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With a time of 21.83, Gabby Thomas<\/strong><\/a> won the gold medal in the women\u2019s 200-meter final at the 2024 Paris Olympics on Tuesday, Aug. 6, solidifying her status as one of the fastest athletes in the world.<\/p>\n The 27-year-old athlete previously took home a bronze medal in the women\u2019s 200-meter and a silver medal in the women\u2019s 4\u00d7100-meter relay during her Olympic debut at the Tokyo Games in 2021. She also ran as part of the gold-medal-winning 4\u00d7100-meter relay team at the 2023 World Athletics Championships.<\/p>\n But being an Olympian is just one of the many remarkable aspects of this star sprinter from Northampton, Massachusetts. Along with her track accolades, Thomas holds a bachelor\u2019s degree in neurobiology from Harvard University and a master\u2019s degree in public health from the University of Texas Health Science Center.<\/p>\n In a press conference following her victory, she said, \u201cI want to inspire the youth\u2026 to find their passions and be successful. I want young girls to look at us [medal winners] as strong female athletes and feel like they can do it, too.\u201d<\/p>\n But as Thomas told NBC News<\/a>, she credits her success to \u201cbasically running track part-time\u201d and \u201chaving other things in my life that helped fulfill my goals and make me feel fulfilled.\u201d<\/p>\n In the months leading up to the Games, Thomas trained three to six hours a day, but in the evenings, she volunteered at a healthcare clinic in Austin, serving people without insurance.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s everything to know about Team USA\u2019s track star, whose pursuit of gold is apparently an intense \u201cside hustle.\u201d<\/p>\n Gabrielle Lisa \u201cGabby\u201d Thomas was born on December 7, 1996, in Atlanta, Georgia, to Jennifer Randall<\/strong> and Desmond Thomas<\/strong>, who is originally from Jamaica.<\/p>\n She has a twin brother, Andrew<\/strong>, and three younger siblings\u2014Desi<\/strong>, Tyler<\/strong>, and Kim<\/strong>.<\/p>\n The sprinter stands at 5 feet, 10 inches tall, according to her official Olympic profile<\/a>.<\/p>\n Thomas credits Allyson Felix<\/strong> as the reason she started running track. Although she played sports like softball and soccer in grade school, it wasn\u2019t until she saw Felix running in the U.S. Olympic Trials for the 2008 Beijing Games on television at her grandmother\u2019s house that she considered seriously pursuing track. She told Andscape<\/a>, \u201cI was always a fan watching her. I loved her grace and she\u2019s so accomplished.\u201d<\/p>\n Thomas became the seventh American woman to claim gold in the 200 meters and the first since Felix in 2012.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s really easy to fall in love with running,\u201d the late bloomer to the sport told USA Today<\/a>. \u201cIt can be painful at times, but it\u2019s such a beautiful sport. You set goals and go after them in the purest form \u2014 and when you achieve those goals, it\u2019s such an addicting feeling.\u201d<\/p>\n Academics were always a priority for Thomas, who told NBC News<\/em> that she was inspired to succeed at the highest level by her single mother, who waitressed and took classes to become a professor while raising her children.<\/p>\n Her hard work paid off with admission to Harvard University, where she studied neurobiology, minored in global health and health policy, and earned a citation in French. One of the classes she took, which focused on disparities in the U.S. healthcare system and their impact on people of color, inspired her to pursue a master\u2019s in public health at the University of Texas, which she completed in May 2023.<\/p>\n College was also where Thomas\u2019 track career took off. According to her official Olympics profile, she won an impressive 22 conference titles in six different track events during her time as a student and became the first NCAA sprint champion in Ivy League history, with a winning time of 22.38 seconds in her now-signature 200-meter race.<\/p>\n As part of her master\u2019s program, Thomas wrote a paper on sleep epidemiology\u2014specifically, how different populations sleep and the barriers to good sleep faced by Black people in particular.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is most definitely the most important part of my training, and I can\u2019t stress that enough,\u201d Thomas told AP News<\/a>. She reportedly begins her sleep routine by 8 p.m. most nights, turning off all her digital devices.<\/p>\n \u201cAs you mature as an athlete, you realize just how important sleep is,\u201d Thomas told The Washington Post<\/a>. \u201cNot just to be an elite athlete, but just to be a functional human.\u201d<\/p>\n To follow all her passions, this athlete takes a balanced approach, ensuring she makes time for rest and recovery.<\/p>\n \u201cThe way I became successful in track and field was basically running track part time, and I think for me, that\u2019s really important for my mental health,\u201d Thomas explained to\u00a0NBC\u2019s Kate Snow<\/strong><\/a>. \u201cJust having other things in my life that help fulfill my goals and make me feel fulfilled.\u201d<\/p>\n That includes volunteering at the Austin clinic and spending time with her furry companion.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen things aren\u2019t going super well, it\u2019s easy to feel like I\u2019m a failure. Instead of dwelling on that, I got a friend. Adopting Rico is the best thing I ever did,\u201d Thomas said.<\/p>\n In the \u201chobbies\u201d section of Thomas\u2019s Olympics profile, it only mentions her pug Rico.<\/p>\n Thomas\u00a0told Women\u2019s Running<\/em><\/a>\u00a0that she adopted the dog when she moved to Austin and didn\u2019t have any people friends yet, and called him her \u201csavior\u201d during tough times in her grad program or on the track.<\/p>\n Rico also has his own Instagram account<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\nBackground<\/h2>\n
Love for Running<\/h2>\n
Harvard Graduate<\/h2>\n
Prioritizes Sleep<\/h2>\n
Mental Health<\/h2>\n
Proud Dog Mom<\/h2>\n