Gabby Thomas won the women’s 200-meter track race at the Paris Olympics and she’s a Harvard grad in neurobiology who’s trying to change the world.
So when people say she has it all, she understands “where they’re coming from,” she said. But she pushes back at the perception.
“I definitely don’t have it all,” she said. “I could list off so many things I can’t do. I can’t sing. I can’t dance. .. I really really can’t dance.” She’s also a poor swimmer, she added.
“Essentially I can run in a straight line. That’s what I can do. And I can turn left.”
During a recent interview in Manhattan, HuffPost put a few political questions in her path related to her work at a volunteer health clinic in Austin, Texas. She didn’t bite.
“It’s not a very friendly environment to be having this type of discourse right now,” she explained.
But she still urged voters to do their research for the upcoming election and, oh yeah, vote.
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The three-time gold medalist humorously tiptoed into the political realm last month, though. She posted a TikTok in which she lip-synced to a riff on Donald Trump’s “they’re eating the dogs” declaration during the presidential debate. It was by far her most-viewed entry of late.
“Obviously it was absurd commentary,” she said. “It’s just fun to kinda poke fun.”
Even so, she added, “I was a little hesitant to post that video but I figured it was funny enough.”
The 27-year-old sprint star last week was making the rounds on behalf of Eli Lilly and its Milestones into Meaning program to “close the gap” in health equity for the disadvantaged, she said. The drug company said it donated a total of $2.6 million to the cause after contributing $5,000 for each Team USA accomplishment at the Olympics and Paralympics.
Thomas’ own work often focuses on socioeconomic issues facing her uninsured clientele, she said. She quickly listed her items of concern.
“Do you have transportation? Do you have access to a healthy diet? Do you have time to go in your kitchen and actually cook healthy foods? Do you have health literacy? Are you comfortable going into a clinic and asking questions and understanding your health?” said Thomas, who earned a master’s degree in public health at the University of Texas.
She raised her profile on the track considerably by capturing gold medals in the 200, the 4×100 relay and 4×400 relay in Paris ― a marked improvement over her bronze in the 200 and silver in the 4×100 at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021.
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She said Los Angeles 2028 would likely be her last Olympics. On the more immediate horizon are the world championships in Tokyo next September. The pursuit to add to her legacy motivates her. Setting records does not.
Asked what it would take to break the late Florence Griffith Joyner’s elusive 21.34-second world record in the 200, she said: “I think chasing records in our sport is one of the mistakes that you can truly make.”
In the meantime, Thomas was enjoying an extended break from practice that included a Maldives vacation with her boyfriend, Spencer McManes.
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McManes, who works for a data privacy firm and is the founder of a kava seltzer brand, played a bit of football at Yale. But he does not give input on her athletics preparation.
“I wouldn’t really allow that,” Thomas said, laughing. “My training is between my team and I and my coach and I and my [physical therapist] and all of that. … He’s a good balance. It’s good to have someone to come home to who isn’t in the track world.”
The American sprint sensation may not have it all ― but she has a lot.
“I had a purpose,” she explained. “I had a drive.”
