Gabrielle Thomas
![]() Thomas at the 2018 NCAA Division I Championships in Eugene | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Full name | Gabrielle Lisa "Gabby" Thomas | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Born | [1] Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.[1] | December 7, 1996|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Home town | Northampton, Massachusetts, U.S. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Education | Harvard University University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Height | 5 ft 9 in (175 cm)[1] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Sport | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Country | United States | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Sport | Track and field | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Event | Sprint | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Achievements and titles | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Olympic finals |
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Personal bests | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Gabrielle Lisa Thomas (born December 7, 1996)[2] is an American track and field athlete in 100 and 200 meter sprint. She won the bronze medal in the 200 m and a silver as part of the women's 4 × 100 m relay at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. On August 25, 2023, she claimed the 200m silver medal in the 2023 World Athletics Championships in Budapest with a time of 21.81 seconds.[3] 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.[4]
Early life and background
Thomas was born December 7, 1996, in Atlanta, Georgia to African American mother Jennifer Randall and Jamaican father Desmond Thomas.[5] She has a twin brother named Andrew.[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 initially 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, stating 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]
A graduate of Harvard University, she studied neurobiology and global health as an undergraduate.[11] Thomas was later pursuing a master's degree in epidemiology at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston at their Austin regional campus.[11][12]
Career
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.[13]
After Harvard, she moved to Austin, Texas to be coached by Tonja Buford-Bailey.
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/7e/Gabby_Thomas_00115719_%2851919418015%29.jpg/220px-Gabby_Thomas_00115719_%2851919418015%29.jpg)
Thomas experienced a health scare in 2021 when an MRI revealed a tumor on her liver, but it turned out to be benign.[14] She represented the United States in the 200 meter race at the postponed 2020 Tokyo Olympics.[15] 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.[16] 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."[17] 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).[18][19] 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.[20][21][19]
2022
In March, Thomas came up with a good start to 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.[22] 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.[23]
2023–present
On April 29 at the Texas Invitational in Austin, Thomas turned in a massive personal record in the 400 m with a time of 49.68 s (her previous PR was 51.15 s from May 2021).[2][24] On July 9, 2023, Thomas became the US national champion for the women's 200m sprint.[25] 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).[26] 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.[4]
Achievements
International competitions
Year | Competition | Venue | Position | Event | Time | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2019 | IAAF World Relays | Yokohama, Japan | – | 4 × 200 m relay | DQ | [27] |
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 |
National championships
Year | Competition | Venue | Position | Event | Time | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2019 | USATF Indoor Championships | Staten Island, New York | 2nd | 300 m | 35.98 | [28] |
USATF Championships | Des Moines, Iowa | 8th | 200 m | DNF | -1.2 m/s[29] | |
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
- Diamond League
- 2018 (200 m): Lausanne Athletissima
- 2019 (200 m): Lausanne
References
- ^ a b c "Gabrielle Thomas". teamusa.org. USOC. Archived from the original on March 31, 2023. Retrieved February 17, 2023.
- ^ a b "Gabrielle THOMAS – Athlete Profile". World Athletics. Archived from the original on June 14, 2021. Retrieved January 1, 2023.
- ^ "FINAL | 200 Metres | Results | Budapest 23 | World Athletics Championships". worldathletics.org. Archived from the original on 2023-09-17. Retrieved 2023-09-17.
- ^ a b McAlister, Sean (26 August 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 17 September 2023. Retrieved 16 September 2023.
- ^ "Everybody knows I am Jamaican," says Gabby Thomas Archived 2023-07-21 at the Wayback Machine TrackAlerts TV
- ^ Grabowski, Kyle (2019-01-25). "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 2021-06-27. Retrieved 2021-06-27.
- ^ Thomas, Gabrielle (2021-02-21). "Instagram post". Instagram. Archived from the original on 2021-12-25. Retrieved 2021-06-27.
- ^ Adam, Kilgore (2021-08-01). "Washington Post profile". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 2021-08-10. Retrieved 2021-08-01.
- ^ Dillon, Kevin (2015-05-15). "Williston Northampton's Gabby Thomas to finish decorated track career at NEPSAC Championships Saturday". masslive. Archived from the original on 2021-07-09. Retrieved 2021-07-01.
