Gabby Thomas

Gabrielle Lisa Thomas (born December 7, 1996) is an American track and field athlete specializing in 100 and 200 meter sprint. Quotes I’m really in disbelief because having an Olympic gold medal is something in my wildest dreams, But at the same time, I know how hard I’ve fought for it. But when I walked out in this stadium and I knew I had all my friends and family here, 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. This has been six years in the making – head down, working hard, going to really hard meets, pushing yourself, and now it’s here and I’ve done it. This is the happiest moment of my life. Thomas takes first global title with Olympic 200m gold in Paris, August 06 2024 I actually blacked out for the race.It’s the most bizarre feeling when you get into a flow and you get into that energy where nothing else matters but the finish line. As far as I was concerned, I was the only one in that race. I did not expect to feel how I felt when I crossed that line, You prepare for this moment and you train so hard for this moment, but when it actually comes, it's indescribable. I couldn't believe it. I mean, I never would have imagined in my wildest dreams that I would become an Olympic gold medalist. And I am one. And I'm still kind of wrapping my head around that. Gabby Thomas Takes Women's 200-Meter Gold in Dominant Fashion, August 06 2024 The interest in neurobiology and studying the nervous system came from my personal experiences with family and my brothers, whereas track is something that I fell into gradually and I just kept running. I always loved and enjoyed sports, but professional sports wasn’t something that I aspired to. I think it’s nice to be recognised for my passions outside of track and field. If you had asked me over a year ago, I probably would have said no, but I think things have changed. I ended on such a great note last season and I only see myself getting better. And I see the way Elaine’s running and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, so I foresee us pushing each other and challenging each other to amazing things. What makes my story unique is the fact that I don’t like to be pigeonholed, or just go down one particular path. I like to be a representation that you can really have multiple interests. It wasn’t a goal of mine going into that season, When that happened, that definitely changed my perspective on track and field. I shifted gears a little bit and started taking it pretty seriously in college. With track and field, everyone knows so much of it is mental, but a lot of it has to do with your brain chemistry. My coach focused a lot on meditation. It does change your brain chemistry over the long term, so we would do that before hard workouts and before every competition. If you can calm your nervous system down, it affects how well you can train. The neuroplasticity aspect really fascinated me, this idea that if you train your brain to do something, that it starts to become second nature. It’s basically muscle memory, and just understanding how your nervous system works, the importance of your endocrine system and how your hormones are affected by certain behaviors. Ultimately, that is what affects your performance in track and field. I wanted to be excellent at track and field, I moved to Austin, Texas, to put myself in the best position I could to make the Olympic team. I expected myself to run very well, but did I expect to run 21.61? No. I’m not sure my coach was surprised, but I was definitely shocked. I respected and understood that it was a very difficult position to be in, We did the best that we could with the situation at hand. I’m very grateful that we were able to do it. Navigating the Covid protocols was a little bit tricky. That race was really a fight, It took a lot of mental willpower to relax. I think that’s where my experience and training came into play, so that felt like it was a huge win for me. The rounds were really tough for me. There was a lot of negativity. Everyone was tagging me saying that I needed to get it together, that the US wasn’t going to get a medal in the 200m, or ‘Gabby Thomas really sucks today, I was getting text messages asking if I’m OK. If you let it, it can really put you in a negative head space going into the final. And that’s why I’m so proud of it. The Olympics was an amazing experience, it was a lot of fun. It felt like summer camp with a little more stress. What I would love to see is more women and girls going into the sciences. I think a lot of STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) is pretty intimidating for women, just because there’s a lot of gatekeeping in terms of how information is given and how women are made to feel in classroom settings. It’s kind of seen as a men’s field right now, but if more girls could just see women in STEM who are doing it well and who look confident, it would be really helpful. With my background in healthcare, I understood the statistics behind it and the majority of times things are absolutely fine, But the more that doctors and people close to me started to get stressed out, that’s when I started to get stressed out and I had talked myself into this very anxious state going into Trials. I needed the peace of mind. I should have just trusted my gut. That’s an interesting thought, Maybe we should do a study. Thomas exploring the science of speed, November 10 2021 She just said ‘you’ll be OK, you’ll be fine. Here I am. I am more than fine. Honestly, it’s a lot of fun. I enjoy being there for them in any way that they need it. I’ve just had such an amazing experience here, Everything has just gone so well for me, and I am so grateful for every opportunity that I’ve had. I was ready to be at Harvard again, I was ready to compete with track and I think that really showed. All I could do was focus on what I could do in the moment: run as fast as I could and try to win the heat, When I saw it was a collegiate record, I couldn’t believe it. My teammates have inspired me so much since freshman year. Watching senior … Autumne Franklin and junior Jade Miller work so hard really shaped me as an athlete, to be a good example. It’s close to family, very personal. My work at Harvard changed my perspective. I have always been impressed with Gabby’s passion for studying issues of race and health, She always asked very thoughtful questions and clearly wants to look at issues such as health disparities with the aim toward finding solutions to these vexing problems. I never thought I would be going professional until less than a year ago. It just happened so quickly and it was a great opportunity, but I haven’t really thought about that at all. I think I am just going to take it day by day, year by year. Looking back, I am very happy that I didn’t give up on being here. Harvard track star finished her senior year while turning pro, May 30 2019 External Links Category:1996 births Category:Track and field athletes Category:Living people