Gabby Thomas, a Harvard graduate with a master’s degree in public health, triumphed in the 200-meter sprint Wednesday night at the Stade de France. Her victory marked the first gold medal for a U.S. track athlete in this event since 2012. Thomas clocked in at 21.83 seconds, securing the top spot. Julien Alfred of St. Lucia took silver with a time of 22.08, while Brittany Brown of the U.S. earned bronze, finishing at 2.20.
The U.S. continues to dominate the track and field competition. Thomas’s win adds to the Americans’ gold medal count, bringing their total to five – a figure no other country has surpassed. Cole Hocker, in a surprising turn of events, secured gold in the 1500m earlier Tuesday. Expected to be a two-man duel between Josh Kerr of Great Britain and Norway’s Jakob Ingebrigtsen, Hocker surged ahead in the final stretch, setting a new Olympic record in the process.
Overall, the United States has accumulated 16 track and field medals so far, with Kenya and Jamaica trailing closely behind with four medals each.
Thomas’s rise in the global rankings has been steady, progressing from bronze in Tokyo to silver at last year’s world championships and now gold. Notably, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, the defending world champion from Jamaica, withdrew from the 100-meter and 200-meter races in Paris due to a hamstring injury. Jackson’s absence positioned Thomas as the clear favorite, a position she did not disappoint.
Thomas’s mother, Jennifer Randall, a University of Michigan education professor, encouraged her daughter to run from a young age. Thomas’s track and field journey took shape during her junior year of high school in Massachusetts. Harvard recruited her for the 100m, 200m, long jump, and triple jump. In 2018, Thomas secured the 200-meter NCAA title.
Upon graduation, she moved to Austin to train for the Tokyo Olympics, which were postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. At the 2021 U.S. Olympic track and field trials, Thomas clocked a remarkable 21.61 seconds, a time only surpassed by the legendary Florence Griffith-Joyner.
Thomas’s arrival on the scene was undeniable. Following her bronze medal in the 200-meter at the Tokyo Olympics, she contributed to the U.S. team’s gold medal win in the 4×100 relay. Off the track, Douglas completed her master’s degree in 2023 at the University of Texas, focusing her research on racial disparities in sleep epidemiology. “African Americans were more likely to have issues with sleep for social reasons and biological reasons,” she explained before the Olympics. “It led them to have lower life expectancy.”
When not competing on the track, Thomas works as the director of the hypertension program at the Volunteer Healthcare Clinic, providing medical services to uninsured patients. She manages volunteers and interacts with patients. This fall, Thomas will be featured at a women’s-only track event sponsored by Alexis Ohanian, co-founder of Reddit and founder of the venture-capital fund 776. The 776 Invitational, to be held in New York City, will offer a $60,000 first-place prize for race winners, significantly exceeding the earnings offered by leading pro-track circuits.
Thomas’s work at these Games is not yet finished, as she is still slated to participate in the relay events. She could potentially compete in the 4×100 final on Friday and the 4×400 final on Saturday.
But first, she will stand alone at the top of the podium as the 200-meter champion.