Gabby Thomas is a rising American sprinter who won an individual bronze and a team silver medal at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. She is the third-fastest woman of all time. Earlier, Gabby clocked in a breathtaking 21.61-second result in the 200 meters event at the US Olympic trials. This qualified her for Tokyo 2020. Additionally, Gabby Thomas has a degree in neurobiology from Harvard University. She is pursuing her master’s in epidemiology from the University of Texas.

What do we know about Gabby Thomas?

Gabrielle Thomas was born on December 7, 1996, to Jennifer Randall and Desmond Thomas. The sprinter first joined the track and field team in high school. She continued through college, where she set many records. While Thomas initially had no interest in running track professionally, she was inspired by Allyson Felix. Felix is a six-time Olympic gold medalist and a childhood role model for Thomas. Gabby remembers when she sat at her grandmother’s house, watching the star sprinter rack up medals to her name on TV. Now Thomas and Felix are a part of the same team.

Thomas competed on soccer and softball teams as a kid, even joining basketball in high school. But a career in running hadn’t crossed her mind yet. Soon enough, however, her speed on the soccer pitch translated to the running track.

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She set school records and won MVP awards and quickly became one of the best in the state of Massachusetts.

Starting off her track and field career

Thomas’ mother, Jennifer, was a Duke University alumna and wanted Gabby to follow the same path. However, Thomas received a standing offer from Harvard to join the athletics team and compete in the 100m, 200m, long jump, and triple jump. In the end, she chose Harvard and went on to win 22 conference titles in six different events, and set records in the 100 meters, 200 meters, and the indoor 60 meters for the Ivy League. She also won the 2018 NCAA 200m indoor title. All this was in her three years of athletics at the collegiate level. She decided to forgo her senior year collegiate eligibility to turn pro in 2018 and signed a contract with New Balance.

Now pursuing her master’s at the University of Texas, a degree in epidemiology and healthcare management isn’t her only purpose for moving to Texas. It is in close proximity to the Buford Bailey Track Club.

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The Buford Bailey Track Club is a group of Black women helmed by three-time Olympian Tonja Buford-Bailey. Now, Thomas trains under the guidance of coach Bailey.

Thomas’ stint at Harvard

Thomas was not just an athletic wunderkind but also showed great intellectual ability. In her freshman year, she sat in a seminar called ‘Sick and tired of being sick and tired. It detailed health disparities among African-Americans. This had a big impact on Thomas. While she had enrolled at Harvard with her sole academic focus on neurobiology, public health policy became increasingly important to her.

There, she learned about the Tuskegee experiment. In this, almost 400 Black men were told by the U.S. government they were being treated for syphilis for free. In reality, the disease was being allowed to spread so the effects could be studied. This made her angry and, with a push from her mother, she decided to delve deeper into global health.

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Not only is Gabby Thomas an Olympic star athlete with a bright future in track and field, but she is also an effervescent 24-year-old on the track to becoming an epidemiologist.