Gabrielle Thomas

Gabrielle Lisa Thomas (born December 7, 1996)[2] is an American track-and-field athlete, who specializes in the 100 and 200 meters sprint. She won an individual bronze medal and a team silver medal at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.

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
Born (1996-12-07) December 7, 1996[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
Event(s)Sprint
Achievements and titles
Olympic finals
  • 2020 Tokyo
  • 200 m,  Bronze
  • 4 × 100 m,  Silver
Personal best(s)
  • 100 m: 11.00 (Eugene 2021)
    10.92 w (Austin 2022)
  • 200 m: 21.61 (Eugene 2021)
  • 400 m: 49.68 (Austin 2023)
  • Long jump: 6.27 m (20 ft 6+3⁄4 in) (Palo Alto 2017)
    6.61 m (21 ft 8 in) w (Philadelphia 2018)
  • Indoors
  • 60 m: 7.21i (Fayetteville 2021)
  • 200 m: 22.38i (College Station 2018)
  • 300 m: 35.73i (Staten Island 2021)
Medal record
Women's athletics
Representing the  United States
Olympic Games
Silver medal – second place2020 Tokyo4×100 m relay
Bronze medal – third place2020 Tokyo200 m

Career

Thomas was born December 7, 1996, in Atlanta, Georgia to American mother Jennifer Randall and Jamaican father Desmond Thomas. She has a twin brother named Andrew.[3] Thomas is African-American on her mother's side and Jamaican on her father's side.[4] 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, Massachusetts, Thomas initially played softball and soccer, then joined the track and field team at the Williston Northampton School.[5] 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 high school, Thomas ran all 4 years for Williston Northampton School, where she set multiple school records and was MVP every year.[6][7]

A graduate of Harvard University, she studied neurobiology and global health as an undergraduate.[8] 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.[7] She signed a contract with New Balance and turned pro in October 2018, forgoing her last year of collegiate eligibility.[9]

After Harvard, she moved to Austin, Texas to be coached by Tonja Buford-Bailey. In May 2020, Thomas was provisionally suspended for three whereabouts failures,[10] sanctioned with a two-year period of ineligibility. She submitted new evidence in June to invalidate one failure, and was finally cleared in July.[11][12]

2021

Thomas experienced a health scare in 2021 when an MRI revealed a tumor on her liver, but it turned out to be benign.[13] She was pursuing a master's degree at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston at their Austin regional campus in epidemiology.[8][14]

Thomas represented the United States in the 200 meter race at the postponed 2020 Tokyo Olympics.[15] Her time of 21.61 seconds in the event 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.[16] 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."[17] 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).[18][19] Three days later, on August 6, 2021, the U.S. team having qualified for the finals of the 4 x 100 metres 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.[20][21][19]

2022

In March, Thomas came up with a good start to her outdoor season at the Texas Relays, 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 for the 100 meters just 45 minutes earlier.[22] Thomas missed the qualifying for the home World Championships held in Eugene, Oregon in July as she tore her hamstring just weeks before the USATF Championships and only finished eighth in the 200 m final.[23]

2023–present

On April 29 at the Texas Invitational, Thomas turned in a massive personal record in the 400 m with a time of 49.68 seconds (her previous PR was 51.15 from May 2021).[2][24]

Achievements

International competitions
Representing the  United States
YearCompetitionVenuePositionEventTimeNotes
2019 IAAF World Relays Yokohama, Japan – 4 × 200 m relay DQ [25]
2021 Olympic Games Tokyo, Japan 3rd 200 m 21.87 +0.8 m/s
2nd 4 × 100 m relay 41.45 SB

National championships
YearCompetitionVenuePositionEventTimeNotes
 Representing New Balance
2019 USATF Indoor Championships Staten Island, New York 2nd 300 m 35.98 [26]
USATF Championships Des Moines, Iowa 8th 200 m DNF -1.2 m/s[27]
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

Circuit wins

References
  1. "Gabrielle Thomas". teamusa.org. USOC. Retrieved February 17, 2023.
  2. "Gabrielle THOMAS – Athlete Profile". World Athletics. Retrieved January 1, 2023.
  3. 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. Retrieved 2021-06-27.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  4. Thomas, Gabrielle (2021-02-21). "Instagram post". Instagram. Archived from the original on 2021-12-25. Retrieved 2021-06-27.
  5. Adam, Kilgore (2021-08-01). "Washington Post profile". The Washington Post.
  6. Dillon, Kevin (2015-05-15). "Williston Northampton's Gabby Thomas to finish decorated track career at NEPSAC Championships Saturday". masslive. Retrieved 2021-07-01.
  7. 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.
  8. 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.
  9. 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.
  10. "Whereabouts Failures". Athletics Integrity Unit. Retrieved 2021-07-01.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  11. Gault, Jonathan (2020-05-01). "Ex-Harvard Sprinter - Yes Harvard - Suspended For Anti-Doping Violation". LetsRun.com. Retrieved 2021-07-02.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  12. Pingue, Frank (2020-07-04). Ferris, Ken (ed.). "Athletics: Sprinter Thomas cleared by AIU in whereabouts failure case". Reuters. Retrieved 2021-07-02.
  13. 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.
  14. 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.
  15. 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.
  16. "200 meters - women". World Athletics. 2021-06-26. Archived from the original on 2021-06-27. Retrieved 2021-06-27.
  17. 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.
  18. "Harvard grad Gabby Thomas wins bronze in women's 200-meter final in Tokyo". CBS News. Retrieved 2021-08-06.
  19. Alford, Jovan C. (2021-08-06). "Jamaica wins women's 4x100-meter relay in dominating fashion". DraftKings Nation. Retrieved 2021-08-06.
  20. "Gabby Thomas '19 Wins Silver Medal With U.S. 4x100m Relay Team at 2020 Tokyo Olympics". Harvard University. Retrieved 2021-08-06.
  21. "Women's 4x100m relay Final - Results | Tokyo 2020 Olympics". Eurosport. Retrieved 2021-08-06.
  22. Mulkeen, Jon (2022-03-26). "Thomas, Harrison and Barnes fly to speedy wind-assisted times at Texas Relays". World Athletics. Retrieved 2022-03-28.
  23. "Sam Kendricks won't defend world pole vault title; U.S. roster named". NBC Sports. July 6, 2022. Retrieved July 6, 2022.
  24. Smith, Gary (April 29, 2023). "Gabby Thomas runs massive 49.68 PB to win 400m at Texas Invitational". World-Track.org. Retrieved April 29, 2023.
  25. 2019 IAAF World Relays – Women's 4 × 200 metres relay Final Results IAAF
  26. 2019 Toyota USATF Indoor Championships February 22nd - February 24th Staten Island, New York, United States Women 300 M USATF.tv via ResultsCentral
  27. 2019 Toyota USATF Championships - 7/25/2019 to 7/28/2019 Drake Stadium Results Women 200 M Nike Flash Results
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