Despite pulling several strides ahead of her competition at the Olympic 200m competition on Tuesday, Gabby Thomas' face scrunched with almost incredulous ecstasy upon crossing the finish line .
The Team USA sprinter had won her first-ever individual international gold medal on the world's biggest stage, and after taking a moment to compose herself, decided she wanted to share her exceptional moment with her traveling friends and family.
"What a great question! The first thing that came into my head after winning was: I want to find my friends and family," Thomas told Vogue . "It was like, OK, I just won, I did it, this is great, but, like, where are they? I want to go celebrate with them."
"It’s sinking in now," Thomas added about her victory. "At first, I was completely in shock and disbelief and not really understanding what had happened. But now I’ve had some time to reflect on it, and it really is just such an amazing feeling. I’m just so happy and thankful and proud of all the time and work that has been put into this, both on my behalf and on behalf of my community and my team."
READ MORE: Sha'Carri Richardson was denied chance to race for Team USA in 200m at Olympics
READ MORE: Sha'Carri Richardson's beef with Gabby Thomas explained after Olympics drama
Thomas entered Tuesday's race as an overwhelming favorite to take home the gold, with FanDuel Sportsbook giving her -250 odds to take home the gold. Her primary competition was St. Lucia's Julien Alfred, who had stunned fellow American sprinter Sha'Carri Richardson in the 100m days earlier to secure the island nation's first-ever Olympic gold medal, with all other racers given at least +5000 odds.
From the sixth lane, Thomas quickly dispatched her St. Lucian competition with a furious turn and continued to build separation from her overmatched field. Thomas' graceful stride carried her across the finish line steps before Alfred arrived, adding an Olympic gold medal to her remarkable, eclectic resume.
The 27-year-old sprinter enrolled at Harvard University in 2015 and graduated from the prestigious university with a bachelor's degree in neurobiology, focusing on Global Health and Health Policy. Thomas forwent her final season of eligibility to sign a professional contract with New Balance but has since earned a Master of Public Health from the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston.
Upon moving to Austin after graduating, Thomas' professional career blossomed under the tutelage of Tonja Buford-Bailey. She competed in the 200m sprint and the 4x100 relay at the most recent Tokyo Olympics three seasons ago and won her first gold medal at the 2023 World Championships in Budapest in the relay competition.
Thomas also helped shatter the all-time World Athletics Relays record in 2024 in the 4x100, also winning gold in the 4x400 at the same event in the Bahamas. Despite this success, Thomas will not compete in either competition at the Olympics this summer.
Most Popular
Comments / 0