"I told my agents I’m out and I’m done": Gabby Thomas speaks on struggles she had to overcome to win her maiden Olympic gold medal at Paris 2024

By Marie Amani

Modified Aug 07, 2024 16:11 GMT

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Gabby Thomas opened up on adversities she overcame to claim her first Olympic gold medal in the women’s 200m at the Paris Olympics. Thomas noted that at some point, she contemplated quitting the sport.

Competing in the 200m final, Thomas outpaced Julien Alfred and Brittany Brown to win in great fashion. The American clocked 21.83 to cross the finish line first.

Alfred, the reigning Olympic 100m champion clocked 22.08 to finish second in the tightly-contested race as another American, Brown, rounded up the podium in a time of 22.20.

After claiming the win, Gabby Thomas went down memory lane to the time she wanted to quit when she was competing in college despite winning medals and making every race count at Harvard University.

As quoted by the Players’ Tribune on X, Gabby Thomas pointed out that going professional was one of the toughest ordeals she faced. The American thought she was not meant to be in the sport following the challenges. At some point, she emailed her agents about hanging up her spikes.

"Running track in college, there were many times where I thought I would quit. There were many times where I wanted my life to go in a different direction … Growing pains of joining a professional training group are real," Thomas said.

"There are a lot of egos. There are just a lot of moving parts. A lot of things going on. I didn’t think that I was gonna be cut out for it. I told my agents I’m out and I’m done. I wrote an email. I said I’m done running professionally and I’m gonna go pursue other endeavors with my life," she added.

However, Thomas added that it was those challenges that made her rise to the top and make headlines as one of the greatest 200m runners.

She claimed a silver medal behind Shericka Jackson in the women’s 200m final at the World Championships in Budapest, Hungary before playing in important role the USA claiming the women’s 4x100m relay title.

Thomas won her maiden Olympic title in the 200m after winning a bronze medal in the delayed 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games.

"But it’s a part of overcoming the challenges and I think I’m at a point where I’m committed. I love what I do right now and I am sticking with it, but there are absolutely moments where I had those doubts," Thomas said.

"I was confident before that": Gabby Thomas speaks on Shericka Jackson’s absence from women’s 200m at Paris Olympics

Gabby Thomas speaks on Shericka Jackson’s absence from women’s 200m at Paris Olympics- Source: Getty Images

Gabby Thomas has claimed that Shericka Jackson’s withdrawal from the women’s 200m at the Paris Olympics did not change anything about her execution of the race.

Thomas explained that the race was not easy and she had to dig deep for a win since she was going up against a powerful field including Julien Alfred, Brittany Brown, Daryll Neita, and Dina Asher-Smith.

Speaking during a post-race press conference, Gabby Thomas said:

"I have been doing really well in the 200m all season so I wouldn’t say that I was relieved when Shericka pulled out. I was confident before that and I was confident going into the race. I had the Olympic champion running next to me and Brittany was also next to me. The race wasn’t over until it was over."

Shericka Jackson pulled out a few hours before the start of the women’s 200m first round. She withdrew from the 100m and will not contest in the relay.

Circumstances surrounding her withdrawal are not clear. She pulled up an injury competing at the Gyulai István Memorial, competing in the 200m, and has not raced since.