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Gabby Thomas was a dominating force at the 2024 Paris Olympics, and she has the hardware to back it up. The two-time Olympian and track star added three gold medals at the Games this summer, making her a five-time Olympic medalist.
And she's not slowing down anytime soon.
Thomas had a busy offseason following the Summer Olympics and the end of her competition schedule, and although she took a six-week break from training, she still was seemingly everywhere. She graced the cover of Vogue, participated in the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue and attended other sporting events, like the U.S. Open and WNBA games. Thomas — who has a master's in public health from Texas to go with her neurobiology and global health degree from Harvard — also recently got engaged to longtime boyfriend Spencer McManes.
So far this season, Austin-based Thomas raced her way to becoming a Grand Slam Track champion earlier this month in Kingston, Jamaica. She won her 200-meter race at 22.62 and finished second in the 400 — with a personal-best time of 49.14 — to win the meet title for the long sprints group.
For The Win recently caught up with Thomas, who was promoting her partnership with Mrs. Meyer’s Clean Day's Lots of Compassion initiative to transform vacant lots into community gardens. We talked about life since the Olympics, her outlook on the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, what's after her track career and more.
This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity.
God, it's changed so much, right? I got my gold, and then I got to be the grand marshal at the New York City Marathon. I did Sports Illustrated, Forbes 30 Under 30, and then obviously my Vogue cover was huge. So these really, really fun things and great opportunities that I've gotten to experience have been so much fun for me.
But I think what's been really special about it is that I've been able to use my platform to talk about things that I care about, and people get to know me a little bit more, and I get to talk about the clinic work. I get to talk about healthcare, and I get to have these incredible partnerships with brands, like Mrs. Meyer’s and doing these campaigns. And with that, I do feel like I have a little bit of a role-model role where I know that the next generation is looking up to me for inspiration. And so I've just been able to kind of dive into that even more and make a lasting impact.
The Vogue cover, for sure. That was an absolutely surreal moment, and it's not something that's guaranteed because you have an Olympic gold medal. So it was really exciting for me to experience that.
I definitely embraced my inner fashion model there. And I think it's just been really fun learning different things about myself and getting to just dip my toes into new interests and things that I hadn't done before.
Having the Tokyo experience first was really helpful this time around. After the Tokyo Olympics, it was really challenging for me, and I had to just lean on my supporters and those who were close to me. But now, being kind of a vet and having done it once before, it was a little bit of an easier transition, which is really nice. But it's definitely kind of weird, especially now I'm training again, that I just have to put my head down and put one foot in front of the other again [and] just kind of focus so that I will be prepared for my upcoming season. So that takes a lot of, I would say, discipline and experience.
I think two things because it's hard to narrow it on one. But I think the first being that I'm truly capable of achieving anything that I set out to achieve through consistency and dedication. And on another note, I would say that goes for everybody.
The second thing I had learned, going off of that, is the impact that I have as a track and field athlete. And after competing, I think I really saw myself and my idols that I had growing up — like Allyson Felix and Sanya Richards-Ross and thinking about how much of an impact they had on me — and I just realized, coming from this experience, how big of an impact I could potentially have on the next generation too.
Honestly, they're just in a sock drawer in my closet. People always ask me where I keep the medals. I love that I have the medals, but they're really just this physical object that represent my accomplishments. But I don't care too much to look at the medals. I have my memories, and I love the journey and the process of achieving them.
I want people to just kind of to celebrate how I am committed to making a difference in my community and giving back, even if it's in small ways. I think that my journey is kind of a testament to how you can balance athletics at a high level and academics, while also giving back and being an advocate for giving back to your community.
Absolutely, I would love to compete in the LA 2028 Olympics. I think that would be a great Olympics to do, given that it's at home here in America. And then probably retire after that.
Oh, definitely, absolutely! My entire journey and career has started here, and this is my home, and it's the country that I represent so proudly on the global stage. So it means a lot.
When I heard about Mrs. Meyer's Lots of Compassion initiative, I think I was initially inspired because health and well-being is really special to me. Off the track, my focus has been on public health, and I got my master's of public health at the University of Texas, and I've always wanted to kind of help make a difference, especially in communities that need it the most.
I also just love partnering with brands who are in alignment with my values, right? So it's such a perfect fit, and I just I knew I had to be a part of it, especially during this time in the world, when I feel like we really do need compassion the most.
