The week of the comeback. Faces, performances, times. It was if everything and everyone we hadn’t heard from in a while decided now was the time to come back up to the surface. Some were 4 years in the making, and others, in the case of Gabby Thomas and the 100m, a week, but still comebacks all the same. Maybe that’s the thing with off-years. Take away all the global championships and all of a sudden you’re left with several gaps, and endless surprises to fill them with.
1. Gabby Thomas finally breaks 11 seconds
The Gabby Thomas 100m saga has finally come to an end. Although ironically, after all the initial fuss surrounding her failing to break 11 seconds, when she actually did do it, barely anyone was there to see it. Not that any of that’s her fault. Unfortunately, when one of your biggest career achievements happens to coincide with the first ever sub-2 hour marathon, however worthy it is, you don’t stand a chance at getting even an inch of that spotlight.
Which is partly why I’m including it in this week’s run through. Technically speaking, it’s old news, but for a public that’s been very much distracted, and rightly so, by certain other events, it might as well be brand new. It all finally came together for Gabby Thomas at the Botswana Grand Prix. After a -4 headwind in Ethiopia and an 11.01 near-miss in Nairobi, her African tour ended on a high. Almost no wind, and a sub-11 clocking. Two factors which in Gabby Thomas’s career, have been practically mutually exclusive. 10 times she’s broken the 11 second barrier, and 10 times it’s been with an illegal wind reading. Until now that is.
10.95. No asterisk, just a 100m personal best that makes Gabby Thomas one of only 11 women in history to have broken 11 seconds over 100m, 22 seconds over 200m, and 50 seconds over 400m.
2. Allyson Felix has her sights set on LA 2028
At age 35, Allyson Felix became the oldest female 400m Olympic medallist when she won bronze in Tokyo. Now we find ourselves asking- can she medal again at 42?
Find an athlete who says they’re retiring and means it. It’s hard. First we had Dalilah Muhammad, who after saying 2025 would be her last season found herself right back on the track come March 2026, this time running 2 laps. Although maybe she just meant she was retiring from the 400m hurdles, and taking up the 800m instead. Who knows. Anyway, back to Allyson Felix. This week, the most decorated American track and field athlete in history announced her plan to make a 6th and final US Olympic team.
32 world medals. That in itself is enough of an achievement to span several careers, but for Allyson Felix, there’s still one thing left to tick off. The chance to compete, and gain a 12th Olympic medal, in front of her home crowd. Which just so happens to be hosting the next Olympic Games in 2028. The reason she won all those medals is because Allyson Felix was one of the greatest sprinters of all time. One of very few women to have broken 11 seconds over 100m, 22 seconds over 200m and 50 seconds over 400m. But that was back then. Allyson Felix retired 4 years ago after winning double relay gold at the 2022 World Championships in Oregon. And when you stop competing, unfortunately there is no pause button. You can’t exactly pick up where you left off.
How easy is a post-retirement comeback?
The biggest factor people are mentioning is of course, her age. Allyson Felix is 40 years old, and by the time the LA Games take place, she’ll be 42. Based on that, your initial reaction might be to dismiss any likelihood of her making the team. But when it comes to Allyson Felix, age has never really been a barrier.
At the 2021 Tokyo Olympics Allyson Felix ran 49.46 to win 400m bronze, a time that constituted an age 35 world best. And not only that- it was her fastest since setting her PB of 49.26 in 2015 aged 29. She’s not the only one either. Merlene Ottey won 4x100m relay bronze aged 40 at the 2000 Olympics and Shelly Ann Fraser Pryce was still breaking 11 seconds over 100m at 38. The more important factor than age, is competition. Allyson Felix has 2 years not just to get back to being fast, but to get back to being fast enough.
A look back at Flo-Jo
Remember Flo-Jo? In 1995, 7 years after retiring from competition, she announced her goal to break the 400m world record at her home Olympics in Atlanta the next year. Training began that October, but by March 1996, injury had struck and just like that, her post-retirement comeback was over. In some ways, this may appear as a warning sign when it comes to Allyson Felix, but there are some important differences. Flo-Jo gave herself less than a year to get back in shape. Allyson Felix has 2. And while 400m training is intense, Allyson Felix has only been out 4 years compared to Flo-Jo’s 7, and even before that was a much more experienced 400m runner. The main problem is that in those 4 years Allyson Felix has been out of competition, the level of 400m running in the US has only skyrocketed.
Can Allyson Felix make the US Olympic team?
For the past 3 years, at least 5 American women have broken 50 seconds over the 400m per season. More than any other country. In 2022, when Allyson Felix last made a US team, that number was 1, and it wasn’t her either. The last time Allyson Felix broke 50 seconds was at the Tokyo Olympics, and her season’s best in 2022 was 50.71. But given the aim is to make a relay, and not an individual team, she might not actually need to run that fast. Her last team was secured with a 6th place finish at the US trials in 51.24. As long as Allyson Felix finishes within the top 8, she should be in. Last year all that required was a 51.58, and the year before, 50.80.
With competition varying year-by-year it’s hard to predict, but a sub-52 does seem to be a definite. What also might now be a definite however is a sub-51, given that this year World Athletics limited the number of single-gender relay substitutions to 2. Which means that if Allyson Felix actually wants to step foot on the LA track, it’s safer to come in the top 6.