- ^ a b Azzi, Alex (2021-06-27). "Gabby Thomas's atypical - but fast! - journey to the Tokyo Olympics". NBC Sports: On Her Turf. Archived from the original on 2021-06-27. Retrieved 2021-06-27.
- ^ a b Azzi, Alex (2021-06-09). "Olympic hopeful Gabby Thomas: the world's fastest epidemiologist?". NBC Sports: On Her Turf. Archived from the original on 2021-06-27. Retrieved 2021-06-27.
- ^ Bolies, Corbin (2021-06-27). "Gabby Thomas Runs Second Fastest 200-Meter Race Ever". The Daily Beast. Archived from the original on 2021-06-27. Retrieved 2021-06-27.
- ^ Walsh, Colleen (2019-05-30). "Harvard grad sprints to the finish, breaking NCAA record along the way". The Harvard Gazette. Archived from the original on 2021-04-23. Retrieved 2021-06-27.
- ^ 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 2021-06-27. Retrieved 2021-06-27.
- ^ Reid, Scott (2021-06-25). "Gabby Thomas runs world-best 200 at Olympic Trials". Orange County Register. Archived from the original on 2021-06-25. Retrieved 2021-06-27.
- ^ "200 meters - women". World Athletics. 2021-06-26. Archived from the original on 2021-06-27. Retrieved 2021-06-27.
- ^ Kilgore, Adam (2021-06-07). "Gabby Thomas, Rai Benjamin and Grant Holloway have a brush with history at U.S. track trials". Washington Post. Archived from the original on 2021-06-27. Retrieved 2021-06-27.
- ^ "Harvard grad Gabby Thomas wins bronze in women's 200-meter final in Tokyo". CBS News. 3 August 2021. Archived from the original on 2021-09-02. Retrieved 2021-08-06.
- ^ a b Alford, Jovan C. (2021-08-06). "Jamaica wins women's 4x100-meter relay in dominating fashion". DraftKings Nation. Archived from the original on 2021-08-06. Retrieved 2021-08-06.
- ^ "Gabby Thomas '19 Wins Silver Medal With U.S. 4x100m Relay Team at 2020 Tokyo Olympics". Harvard University. 6 August 2021. Archived from the original on 2021-08-06. Retrieved 2021-08-06.
- ^ "Women's 4x100m relay Final - Results | Tokyo 2020 Olympics". Eurosport. Archived from the original on 2023-09-17. Retrieved 2021-08-06.
- ^ Mulkeen, Jon (2022-03-26). "Thomas, Harrison and Barnes fly to speedy wind-assisted times at Texas Relays". World Athletics. Archived from the original on 2022-03-28. Retrieved 2022-03-28.
- ^ "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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ Bregman, Scott (9 July 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 11 July 2023. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
- ^ "FINAL | 200 Metres | Results | Budapest 23 | World Athletics Championships". worldathletics.org. Archived from the original on 2023-09-17. Retrieved 2023-09-17.
- ^ 2019 IAAF World Relays – Women's 4 × 200 metres relay Final Results Archived 2021-12-23 at the Wayback Machine IAAF
- ^ 2019 Toyota USATF Indoor Championships February 22nd - February 24th Staten Island, New York, United States Women 300 M Archived 2021-09-21 at the Wayback Machine USATF.tv via ResultsCentral
- ^ 2019 Toyota USATF Championships - 7/25/2019 to 7/28/2019 Drake Stadium Results Women 200 M Nike Archived 2022-07-05 at the Wayback Machine Flash Results
- ^ Bregman, Scott (9 July 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 11 July 2023. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
External links
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
- Living people
- American female sprinters
- African-American track and field athletes
- American female track and field athletes
- Harvard University alumni
- University of Texas at Austin alumni
- 1996 births
- USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships winners
- United States collegiate record holders in athletics (track and field)
- Track and field athletes from Massachusetts
- Sportspeople from Northampton, Massachusetts
- American sportspeople of Jamaican descent
- Track and field athletes from Atlanta
- Athletes (track and field) at the 2020 Summer Olympics
- Medalists at the 2020 Summer Olympics
- Olympic silver medalists for the United States in track and field
- Olympic bronze medalists for the United States in track and field
- Harvard Crimson women's track and field athletes
- Olympic female sprinters
- 21st-century African-American sportspeople
- 21st-century African-American women
- World Athletics Championships winners
- NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships winners