I actually don't have a community garden that I work in. There are a couple of community gardens here in Austin that are absolutely lovely. ... But a lot of the volunteer work that I do now is actually at a healthcare clinic, which provides healthcare and health services to people who don't have access to it otherwise and people who don't have health insurance or are underinsured. So there's definitely a lot of synergies there between myself and what I do off the track and Mrs. Meyer's and the Lots of Compassion campaign.
The clinic itself provides healthcare services to people who don't have it, whether that's routine checkups, chronic disease management, medications, lab work, bright imaging, all of that. I myself run the hypertension intervention program, which is essentially following up with patients and maintaining this holistic and closer relationship with them. Because what we see in the clinic is that, a lot of times, going into the doctor's office is not enough. It's really about what can we be doing with them when they're not actually at the doctor's office that will help them with their overall health? Whether that's mental well-being or physical health.
A lot of times it's just having access to healthy foods. It's being able to go outside and go exercise, and it's really just kind of fostering this community feel, making sure that they trust their healthcare providers, they know that we're compassionate about them and making sure that we can do what we can do to help them. And I think that's so similar to what the Lots of Compassion campaign is actually about, right? It's turning these vacant lots into community gardens and giving individuals and communities a space to go, be outside, to feel good, and it has a big impact on their mental and physical health.
Absolutely, and over the years, of course, my life has changed drastically. My plan A of being in healthcare has definitely taken a backseat for a while, while I'm still in my track career. But I've definitely learned through my work in the clinic that I want to stay in this in this space. I want to do hands-on clinic work. I think before, I had these huge dreams and passions, and I wanted to run a hospital one day. And that could still very well happen, but I'm so passionate about what I do in the clinic, and I will definitely stay involved.
This article originally appeared on For The Win: Q&A: Gabby Thomas talks post-Olympics stardom, where she keeps her Olympic medals and LA 2028
Continue reading...
And she's not slowing down anytime soon.
Thomas had a busy offseason following the Summer Olympics and the end of her competition schedule, and although she took a six-week break from training, she still was seemingly everywhere. She graced the cover of Vogue, participated in the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue and attended other sporting events, like the U.S. Open and WNBA games. Thomas — who has a master's in public health from Texas to go with her neurobiology and global health degree from Harvard — also recently got engaged to longtime boyfriend Spencer McManes.
So far this season, Austin-based Thomas raced her way to becoming a Grand Slam Track champion earlier this month in Kingston, Jamaica. She won her 200-meter race at 22.62 and finished second in the 400 — with a personal-best time of 49.14 — to win the meet title for the long sprints group.
For The Win recently caught up with Thomas, who was promoting her partnership with Mrs. Meyer’s Clean Day's Lots of Compassion initiative to transform vacant lots into community gardens. We talked about life since the Olympics, her outlook on the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, what's after her track career and more.
This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity.
How has your life changed since the Paris Olympics and becoming a three-time Olympic gold medalist?
God, it's changed so much, right? I got my gold, and then I got to be the grand marshal at the New York City Marathon. I did Sports Illustrated, Forbes 30 Under 30, and then obviously my Vogue cover was huge. So these really, really fun things and great opportunities that I've gotten to experience have been so much fun for me.
But I think what's been really special about it is that I've been able to use my platform to talk about things that I care about, and people get to know me a little bit more, and I get to talk about the clinic work. I get to talk about healthcare, and I get to have these incredible partnerships with brands, like Mrs. Meyer’s and doing these campaigns. And with that, I do feel like I have a little bit of a role-model role where I know that the next generation is looking up to me for inspiration. And so I've just been able to kind of dive into that even more and make a lasting impact.
Among all these new experiences, what's something you never imagined you'd do, whether you won Olympic gold or not?
The Vogue cover, for sure. That was an absolutely surreal moment, and it's not something that's guaranteed because you have an Olympic gold medal. So it was really exciting for me to experience that.
I definitely embraced my inner fashion model there. And I think it's just been really fun learning different things about myself and getting to just dip my toes into new interests and things that I hadn't done before.
How challenging is it to go from probably the highest of highs at the Olympics back to regular life afterward?
Having the Tokyo experience first was really helpful this time around. After the Tokyo Olympics, it was really challenging for me, and I had to just lean on my supporters and those who were close to me. But now, being kind of a vet and having done it once before, it was a little bit of an easier transition, which is really nice. But it's definitely kind of weird, especially now I'm training again, that I just have to put my head down and put one foot in front of the other again [and] just kind of focus so that I will be prepared for my upcoming season. So that takes a lot of, I would say, discipline and experience.
