Gabrielle Thomas is the USA’s best on and off the track

Gabrielle “Gabby” Thomas is one of the best sprinters in the entire world, but it’s safe to say she is almost definitively the smartest. She is a graduate of Harvard University which is known for a lot of things, yet track and field isn’t one of them. She became an NCAA champion indoors in the 200 meter dash, before anyone was really paying attention, and since that point she became an Olympic bronze medalist in that event. In fact she was the only American to even make the final. Yet nobody seems to have her as a favorite to win even the American championship in 2023, which is surprising because you should never count her out of just about anything. Believe it or not Gabby Thomas is probably America’s best bet to win the 200 meter dash at the World Championships, because she is a winner at almost anything she sets her mind to, and all her opponents, and her classmates know it.

Gabby Thomas is underrated 

First things first, Gabby Thomas has always been exceptional on and off the track. She graduated from Harvard with a degree in neurobiology, so that requires no explanation. But in high school the fastest recorded time that she has on MileSplit is just 12.06 seconds in the 100 meter dash, with no 200s on record. The thing is she was your typical big fish in a small pond, who could win the 100, long jump, and triple jump for her private high school with little more than her natural ability to do it. As quietly as it is kept Harvard is legitimate in track and field. Although though they normally don’t dominate the nation, they certainly win a lot of meets in the Northeast region. So it should be no surprise that with high level coaching, she took off immediately.

As a freshman at her first indoor conference championship in the Ivy League she won the 60, 200, and long jump, which makes sense because she was always better than advertised! She ran the table outdoors in the conference, won the IC4A championship in the 200 which is basically a track and field version of the basketball NIT, and got bronze at the NCAA championships in the 200, but remember that was only her freshman year. It should come as no surprise, that woman would go on to win the NCAA championship indoor later in her career, and break the collegiate record when she did it.

Gabby Thomas has already proven herself

So here we are, just a few short years later and Gabby has now shocked the world by winning an Olympic medal in the 2021. But if you were actually paying attention you should have seen it coming. She even won the Olympic Trials in a time of 21.61, which is good enough for fourth fastest all-time. That means that literally, only the past 2 Olympic champions are actually faster than her in the game right now, so on American soil, it is really her race to lose. The only reason she lost in 2022 was because she tore her hamstring during the outdoor season. She tried to run through it but was unable to perform at her best, so America went into the World Championships without her. That is perhaps the only reason most fans have already forgotten her name. Fortunately, she is back now. She is the American champion once again, beating Sha’carri Richardson at the USA meet, in a race that wasn’t even close. But her 400 is proof that she has more in the tank because she’s already run 49.68 which by itself would have gotten her third at the World Championships in 2022. A competition that did not have one American make the final either, perhaps because she wasn’t entered in it.

 The Bottom Line

Gabby Thomas has already done the unthinkable, but her talent suggests there is more to accomplish. She’s not even your average pro athlete because when she left Harvard early to go pro she completed that degree, and started another one. She is completing a master’s degree in epidemiology while training out of the University of Texas! When track and field is over she will make a difference in the world quite literally working to save lives. The same world that she is conquering by running faster than almost any woman has ever done. So it is clear that it’s not how you start, but how you finish, and Gabby Thomas is all about finishing well when a championship is on the line. You can count her out if you want to, but all the evidence says that is a bad idea.

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