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Gabrielle Thomas

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This article is about the American track and field athlete who is the current 200 meter Olympic champion. For the Emmerdale character, see Gabby Thomas (Emmerdale).

Gabby Thomas
Thomas on July 25, 2024 in Paris
Personal information
Full nameGabrielle Lisa Thomas
Born (1996-12-07) December 7, 1996 (age 27)[1]
Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.[1]
Home townNorthampton, Massachusetts, U.S.
EducationPace Academy[2]
Harvard University
University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston
Height5 ft 11 in (180 cm)[1]
Sport
CountryUnited States
SportTrack and field
EventSprint
Achievements and titles
Olympic finals
  • 2024 Paris
  • 200 m,  Gold
  • 4 × 100 m,  Gold
  • 4 × 400 m,  Gold
  • 2020 Tokyo
  • 200 m,  Bronze
  • 4 × 100 m,  Silver
Personal bests
  • 100 m: 11.00 (Eugene 2021)
  • 200 m: 21.60 (Eugene 2023)
  • 400 m: 49.68 (Austin 2023)
  • Long jump: 6.27 m (20 ft 6+3⁄4 in) (Palo Alto 2017)
  • Indoors
  • 60 m: 7.21i (Fayetteville 2021)
  • 200 m: 22.38i (College Station 2018)
  • 300 m: 35.73i (New York 2021)
Medal record
Women's athletics
Representing the  United States
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 2024 Paris 200 m
Gold medal – first place 2024 Paris 4×100 m relay
Gold medal – first place 2024 Paris 4×400 m relay
Silver medal – second place 2020 Tokyo 4×100 m relay
Bronze medal – third place 2020 Tokyo 200 m
World Championships
Gold medal – first place 2023 Budapest 4×100 m relay
Silver medal – second place 2023 Budapest 200 m
World Relays
Gold medal – first place 2024 Nassau 4×100 m relay
Gold medal – first place 2024 Nassau 4×400 m relay

Gabrielle Lisa Thomas (born December 7, 1996)[3] is an American track and field athlete specializing in 100 and 200 meter sprint who is the 2024 200m Olympic champion. Born in Georgia and raised in Massachusetts, Thomas competed in college for Harvard University before beginning a professional track career in 2018. Thomas also has a master of public health degree in epidemiology.

At the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, she won the bronze medal in the 200 m and a silver as part of the women's 4 × 100 m relay. On August 25, 2023, she claimed the 200 m silver medal in the 2023 World Athletics Championships in Budapest with a time of 21.81 seconds.[4] She won gold as part of Team USA in the women's 4x100m relay final with a championship record of 41.03 seconds.[5] At the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, Thomas won three gold medals; individually in the 200 m, and alongside her teammates in the 4 × 100 m relay and 4 × 400 m relay, in which they ran an American record and the second-fastest time ever.

Early life and background

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Thomas was born December 7, 1996, in Atlanta, Georgia, to an American mother, Jennifer Randall, and a father, Desmond Thomas, originally from Jamaica. She has a twin brother.[6][7] In 2007, Randall moved the family to Massachusetts to teach at the University of Massachusetts after completing her PhD at Emory University. While the family settled in Florence, Thomas played softball and soccer, then joined the track and field team at the Williston Northampton School.[8] She was inspired to run by Allyson Felix, saying that her first memory of a track race was watching Felix while at her grandmother's house. In four years at her high school, Thomas set multiple school records and was most valuable player every year.[9][10]

Gabby was recognized as the Ivy League Most Outstanding Track Performer in 2017 and 2018, marking the beginning of her illustrious athletic career.[11]

A graduate of Harvard University, she studied neurobiology and global health as an undergraduate.[12] In May 2023, Thomas finished her master of public health degree[13][14] in epidemiology at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, at their Austin regional campus.[12][15][16]

Career

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While at Harvard, Thomas won 22 conference titles across her three years of athletics in six different events, setting the school and Ivy League records in the 100 meters, 200 meters and the indoor 60 meters.[10] She signed a contract with New Balance and turned pro in October 2018, forgoing her last year of collegiate eligibility.[17]

After Harvard, she moved to Austin, Texas, to be coached by Tonja Buford-Bailey.[18]

Thomas (left) at the 2020 US Olympic trials.

