It’s been just a few weeks since the track and field world marked the first anniversary of Gabrielle “Gabby” Thomas’s big moment at the Paris Olympics. In the French capital, the 28-year-old made history, scooping up three gold medals — in the women’s 200m, the 4x100m relay, and the 4x400m relay. That put her right at the top of Team USA’s medal count. But for Gabby, the story didn’t really start in Paris. It kicked off four years earlier in Tokyo, when she made her Olympic debut — and wow, did she make an entrance.
At the Tokyo Olympic Trials in Eugene, Oregon, Gabby Thomas lit up the track with a 21.61 in the 200m — the third-fastest time ever recorded, with only Florence Griffith Joyner (Flo-Jo) having run faster, and that too just twice. In the Olympic final, Jamaica’s Elaine Thomson-Herah took gold in 21.53, Namibia’s Christine Mboma claimed silver in 21.81, and Thomas secured bronze with 21.87. In the relays, Thomas teamed up with Jenna Prandini, Teahna Daniels, and Aleia Hobbs to win silver, finishing behind Jamaica and ahead of Great Britain. For the Massachusetts native, fresh out of her college career in 2019, it all felt like a dream. But as she soon learned, every blessing comes with its own challenges.
Back in 2021, Olympic glory was brand-new territory for Gabby Thomas — and so was everything that came after. On a recent episode of The Squeeze, she opened up about it. Four years ago in Tokyo, she didn’t really get to soak in the full Olympic buzz because of COVID restrictions. But the moment she landed back in the U.S., reality hit hard. “I got back to the States after the Olympics; it was, I mean, it was instant,” she said. “I just felt so drained. It was, I think, a mix of being on such a high high for weeks of, like, making the team, going to Tokyo, and being there and experiencing that, to coming down. And so you’re coming down from that huge peak emotionally. And then suddenly everybody wants, like, a piece of you. Everybody wants your time.” For Gabby, all of it felt completely new — and a little overwhelming.
Paris 2024 Olympics – Athletics – Women’s 200m Round 1 – Stade de France, Saint-Denis, France – August 04, 2024. Gabrielle Thomas of United States after winning heat 2. REUTERS/Sarah Meyssonnier
Fresh out of college, Gabby had no clue how to handle this whole new world. Overnight, she went from just Gabby to the talk of the town. It got to the point where she was nervous to even answer her phone — who knew what random person might be calling? On top of that, people started asking her for favors left and right. Her entire world flipped in what felt like a heartbeat. “I didn’t feel like Gabby anymore,” she admitted. “I just, you know, I felt like, like, literally Gabby Thomas, like the sprinter. And so it was just a lot to get used to.” The tough part? She felt like she wasn’t even allowed to complain about it.
Complaining about the changes just made Gabby feel guilty — like she wasn’t appreciating the ride. “I should be so happy and, like, celebrating,” she said. “And I was like, ‘Oh my God, I just don’t want to.’” The toll showed soon enough. The next season, she couldn’t deliver the performances everyone expected from her. Then came the injuries, dragging the slump out even longer. But that’s not the only hurdle she’s faced in track and field — Gabby’s been pretty open about dealing with other complications in her career, too.
Gabby Thomas has seen the world closely
Fans’ odd expectations, bizarre behavior — Gabby Thomas has seen it all up close. But after her big wins, she also ran into something even more off-the-wall in the track and field world: the obsession with “looks.”
On the Mike Jackson podcast, Gabby and the host dug into how appearances can shape almost every part of an athlete’s career. “Looks are absolutely a problem,” she said without hesitation. Moreover, she explained that the way an athlete is perceived can directly affect sponsorship deals, the attention they get on the track, and so much more.
Courtesy: X/ Gabby Thomas
“They matter in terms of what kind of sponsors you’re getting, how many people pay attention to how you run,” Thomas pointed out. She even noted that people’s assumptions about how an athlete looks can twist the way they view that athlete’s entire journey. That’s when the host went straight for the big question: had Gabby Thomas ever been underestimated because of her attractiveness? The Olympian claimed it to be ‘dehumanization.’ She still bears the scar of it, and she is not ashamed of it.
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