Gabby Thomas won the 200 meters at the Paris Olympics on Tuesday, erasing any doubts about the outcome early.

Thomas was expected to be tested early by Saint Lucia’s Julien Alfred, but Thomas hit the straightaway in command.

Thomas’s time was 21.82 seconds, followed by Alfred (22.08) and fellow American Brittany Brown (22.20).

The result had appeared nearly inevitable. Thomas looked sharp in the three qualifying rounds, showing off her endurance on the straight. She joined Alfred, who was brimming with confidence after her 100-meter gold medal, as the only sprinter to dip under 22 seconds in the semifinal.

It didn’t take a Harvard grad, which Thomas is, to figure out that her prospects for victory brightened considerably when Jamaica’s Shericka Jackson, the former world champion in the 200, dropped out of the Games.

Thomas entered the race with a lifetime best of 21.6 seconds and a season best of 21.78 on a growing resume.

Thomas, the 200-meter bronze medalist at the 2020 Tokyo Games, didn’t shrink from the role as favorite. She thrived.