Olympic champion Gabby Thomas explain the intense nature of competing in relays, highlighting the mandatory requirement to be a cut above the rest.
Olympic 200m champion Gabby Thomas has opened up about the different mindsets an athlete needs to adapt to when competing in various sprints events.
The American, 28, who managed three Olympic gold medals in Paris, said although all the sprint races require maximum concentration, she maintains that the 4x100m relays require one to have a bulletproof mentality.
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In an interview with A Touch More with Sue Bird & Megan Rapinoe podcast, Thomas, who was recognised as the Ivy League Most Outstanding Track Performer in 2017 and 2018, said: “When you are a sprinter and we have the relays, when it comes to the Olympics, that’s the weirdest transition. We are actual competitors and the 4x100m relay is actually the shortest sprinting event.”
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Her thoughts further reveal the contradictory dynamics of participating in individual sprint and relay events. Although Thomas is predominantly a 100-meter and 200-meter sprinter, she was part of the USA relay team that bagged gold in the relays in Paris. The Georgia-born runner opines that competition in relays is so intense, comparing it to a teaining session.
“You want to rip each other’s heads off like literally every other second of the sport. Like we’re training against each other, we’re competing against each other, and it’s literally intense competition where you have to be just in a different head space, in a different mindset, like these are not your friends.”
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Thomas, who began her professional track career in 2018, revealed that relays require team training for purposes of creating synergy and trust amongst each other. “For the relays, you have to train together, trust each other and be part of the team. That’s definitely a switch that the relays have to contend with in the 4×100 and 4×400 relays.”
The Tokyo Olympics bronze medallist is set to compete in four legs of the inaugural Michael Johnson Grand Slam Track event that will be staged in Kingston, Jamaica, in April. Aside from track and field, Gabby Thomas is also an academic giant. A graduate of Harvard University, she studied neurobiology and global health as undergraduate. She has a master of public health degree in Epidemiology.