Gabby Thomas is a force to be reckoned with.

Olympic Champion

The track star and Harvard University alum just won her first gold medal at the 2024 Olympics for the 200-meter sprint on Aug. 6, 2024. She finished with an impressive time of 21.83 seconds, NBC News mentions.

“You prepare for this moment and train so hard for this moment, but when it actually comes, it’s indescribable,” Thomas, 27, told the outlet. “I never would have imagined in my wildest dreams that I would become an Olympic gold medalist, and I am one. I’m still wrapping my head around that.”

Making History As A Harvard Alum

This isn’t Thomas’ first medal on the global stage. She has also earned a silver medal in Budapest, Hungary, at the 2023 World Championships and ahead of the Paris Olympics she won the 2024 London Diamond League, running a time of 21.82 seconds. In 2021, she earned a Bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics, making history as the first Harvard women’s track alum to win a medal.

 

Thomas’ track record in her sport is impressive, and she told NBC News she hopes to be an inspiration to young girls that they can pursue their interests on and off the field. She is living by example, having obtained an undergraduate degree in neurobiology and global health from Harvard University in 2019, the Ivy League school’s website notes. Fulfilling her degree was also done in the midst of earning 22 conference titles across six events and breaking school and Ivy League records in the 100m, 200m, and indoor 60m-races, her NBC Olympics profile states. She also became the first NCAA sprint champion in the Ivy League by winning the 200m race as a junior.

Upon leaving Harvard, she continued her studies at the University of Texas and completed a master’s degree in public health accompanied by a capstone project that centered sleep epidemiology by 2023, per her Olympics profile.

Inspiring The Youth

When Thomas is not competing, she is currently spending some of her time volunteering at an Austin, TX, clinic that helps the uninsured population and is running a hypertension program.

Her overarching goal is to open her own hospital or nonprofit to make health care more accessible.

“I want to inspire the youth to continue to find their passions and be successful. I want young girls to look at us as strong female athletes and feel like they can do it too,” she said during a press conference. “I want them to feel like they’re encouraged to go into professional sports. I want them to feel encouraged to pursue their dreams no matter how big or small. I hope when they look at me and they see what I do they’re inspired to work hard. They’re inspired to be kind to people and to give back to their communities when they can, and if I can leave that message with the world then I’ve done my job.”