Gabby Thomas, ironically enough, was never even considered by college recruiters. She had never competed in national competitions before, so no one knew of her abilities. She applied to Harvard and was accepted after the coach read about her interest in running on her application.
In fact, the last Harvard alum to compete in the Olympics was a non-sportsman who dropped out in 1896.
She developed an interest in the racial health gap while she was a student at Harvard. After receiving her bachelor’s degree in neuroscience in 2019, Thomas changed her major to business administration.
She attended UT Austin to concentrate on epidemiology. She moved there specifically so that she could run for the Buford-Bailey Track Club. Tonja Buford-Bailey, a medalist in the bronze medal event in 1996, started the group.
Thomas’s Long-Term Goal is to Create a Charity and Lead a Medical Facility of Her Own.
For the past 12 months, Thomas has been anything from idle. She used to enjoy rescuing pugs, going on hikes, and learning how to use an air fryer before the trials wiped that out of her life. She had a fright in June after a growth was found on her hamstring. Just lately, she received the good news that it wasn’t malignant.
They were able to rejoice after her historic qualifying round with her best friend, Ngozi Musa. Musa is a major inspiration for her and part of a strong network of loved ones that back her up 100%. When they returned to their hotel room in the United States, Ashton Kutcher had already sent her a direct message.
Even her idol, Gabrielle Union, sent her a text message. Her friends also hoped to make contact with the Jonas Brothers, who are her all-time favourite group.
Dr. Jennifer Randall, her mother, jokingly said that her daughter deserved a medal for saving her life in an interview with Sports Illustrated. She aspires to shine a light on the issue of diversity in sports and the Olympics after being encouraged to find her “Black girl magic.”
Besides being a Top Performer on the Track, Gabby Thomas Also Shines in the Classroom.
Twenty-four-year-old Thomas, a first-time Olympian, came into Tokyo having ran the second-fastest 200-meter sprint in history, in just 21.61 seconds, at the Team USA track and field Olympic trials. On Monday she ran a 22.20 in a Japanese 200-meter qualifying race.
Thomas excels in the classroom as well as on the track. At Harvard, she majored in neurobiology and global health, and now, in the midst of a worldwide coronavirus pandemic, she is pursuing a doctorate degree in epidemiology at the University of Texas.
Both are difficult in their own ways, but Thomas has no problem putting them in order of difficulty: “It was more difficult to make that Olympic squad. There is no question here.”
When it comes to the podium, second place is not where Gabby Thomas wants to land. Although it’s not the best option, it’s not the worst, either.
Final Words
The American sprinter left her competitors in the dust at the trials last month, winning with a timing of 21.61 seconds, and is now heading into the Tokyo Olympics as the second-fastest woman in the 200-meters in history.
That makes her the second-fastest woman ever to run the 200-meter race, trailing only the late Florence Griffith Joyner, who broke the world mark at the 1988 Olympics in Seoul with a pace of 21.34 seconds.
