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Gabrielle Thomas

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This article is about the American track and field athlete. For the Emmerdale character, see Gabby Thomas (fictional character).
Gabby Thomas
Thomas at the NCAA Championships in 2018
Personal information
NationalityAmerican
Born (1996-12-07) December 7, 1996 (age 27)[1]
Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.[1]
Home townFlorence, Massachusetts, U.S.
EducationHarvard University
University of Texas at Austin
Williston Northampton School
Height5 ft 10 in (178 cm)[1]
Sport
CountryUnited States
SportTrack and field
EventSprint
Achievements and titles
Personal bests
  • 100m: 11.00 (2021)
  • 200m: 21.61 (2021)
  • 400m: 51.15 (2021)[2]
Medal record
Women's athletics
Representing the United States United States
Olympic Games
Bronze medal – third place 2020 Tokyo 200 m

Gabrielle Thomas (born December 7, 1996)[3] is an American track-and-field athlete. She is the third-fastest woman of all time in the 200 metres with her result of 21.61 seconds, which was set at the 2020 US Olympic trials. She won the bronze medal at the 200 metres event of the 2020 Summer Olympics.

Career

Thomas was born December 7, 1996, in Atlanta, Georgia to Jennifer Randall and Desmond Thomas. She has a twin brother named Andrew.[4] Thomas is African-American on her mother's side and Jamaican on her father's side.[5] 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. [6] Thomas 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, was MVP every year, and was coached by Michelle Lawson.[7][8]

A graduate of Harvard University, she studied neurobiology and global health as an undergraduate.[9] 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.[8] She signed a contract with New Balance and turned pro in October 2018, forgoing her last year of collegiate eligibility.[10]

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,[11] sanctioned with a two-year period of ineligibility. She submitted new evidence in June to invalidate one failure, and was finally cleared in July.[12][13]

Thomas experienced a health scare in 2021 when an MRI revealed a tumor on her liver, but it turned out to be benign.[14] She is pursuing a master's degree at the University of Texas at Austin in epidemiology.[9][15]

Thomas represented the United States in the 200 meter race at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.[16] Her time of 21.61 seconds in the event at the United States Olympic trials on June 26th, 2021 was the third-fastest ever, surpassed only by world record holder Florence Griffith-Joyner.[3] 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]

At the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, Thomas won a bronze medal, running in the finals with a time of 21.87, behind Elaine Thompson Herah (gold) and Christine Mboma (silver).

Achievements

Circuit wins

Olympics

Year Competition Venue Position Notes
Representing  United States
2020 Olympic Games Tokyo, Japan 3rd 21.87

References

  1. ^ a b c "Gabrielle Thomas". teamusa.org. USOC. Retrieved July 28, 2021.
  2. ^ "Gabrielle Thomas Profile". World Athletics. 2021-06-26. Archived from the original on 2021-06-14. Retrieved 2021-06-27.
  3. ^ a b "200 meters - women". World Athletics. 2021-06-26. Archived from the original on 2021-06-27. Retrieved 2021-06-27.
  4. ^ 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)
  5. ^ Thomas, Gabrielle (2021-02-21). "Instagram post". Instagram. Retrieved 2021-06-27.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  6. ^ Adam, Kilgore (2021-08-01). "Washington Post profile".
  7. ^ Dillon, Kevin (2015-05-15). "Williston Northampton's Gabby Thomas to finish decorated track career at NEPSAC Championships Saturday". masslive. Retrieved 2021-07-01.
  8. ^ a b 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.
  9. ^ a b 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.
  10. ^ 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.
  11. ^ "Whereabouts Failures". Athletics Integrity Unit. Retrieved 2021-07-01.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  12. ^ 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)
  13. ^ Pingue, Frank (2020-07-04). Ferris, Ken (ed.). "Athletics: Sprinter Thomas cleared by AIU in whereabouts failure case". Reuters. Retrieved 2021-07-02.
  14. ^ 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.
  15. ^ 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.
  16. ^ 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.
  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.
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