Gabby Thomas – Master of Science, Mistress of sprinting

Gabby Thomas – Master of Science, Mistress of Sprinting

Gabby Thomas is the  Olympic 200m champion.  Some people will say it is a hollow victory with the Jamaican trio of Elaine, Shelly, and Shericka absent, but you can only beat those in the race, and she did!

Afterward, she said, with typical modesty:  “I’m really in disbelief because having an Olympic gold medal is something in my wildest dreams. But simultaneously, I know how hard I’ve fought for it. This has been six years in the making, head down, working hard, going to tough meets, pushing yourself, and now it’s here, and I’ve done it. This is the happiest moment of my life.”

She also talked about the pressure of an Olympic final: “I cannot believe how much pressure I feel right now. It almost feels unreal. I can’t believe that a woman has to take on this much pressure. When I walked out into this stadium, and I knew I had all my friends and family there, I just knew that I had it. It was a confidence that you can’t really describe. Of course, there was pressure, but I felt confident.”

I met her at a Diamond League in Birmingham and found her a charming interviewee.  Our paths crossed again at the 2023 Diamond League in Florence.  We were on the same flight from London, diverted to Pisa, and bussed to Florence.  I mean, being in Pisa and not seeing the tower!  We were both traveling alone and had time to chat. She was impressed that I remembered she was doing a Master’s in epidemiology. She explained that on graduating from Harvard, she had decided to do a Master’s and continue as a full-time student-athlete because she felt the two together gave her a balanced life: “It is great to go from track practice to studies.  I have a bad track session, but instead of going home and thinking about it repeatedly, I get on with my academic work. And instead of sitting around when I have done my lab work, I get to go out and do track.  I am just one of those people who needs that balance in their life, and I really appreciate that”. In Paris, she quickly acknowledged how “everyone from Harvard track and field came out to support me, my head coach, my former teammates. I’m so grateful to have that support.”

Her answers to three specific questions in our first conversation are fascinating in hindsight:

Do you prefer the 200 to the 100?

“That is hard to say.  The 200 is my pride and joy. I execute it so well and do it like a walk now.  It is my favorite race. But the 100 is so exciting, and it comes with so much energy, and everyone wants to watch it. So I would love to be a part of that”.  Perhaps a prediction for the future?

As a 200 runner, do you get the bent leg in relays?

“No, they usually put me on the second leg or anchor. Second, because it is longer and I have the 200 stamina, the anchor is what they put me on in Tokyo. My legs are long, so the bends are challenging for me in the 200”. I am always fascinated by this question.  For GB, in our successful sprint relay team, Dina-Asher Smith has mainly run on the third leg, sometimes finishing but now often starting.  Gabby seems to be in a similar process. In the process of starting, she told me: “I think my start is very efficient. It may not look as quick, but obviously, it works as I am winning races. It can always improve, and it is improving, and I am always working on it”.

Whatever anyone may say or think, Gabby Thomas is leaving Paris as an Olympic Champion and, in my book, an extremely worthy one.