But aside from times, what the US selection committee also values, and what Allyson Felix herself values, is championship experience. Of which she has plenty. Allyson Felix has never not medalled at an Olympic Games, and it’s true what people say that this time she could stand to lose. Only she also stands to gain. Not just the chance to compete in her home town or to medal, but also to prove that athletic achievements don’t have to come to an automatic end after the age of 40.
3. Double World Champion Abby Steiner sues Puma
It’s been 2 years since Abby Steiner last stepped on to the track. Like Allyson Felix, she too won double relay gold at the 2022 World Championships in Oregon, but unlike Allyson Felix, it appears she won’t be making a comeback any time soon.
After setting national records in both the 200m and 300m indoors, Abby Steiner fell into a cycle of foot-related injuries. What came next was a failure to qualify for the 2023 US World Championship team, and a date in surgery, and not the Paris Olympics, in August 2024. But back then there was still hope: the surgery was done, Abby Steiner was on track to recover, and we would see her on the track again soon. Only it turns out that cycle was endless. It wasn’t just one surgery, it was three, and by the beginning of 2025, Abby Steiner was no longer planning on coming back. In her own words, she was taking a step back. At least, for the time being. A phrase vague enough to ensure no promises are being made, but just specific enough to keep us clinging on to hope.
It’s been a year since then. It only took until April 2026, but it looks like we might finally have some answers. And not only in relation to Abby Steiner’s relentless injuries, but also as to the big question of her return. On Tuesday, it was revealed that a lawsuit has been filed against her sponsor Puma, alleging negligent shoe design, specifically in relation to their carbon-plated spikes, which caused her serious injury.
How big a case will this end up being?
Although the term that was used wasn’t just serious. It was career-ending. The level of excitement that circled Abby Steiner when she first entered the competitive scene is hard to forget, so the thought that we’ll likely never see the true extent of her talent, and that this in particular could be the reason why, is both devastating and troubling at the same time. Because it affects other athletes too. And it wasn’t long before people started making those connections.
Elaine Thompson-Herah. Signed to Puma in 2022, has had fairly consistent injuries since 2023 and just now in 2026, has been spotted making her comeback in Adidas spikes. Could this be the reason? Maybe, but the truth is we don’t know, and we won’t know, unless Elaine Thompson-Herah herself chooses to speak on it. Or the other Puma athletes who’ve suffered from injury in recent years. Negligently-designed spikes could either be the common thread, or the common coincidence, that ties all these cases together.
At the end of the day, it’s clear that Puma has a lot to answer for. And I’m sure they will, because the destruction of a career like Abby Steiner’s is not an easy load to bear.
4. Julien Alfred tops the 200m rankings
2 years ago 21.86 was Julien Alfred‘s 200m personal best. Now, in 2026, it’s just a season opener. After winning 60m bronze at the World Indoor Championships, Julien Alfred put herself back on top with a world-leading 200m win at the Texas Invitational, just 0.03 seconds faster than Gabby Thomas’ mark from the previous weekend.
The usual cries of ‘too early!’ were loud, but not quite loud enough to hide the fact that Julien Alfred then went on the next day to win the 100m in 10.93. Exactly half her 200m time. Up until now the 100m has generally been considered her main event. It’s the distance she won gold in at the Olympics, and it’s the one in which she’s ranked the highest. But Julien Alfred’s 200m race this weekend was considerably more impressive.
Her 100m personal best is 10.71. If you double that, it gives you 21.42. That’s 0.35 seconds faster than Julien Alfred’s current 200m mark of 21.77. If she can continue this kind of 200m form throughout the season, we could see that gap become a whole lot smaller.
5. 2026 World Relays- one title defence and several world records
Only one title defence was successful at this year’s World Relays. The USA may have been criticised for not sending male or female 4x400m teams, but it was the mixed one that won them gold. And it was the men’s 4x100m team, full of names many people complained of not recognising, that defeated last year’s champions Canada for a second relay gold and in a new championship record. We may not recognise the names of the athletes, but now at least we can recognise that they’re still just as fast. The USA have their ways, and when I say that, I mean winning ways.
It was also a successful weekend for Jamaica, who, to the exact opposite of the USA, stacked their teams with as many recognisable names as possible. Elaine Thompson-Herah anchored the women’s 4x100m team to gold, further cementing her post-injury comeback, and 21 year old Tia Clayton brought the mixed 4x100m relay team home in a world record of 39.62. Their second world record in fact in two days. Canada’s mark of 40.30 from the relay’s debut in 2025 is now gone, along with their gold medal, which has now been turned to silver.
The fastest 400m ever recorded
There’s one more world record from this weekend I’d like to talk about. Not an official one, but still equally, if not even more mind-blowing. 23 year old Lythe Pillay, second leg of the South African 4x400m silver medal relay team, ran a 42.66 split. That’s the fastest relay split in history, eclipsing Michael Johnson’s 42.94 from over 30 years ago, when he led team USA to gold at the 1993 World Championships. Lythe Pillay has a 400m personal best of 44.31. He hasn’t even broken 44 seconds yet, let alone 43. Relays are a powerful force, but they don’t do all the work for you. Which can only mean that Lythe Pillay’s personal best is due a big attack this season.
The 2026 sprint season is officially underway
This week we learned a lesson. It’s never too late. To try and break 11 seconds, to make your 6th Olympic Games, to sue your former sponsor, anything. Which is just the kind of energy we want to lead us into the 2026 sprint season.
Written by- Rosana Ercilla