In 2021 an MRI revealed a tumor on her liver, but it turned out to be benign.[19] She represented the United States in the 200 meter race at the postponed 2020 Tokyo Olympics.[20] Her time of 21.61 seconds at the United States Olympic trials on June 26, 2021, was the second-fastest ever at the time, surpassed only by world record holder Florence Griffith-Joyner.[21] The time even surprised Thomas herself; after the race, she said, "It definitely changed how I view myself as a runner. I am still in shock... my dream was to make the Olympic team... Now that I've accomplished [that], I'm going to set higher goals."[22] On August 3, 2021, in the Olympic final, Thomas won a bronze medal, running with a time of 21.87 s, behind Elaine Thompson-Herah (gold) and Christine Mboma (silver).[23][24] Three days later, the U.S. team having qualified for the finals of the 4 x 100 m relay, Thomas ran anchor, and the team came in second place behind the Jamaican team, securing her the silver medal along with teammates Javianne Oliver, Teahna Daniels, and Jenna Prandini.[25][26][24]

2022

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In March, Thomas started her outdoor season at the Texas Relays in Austin with the fastest-ever season opener by any 200 m female sprinter. She achieved the quickest wind-assisted mark of all time at 21.69 seconds (+3.1 m/s). She ran winning 10.92 s in the 100 m just 45 minutes earlier.[27] Thomas missed the qualifying for the home World Championships in Eugene, Oregon in July as she tore her hamstring just weeks before the USATF Championships held in June and only finished eighth in the 200 m final.[28]

2023

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On April 29 at the Texas Invitational in Austin, Thomas set a personal record in the 400 m with a time of 49.68 s (her previous PR was 51.15 s from May 2021).[3][29] On July 9, 2023, Thomas became the US national champion for the women's 200m sprint.[30] On August 25, 2023, she claimed the silver medal in the 2023 World Athletics Championships in 21.81 seconds. She finished ahead of USA teammate Sha'Carri Richardson (21.92), and behind defending women's 200m world champion Shericka Jackson (21:41 CR).[4] She would also go on to win gold as part of Team USA in the women's 4x100m relay final with a championship record of 41.03 seconds. Her teammates in this event were Tamari Davis, Twanisha Terry, and Sha'Carri Richardson.[5]

2024

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On June 29, 2024, Thomas qualified for the 2024 Paris Olympics by winning the U.S. Olympic Trials 200 m race with a time of 21.81.[31] She won the 200 m at the final pre-Olympic Diamond League meeting in London, England, on July 20, with a time of 21.82.[32] At the Olympics, she won the gold medal in the 200 meter race in 21.83.[33] Along with her teammates, she also won gold medals in the 4 × 100 m relay and 4 × 400 m relay.

On September 26, she competed at the Athlos track meet, a women-only track and field meeting at Icahn Stadium in New York City, finishing second in the 200 m.[34][35]

Achievements

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International competitions

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Representing the  United States
Year Competition Venue Position Event Time Notes
2019 World Relays Yokohama, Japan – 4 × 200 m relay  DQ [36]
2021 Olympic Games Tokyo, Japan 3rd 200 m 21.87 +0.8 m/s
2nd 4 × 100 m relay  41.45 SB
2023 World Championships Budapest, Hungary 2nd 200 m 21.81
1st 4 × 100 m relay  41.03 CR
2024 Olympic Games Paris, France 1st 200 m 21.83
1st 4 × 100 m relay  41.78
1st 4 × 400 m relay  3:15.27 AR

National championships

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Year Competition Venue Position Event Time Notes
2019 USATF Indoor Championships Staten Island, New York 2nd 300 m 35.98 [37]
USATF Championships Des Moines, Iowa 8th 200 m DNF -1.2 m/s[38]
2021 U.S. Olympic Trials Eugene, Oregon 4th 100 m 11.15 -1.0 m/s
1st 200 m 21.61 +1.3 m/s PB
2022 USATF Championships Eugene, Oregon 8th 200 m 22.47 -0.3 m/s
2023 USATF Championships Eugene, Oregon 1st 200 m 21.60 -0.4 m/s PB[30]

