Gabby Thomas knows what it feels like to look up to track and field stars before eventually becoming one herself. The American sprinter grew up watching and taking inspiration from Usain Bolt as he made history on the biggest stage and won 8 Olympic gold medals, years before she collected her own 3 Olympic gold medals. Despite being familiar with the Jamaican sprint legend, Thomas was unable to recognize him from a childhood photograph. That moment quickly turned into a wave of criticism online, leaving the Olympic champion to publicly address the backlash.
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On September 14, Thomas shared a post on X apologizing for the moment: “I want to genuinely apologize to everyone I upset for not recognizing Usain Bolt in his baby photo the other day on the Olympics social media video. I shouldn’t have laughed about it either. I am so embarrassed. I promise to unpack this and will do better,” Thomas wrote.
The apology came after an Olympics social-media video titled “Can Gabby Thomas recognise these athletics icons when they were younger? 👶” The video featured Thomas trying to identify some of the biggest names in athletics from photographs of them as children, while also promoting the upcoming Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games.
The challenge opened with a childhood photograph of Bolt. Thomas looked at the image but could not work out who it was. “I have no idea who this person is. Can I get a hint? What country?” she said while laughing. Even after being given clues about the athlete’s identity, Thomas could not come up with the name. When she was finally told that the photograph was Bolt, she laughed again and called the childhood picture “adorable.”
For many viewers, however, the moment was not as funny. One fan commented, “I’m not even an athlete but I recognised Bolt immediately he came on maybe she colour blind.” Another wrote, “Bolt is the easiest, that was intentional.”
The reaction became even stronger as viewers watched the rest of the challenge. Thomas easily identified several other athletics stars, including Keely Hodgkinson, Mondo Duplantis and Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone. But when Thomas was shown a childhood photograph of Lyles with his mother, she could not identify him either and appeared surprised when she was told who it was.
The contrast between the different moments became a major talking point among fans. Thomas eventually returned to social media to explain herself: “I grew up watching Usain Bolt among many other Black track athletes. They inspired me and showed my generation of athletes what Black excellence looks like (on and off the track).”
She then explained that the childhood photographs had simply caught her off guard. “I know what he and Noah look like, their baby photos just stumped me. But they shouldn’t have. I would choose to be black in every lifetime,” she added. The Olympic champion also explained why she decided to respond publicly instead of ignoring the criticism.
“I normally wouldn’t respond, but my comments and DMs are being flooded on every social platform. I fear I really upset my community,” Thomas wrote. For an athlete who grew up watching Bolt make history, it was certainly an awkward moment, one she hopes to learn from and move past.