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Gabrielle Thomas

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This article is about the American track and field athlete. For the Emmerdale character, see Gabby Thomas (Emmerdale).
Gabby Thomas
Thomas at the 2018 NCAA Division I Championships in Eugene
Personal information
Full nameGabrielle Lisa "Gabby" Thomas
Born (1996-12-07) December 7, 1996 (age 27)[1]
Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.[1]
Home townNorthampton, Massachusetts, U.S.
EducationHarvard University
University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston
Height5 ft 9 in (175 cm)[1]
Sport
CountryUnited States
SportTrack and field
EventSprint
Achievements and titles
Olympic finals
  • 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
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)[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] In May 2023, Thomas finished her Master's Degree in epidemiology at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston at their Austin regional campus.[11][12][13]

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.[14]

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

Thomas (left) at the 2020 US Olympic trials.

Thomas experienced a health scare in 2021 when an MRI revealed a tumor on her liver, but it turned out to be benign.[15] She represented the United States in the 200 meter race at the postponed 2020 Tokyo Olympics.[16] 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.[17] 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."[18] 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).[19][20] 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.[21][22][20]

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.[23] 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.[24]

2023

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][25] On July 9, 2023, Thomas became the US national champion for the women's 200m sprint.[26] 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).[27] 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]

2024

On June 29, 2024, Gabby Thomas qualified for the 2024 Paris Olympics by winning the U.S. Olympic Trials 200m race in a time of 21.81.[28] She won the 200m at the final pre-Olympic Diamond League meeting in London, England, on 20 July, in a time of 21.82.[29]

Achievements

International competitions

Representing the  United States
Year Competition Venue Position Event Time Notes
2019 IAAF World Relays Yokohama, Japan – 4 × 200 m relay DQ [30]
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
Representing New Balance
2019 USATF Indoor Championships Staten Island, New York 2nd 300 m 35.98 [31]
USATF Championships Des Moines, Iowa 8th 200 m DNF -1.2 m/s[32]
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[33]

Circuit wins

References

  1. ^ a b c "Gabrielle Thomas". teamusa.org. USOC. Archived from the original on March 31, 2023. Retrieved February 17, 2023.
  2. ^ a b "Gabrielle THOMAS – Athlete Profile". World Athletics. Archived from the original on June 14, 2021. Retrieved January 1, 2023.
  3. ^ "FINAL | 200 Metres | Results | Budapest 23 | World Athletics Championships". worldathletics.org. Archived from the original on 2023-09-17. Retrieved 2023-09-17.
  4. ^ 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.
  5. ^ "Everybody knows I am Jamaican," says Gabby Thomas Archived 2023-07-21 at the Wayback Machine TrackAlerts TV
  6. ^ 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.
  7. ^ Thomas, Gabrielle (2021-02-21). "Instagram post". Instagram. Archived from the original on 2021-12-25. Retrieved 2021-06-27.
  8. ^ Adam, Kilgore (2021-08-01). "Washington Post profile". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 2021-08-10. Retrieved 2021-08-01.
  9. ^ 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.
  10. ^ 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.
  11. ^ 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.
  12. ^ 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.
  13. ^ https://olympics.com/en/news/gabby-thomas-exclusive-mother-education-enduring-power-sport-achieve-anything-you-want-to
  14. ^ 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.
  15. ^ 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.
  16. ^ 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.
  17. ^ "200 meters - women". World Athletics. 2021-06-26. Archived from the original on 2021-06-27. Retrieved 2021-06-27.
  18. ^ 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.
  19. ^ "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.
  20. ^ 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.
  21. ^ "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.
  22. ^ "Women's 4x100m relay Final - Results | Tokyo 2020 Olympics". Eurosport. Archived from the original on 2023-09-17. Retrieved 2021-08-06.
  23. ^ 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.
  24. ^ "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.
  25. ^ 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.
  26. ^ 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.
  27. ^ "FINAL | 200 Metres | Results | Budapest 23 | World Athletics Championships". worldathletics.org. Archived from the original on 2023-09-17. Retrieved 2023-09-17.
  28. ^ "U.S. Olympic Track And Field Trials Results Day 7". Flotrack.org. Retrieved 29 June 2024.
  29. ^ "GABRIELLE THOMAS COMES FROM BEHIND TO WIN WOMEN'S 200M AT 2024 LONDON DIAMOND LEAGUE". olympics.com. Retrieved 20 July 2024.
  30. ^ 2019 IAAF World Relays – Women's 4 × 200 metres relay Final Results Archived 2021-12-23 at the Wayback Machine IAAF
  31. ^ 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
  32. ^ 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
  33. ^ 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.
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