Circuit wins

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References

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  1. ^ a b c "Team USA | Gabby Thomas". teamusa.org. USOC. April 11, 2024. Retrieved August 9, 2024.
  2. ^ "Gabby Thomas' Olympic flame was first lit racing the boys at Atlanta's Pace Academy". August 7, 2024.
  3. ^ a b "Gabrielle THOMAS – Athlete Profile". World Athletics. Archived from the original on June 14, 2021. Retrieved January 1, 2023.
  4. ^ a b "FINAL | 200 Metres | Results | Budapest 23 | World Athletics Championships". worldathletics.org. Archived from the original on September 17, 2023. Retrieved September 17, 2023.
  5. ^ a b McAlister, Sean (August 26, 2023). "World Athletics Championships 2023: Sha'Carri Richardson leads USA to 4x100m relay gold over Jamaica's superstars Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce and Shericka Jackson". olympics.com. International Olympic Committee. Archived from the original on September 17, 2023. Retrieved September 16, 2023.
  6. ^ Grabowski, Kyle (January 25, 2019). "Fast lane: Gabby Thomas' journey on the track continues with pro debut at New Balance Indoor Grand Prix". Daily Hampshire Gazette. Archived from the original on June 27, 2021. Retrieved June 27, 2021.
  7. ^ Thomas, Gabrielle (February 21, 2021). "Instagram post". Instagram. Archived from the original on December 25, 2021. Retrieved June 27, 2021.
  8. ^ Adam, Kilgore (August 1, 2021). "Washington Post profile". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on August 10, 2021. Retrieved August 1, 2021.
  9. ^ Dillon, Kevin (May 15, 2015). "Williston Northampton's Gabby Thomas to finish decorated track career at NEPSAC Championships Saturday". masslive. Archived from the original on July 9, 2021. Retrieved July 1, 2021.
  10. ^ a b Azzi, Alex (June 27, 2021). "Gabby Thomas's atypical - but fast! - journey to the Tokyo Olympics". NBC Sports: On Her Turf. Archived from the original on June 27, 2021. Retrieved June 27, 2021.
  11. ^ "Thomas, Marshall Most Outstanding Track Performers at Ivy Indoor Heps For Harvard". Harvard University. February 25, 2018. Retrieved September 10, 2024.
  12. ^ a b Azzi, Alex (June 9, 2021). "Olympic hopeful Gabby Thomas: the world's fastest epidemiologist?". NBC Sports: On Her Turf. Archived from the original on June 27, 2021. Retrieved June 27, 2021.
  13. ^ France, Sean Gregory / Saint-Denis (August 7, 2024). "How Gabby Thomas Won 200-m Olympic Gold". TIME. Retrieved August 14, 2024.
  14. ^ Schnell, Lindsay. "Gabby Thomas was a late bloomer. Now, she's won Olympic gold in 200 meters". USA TODAY. Retrieved August 14, 2024.
  15. ^ Bolies, Corbin (June 27, 2021). "Gabby Thomas Runs Second Fastest 200-Meter Race Ever". The Daily Beast. Archived from the original on June 27, 2021. Retrieved June 27, 2021.
  16. ^ McCarvel, Nick (June 26, 2024). "Gabby Thomas exclusive: On her mother, her education and the enduring power of sport - 'You can achieve anything you want to'". olympics.com.
  17. ^ Walsh, Colleen (May 30, 2019). "Harvard grad sprints to the finish, breaking NCAA record along the way". The Harvard Gazette. Archived from the original on April 23, 2021. Retrieved June 27, 2021.
  18. ^ "How training with 3-time Olympian Tonja Buford-Bailey has helped shape Gabby Thomas ahead of 2024 Olympics". Daily Hampshire Gazette. August 4, 2024. Retrieved August 13, 2024.