What's the biggest thing you learned about yourself either going into the Paris Olympics or coming out of it?
I think two things because it's hard to narrow it on one. But I think the first being that I'm truly capable of achieving anything that I set out to achieve through consistency and dedication. And on another note, I would say that goes for everybody.
The second thing I had learned, going off of that, is the impact that I have as a track and field athlete. And after competing, I think I really saw myself and my idols that I had growing up — like Allyson Felix and Sanya Richards-Ross and thinking about how much of an impact they had on me — and I just realized, coming from this experience, how big of an impact I could potentially have on the next generation too.
Where do you keep your Olympic medals?
Honestly, they're just in a sock drawer in my closet. People always ask me where I keep the medals. I love that I have the medals, but they're really just this physical object that represent my accomplishments. But I don't care too much to look at the medals. I have my memories, and I love the journey and the process of achieving them.
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On or off the track, at the Olympics or not, what's something you wish more people knew about you?
I want people to just kind of to celebrate how I am committed to making a difference in my community and giving back, even if it's in small ways. I think that my journey is kind of a testament to how you can balance athletics at a high level and academics, while also giving back and being an advocate for giving back to your community.
Is it too soon to be thinking about the 2028 LA Games or are you already eyeing a third Olympics?
Absolutely, I would love to compete in the LA 2028 Olympics. I think that would be a great Olympics to do, given that it's at home here in America. And then probably retire after that.
Does it mean a little something extra that the country you compete for is hosting the Olympics?
Oh, definitely, absolutely! My entire journey and career has started here, and this is my home, and it's the country that I represent so proudly on the global stage. So it means a lot.
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What piqued your interest and partnership with Mrs. Meyer’s Clean Day and the Lots of Compassion initiative?
When I heard about Mrs. Meyer's Lots of Compassion initiative, I think I was initially inspired because health and well-being is really special to me. Off the track, my focus has been on public health, and I got my master's of public health at the University of Texas, and I've always wanted to kind of help make a difference, especially in communities that need it the most.
I also just love partnering with brands who are in alignment with my values, right? So it's such a perfect fit, and I just I knew I had to be a part of it, especially during this time in the world, when I feel like we really do need compassion the most.
Do you have a community garden that you work in?
I actually don't have a community garden that I work in. There are a couple of community gardens here in Austin that are absolutely lovely. ... But a lot of the volunteer work that I do now is actually at a healthcare clinic, which provides healthcare and health services to people who don't have access to it otherwise and people who don't have health insurance or are underinsured. So there's definitely a lot of synergies there between myself and what I do off the track and Mrs. Meyer's and the Lots of Compassion campaign.
Can you expand more on what your healthcare volunteering is like?
The clinic itself provides healthcare services to people who don't have it, whether that's routine checkups, chronic disease management, medications, lab work, bright imaging, all of that. I myself run the hypertension intervention program, which is essentially following up with patients and maintaining this holistic and closer relationship with them. Because what we see in the clinic is that, a lot of times, going into the doctor's office is not enough. It's really about what can we be doing with them when they're not actually at the doctor's office that will help them with their overall health? Whether that's mental well-being or physical health.
A lot of times it's just having access to healthy foods. It's being able to go outside and go exercise, and it's really just kind of fostering this community feel, making sure that they trust their healthcare providers, they know that we're compassionate about them and making sure that we can do what we can do to help them. And I think that's so similar to what the Lots of Compassion campaign is actually about, right? It's turning these vacant lots into community gardens and giving individuals and communities a space to go, be outside, to feel good, and it has a big impact on their mental and physical health.
Your track career is far from over, but whenever you decide to hang up your spikes, do you see yourself working in the healthcare space?
Absolutely, and over the years, of course, my life has changed drastically. My plan A of being in healthcare has definitely taken a backseat for a while, while I'm still in my track career. But I've definitely learned through my work in the clinic that I want to stay in this in this space. I want to do hands-on clinic work. I think before, I had these huge dreams and passions, and I wanted to run a hospital one day. And that could still very well happen, but I'm so passionate about what I do in the clinic, and I will definitely stay involved.
This article originally appeared on For The Win: Q&A: Gabby Thomas talks post-Olympics stardom, where she keeps her Olympic medals and LA 2028
Continue reading...
