Florence’s Gabby Thomas cruised into the women’s 200-meter semifinals at the USATF Outdoor National Championships on Saturday night at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon.

She led wire to wire in Heat 1 and crossed the line in 22.28 seconds. The Williston Northampton product fell behind briefly before the 100 meter mark but turned on the afterburners over the second 100 to take the heat.

The top three finishers in each heat plus the next four fastest runners advance to the semifinals at 9:45 p.m. Sunday (CNBC and Peacock).

Thomas, a two-time Olympicmedalist posted the second-quickest time in qualifying behind Sha'Carri Richardson, who took the second heat in 21.61, which tied Thomas’ meet record from the 2021 Olympic Trials.

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