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This time, there wasn’t just one heart that was broken on the line, but two. Before a heavyweight 200m final at the Stade de France, Dina Asher-Smith and Daryll Neita knew there would likely not be enough room on the podium for both of them. As Gabby Thomas and Julien Alfred reached the final bend in front and battled for gold up ahead, an opportunity opened for one of the British duo to claim the individual Olympic medal that had evaded them for so long.
Instead, that door was closed by a sensational burst from Brittany Brown, the American dipping her head on the line to clock 22.20s and whip bronze away from the British grasp by the finest of margins. Brown was 0.02s ahead of Asher-Smith in fourth, with Neita a further 0.01s behind in fifth. It was the second time at Paris 2024 that Neita had missed out on a medal by less than 0.05s, after finishing fourth in the 100m final on Saturday night.
Asher-Smith found reason to smile; Neita less so. “Fourth in the 100 by a couple of hundreds and the same again here,” she said. “I know my time is coming.”
It was always going to be at least one of them who would have to wait four more years. With Thomas and Alfred set to contest for the top two, Asher-Smith and Neita both came into the race knowing they would have to beat the other to finish on the podium. Fuelled by the crushing disappointment of the 100m, where Asher-Smith failed to reach the final, the 200m world champion from five years ago made a flying start and looked to have held off her teammate Neita.
That was until Brown came up the inside. Asher-Smith had been in the top-three all race but was not there when it counted, though she remained upbeat about her form in her first year under a new coach, joining Edrick Floreal’s training group in Texas. “I’m happy, I actually just really enjoyed it,” she said. “The crowd was amazing, the track was amazing. I just got told when the gun goes, run, and whatever happens happens. There’s not many times you get told that instruction. I just got told to go for it and I enjoyed it. It was a great race.”
At its front, a long-awaited champion was finally crowned. At 27, Thomas upgraded the bronze she won in Tokyo three years ago and world championship silver claimed in Budapest last year. The American had the advantage that, unlike Alfred, Neita or Asher-Smith, she had not been involved in the 100m in the previous days. With the world’s fastest time this year and reigning world champion Shericka Jackson withdrawing on Sunday due to injury, she stood as the favourite before delivering a dominant win.
Thomas swept home in 21.83 seconds, pulling away over the final 50m of the race and finishing comfortably ahead of Alfred, who came home in 22.08. Just days after delivering St Lucia’s first ever Olympic medal, she missed out on the 100-200 double. "I’m tired. Long five days," Alfred said. "I did feel ready for the 200m tonight. I feel good, no complaints at all. This means a lot. First Olympics, to go back with gold and silver, I can’t ask for more than that."
Asher-Smith and Neita have the chance to claim a third consecutive medal as part of Great Britain’s 4x100m relay team, having won bronze in Rio and Tokyo, and on this evidence Team GB will field another formidable quarter to go up against the United States and Jamaica.
“I gave it my all tonight and I think I ran a good race,” Neita said. “I needed to run faster. I just ran six rounds and recovering in between was a challenge so I’ve done really well today to come out here and represent myself. I’m proud of myself. I really wanted to leave here with an individual medal. I’m just hungry.
“I feel like I did fight all the way to the line which is good but ultimately we wanted to see a medal around my neck didn’t we? And I don’t have it.”