  19. ^ Dragon, Tyler. "Gabby Thomas wins women's 200 meters at U.S. Olympic trials in world-best time, Allyson Felix fails to qualify". USA Today. Archived from the original on June 27, 2021. Retrieved June 27, 2021.
  20. ^ Reid, Scott (June 25, 2021). "Gabby Thomas runs world-best 200 at Olympic Trials". Orange County Register. Archived from the original on June 25, 2021. Retrieved June 27, 2021.
  21. ^ "200 meters - women". World Athletics. June 26, 2021. Archived from the original on June 27, 2021. Retrieved June 27, 2021.
  22. ^ Kilgore, Adam (June 7, 2021). "Gabby Thomas, Rai Benjamin and Grant Holloway have a brush with history at U.S. track trials". Washington Post. Archived from the original on June 27, 2021. Retrieved June 27, 2021.
  23. ^ "Harvard grad Gabby Thomas wins bronze in women's 200-meter final in Tokyo". CBS News. August 3, 2021. Archived from the original on September 2, 2021. Retrieved August 6, 2021.
  24. ^ a b Alford, Jovan C. (August 6, 2021). "Jamaica wins women's 4x100-meter relay in dominating fashion". DraftKings Nation. Archived from the original on August 6, 2021. Retrieved August 6, 2021.
  25. ^ "Gabby Thomas '19 Wins Silver Medal With U.S. 4x100m Relay Team at 2020 Tokyo Olympics". Harvard University. August 6, 2021. Archived from the original on August 6, 2021. Retrieved August 6, 2021.
  26. ^ "Women's 4x100m relay Final - Results | Tokyo 2020 Olympics". Eurosport. Archived from the original on September 17, 2023. Retrieved August 6, 2021.
  27. ^ Mulkeen, Jon (March 26, 2022). "Thomas, Harrison and Barnes fly to speedy wind-assisted times at Texas Relays". World Athletics. Archived from the original on March 28, 2022. Retrieved March 28, 2022.
  28. ^ "Sam Kendricks won't defend world pole vault title; U.S. roster named". NBC Sports. July 6, 2022. Archived from the original on July 6, 2022. Retrieved July 6, 2022.
  29. ^ Smith, Gary (April 29, 2023). "Gabby Thomas runs massive 49.68 PB to win 400m at Texas Invitational". World-Track.org. Archived from the original on April 30, 2023. Retrieved April 29, 2023.
  30. ^ a b Bregman, Scott (July 9, 2023). "USA Track and Field Championships 2023: Gabby Thomas sets 200m world lead to grab title ahead of Sha'Carri Richardson". olympics.com. International Olympic Committee. Archived from the original on July 11, 2023. Retrieved August 25, 2023.
  31. ^ "U.S. Olympic Track And Field Trials Results Day 7". Flotrack.org. Retrieved June 29, 2024.
  32. ^ "GABRIELLE THOMAS COMES FROM BEHIND TO WIN WOMEN'S 200M AT 2024 LONDON DIAMOND LEAGUE". olympics.com. Retrieved July 20, 2024.
  33. ^ Schnell, Lindsay. "Gabby Thomas wins gold in 200, leading American track stars in final at Paris Olympics". USA Today. Retrieved October 19, 2024.
  34. ^ "ATHLOS NYC : Sept 26, 2024 - Speed Has A New Sound". ATHLOS NYC : Sept 26, 2024 - Speed Has A New Sound. Retrieved September 13, 2024.
  35. ^ Pandey, Animesh (September 27, 2024). "3 biggest upsets at Alexis Ohanian's Athlos NYC ft Gabby Thomas". Sportskeeda. Retrieved October 19, 2024.
  36. ^ 2019 IAAF World Relays – Women's 4 × 200 metres relay Final Results Archived December 23, 2021, at the Wayback Machine IAAF
  37. ^ 2019 Toyota USATF Indoor Championships February 22nd - February 24th Staten Island, New York, United States Women 300 M Archived September 21, 2021, at the Wayback Machine USATF.tv via ResultsCentral
  38. ^ 2019 Toyota USATF Championships - 7/25/2019 to 7/28/2019 Drake Stadium Results Women 200 M Nike Archived July 5, 2022, at the Wayback Machine Flash Results
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