The American sprinter won three gold medals at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games but just one of them means a lot for her. Which one is it?
Multiple Olympics champion Gabby Thomas has opened up on how her 200m gold medal from the Paris 2024 Games is the one cherishes the most.
Thomas matched Allyson Felix’s feat of winning three Olympics gold medals at one event when she floored her track rivals to clinch the 200m title before joining Team USA colleagues to bring home the 4x100m and 4x400m relay gold medals.
However, the individual event holds a special place in the 28-year-old’s heart as she considers it a result of many years of hard work, perseverance and dedication.
The American sprint queen has defended her decision to fire back hater who questioned whether she is intelligent enough while opening up on challenges women in sport face.
“It’s a no-brainer for me, it has got to be my 200m gold medal,” Thomas said on Not Gonna Lie with Kyle Kelce.
“The relay medals are incredible, I love them. It is part of the team, a bit different for track and field but that 200m medal is so many years in the making and I know I was out there running by myself but it really kind of the team effort that goes into it.”
Thomas’ first-ever Olympics medal was a bronze in the 200m at the delayed 2020 Tokyo Games while she improved to silver at the 2023 World Championships over the distance.
However, in Paris, she clocked 21.83 seconds to beat St Lucia’s Julien Alfred (22.08) and fellow American Brittany Brown (22.20) for her first gold medal and she says it took the weight off her shoulders as well as her team who work tirelessly to ensure she is successful.
“So many people on the line like my coach, physio, training partners, agent, my family and friends who help me get to the line and that is why I felt like it was embodying that moment and so it meant so much,” she added.
“And it was not just about that one race but the years of preparations that went into it. All the hard work and sacrifices and I felt all of that in that one moment.”
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Thomas, who clinched three gold medals at the Paris Olympic games, has explained why she is still wary of Shericka Jackson’s return this season.
Thomas’ critics have claimed she won the 200m gold because defending champion Elaine Thompson-Herah and world champion Shericka Jackson were missing but she has a chance to silence her doubters at the 2025 World Championships when she will be up against those two, plus others, in Tokyo, Japan in September.
