase visibility and rewards for women in athletics, and Thomas will be a key figure in this initiative.
Thomas’s decision to limit her races this season allows her to focus on quality rather than quantity, honing in on the most prestigious events where she can make a significant impact. By keeping her schedule light, she can also ensure that her body remains fresh for the key moments of the season, particularly the World Championships and the Grand Slam series.
For Thomas, 2025 will be a year to further solidify her legacy in the sport of track and field. Her decision to focus on fewer races is a calculated one, driven by the desire to perform at her highest level when it matters most. As she lines up against the best in the world, including her bitter rivals, she will be aiming for nothing short of greatness.
