Olympic champion and veteran sprinter Justin Gatlin shared his take on Gabby Thomas and the 200m sprint scene heading into the Diamond League Final and the World Championships. The two-day Wanda Diamond League Final will be held in Zurich on August 27-28, while the World Athletics Championships will take place in Tokyo from September 13-21.In Tokyo, the women’s 200m is shaping up to be one of the most competitive races, with a strong lineup featuring Melissa Jefferson-Wooden, Anavia Battle, Gabby Thomas and Shericka Jackson.Gabby Thomas opened her 2025 season strongly, winning the 200m at the inaugural Grand Slam Track event in Kingston with a time of 22.62s. In the second leg, she followed up, lowering it to 21.95s. At the third stop in Philadelphia, Thomas placed second with 22.10s, behind Melissa Jefferson-Wooden, who clocked 21.99s.On a recent episode of Gatlin’s podcast Ready Set Go, co-hosted with Rodney Green, the two discussed the depth of the 200m field. When a fan suggested “Gabby’s in trouble,” Gatlin pushed back, noting that Thomas still has a month to prepare and is likely focused on training rather than racing at the moment:“Like I said, man, the magic thing in this is like Gabby still has a month to get ready. And usually Gabby would be in these races. Gabby would be out here running right now. So that tells you right now that she's in the lab working right now. She's out there working on her speed, endurance, working on her sharpness, getting ready.” (37:20 onwards)Gatlin added that we’ll see a “different Gabby” at the Worlds, though it remains to be seen whether she’ll return at her best or be battling for a medal spot. For now, he believes Melissa Jefferson-Wooden has the edge, dominating the sprints from 100m to 200m:“So you're going to see a different Gabby. Will it be the Gabby that we're used to seeing? Maybe. Will it be a Gabby who has to fight for that medal spot? We'll see. But at the end of the day, I mean, it's a whole different field right now. And if I had to pick today, it'd most likely be Melissa right now because she's neutralized the field from the 100 to the 200 thus far.”At the 2025 USATF Outdoor Championships, Gabby Thomas finished third in the 200m final, clocking 22.20s. Jefferson-Wooden and Anavia Battle finished first and second with 21.84s and 22.13s, respectively.Gabby Thomas’ Olympic journeyAthletics - Olympic Games Paris 2024: Day 15 - Source: GettyGabby Thomas made her Olympic debut at the Tokyo Games, where she won bronze in the 200m with a time of 21.87s and helped Team USA claim silver in the 4x100m relay.Coming off a strong 2023 World Championships, winning silver in the 200m, Thomas entered the 2024 Paris Olympics in top form. At the Paris Olympics, she won gold in the 200m, 4x100m relay and 4x400m relay. With her 200m gold, Gabby Thomas became the first American woman to win Olympic gold in the event since Allyson Felix at the 2012 London Games.