Gabby Thomas reveals the ultimate reason why she decided to take up track as a career 

By Adityan Pillai

Modified Oct 29, 2024 00:44 GMT

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Gabby Thomas spoke about why she decided to pursue track among other sports. The American athlete expressed how she loved the individual aspect of the sport and the fact that learning never stops while competing on the professional circuit.

Thomas competed in the 2024 season intending to qualify to make her second appearance at the quadrennial games in Paris. After having a slow start in the early outdoor season, which included a sixth-place finish at the LA Grand Prix, she got hold of her momentum and put forward a dominant performance in the women's 200m at the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials to qualify for the Paris Olympics.

Gabby Thomas competed in three events at the quadrennial Games in the French capital: the 200m, 4x100m, and 4x400m. The 27-year-old emerged victorious in all three events and concluded her campaign with three gold medals.

After concluding one of the most successful seasons of her career, Thomas spoke about why she decided to take up track during an interview with New Balance.

" I think I ended up choosing track because you can always get better you can always improve, you can always be a better athlete, be a better version of yourself and that's such a beautiful thing about track and field. We can count medals and we can count wins but you're always kind of racing yourself so, I fell in love with that," she said.

Gabby Thomas on receiving the initial push to pursue track from her mother

Gabby Thomas at the Olympic Games-Paris 2024 - Source: Getty

Gabby Thomas spoke about being forced into track and field by her mother when she was young. The Olympic gold medalist revealed how soccer was her first choice initially as a young athlete and she had signed up for softball after being inspired by her friends.

"Mom, I want to thank you so much for forcing me to do track and field. Thank you. You knew what you were doing," Thomas said. "I originally chose softball; I wanted to do it with my friends, you know, track and field was not my first love, soccer was. My friends were doing softball, so I signed up, but, my mother had another idea, and I don't know. You know about black households, you don't really get to talk back."

Along with track, Thomas continued to pursue her education which includes a bachelor's degree in neurobiology and global health from Harvard University followed by a master's degree in epidemiology from the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston.