Women's 200m champion Gabby Thomas reveals she almost quit athletics several times

Thomas, who won bronze at the 2020 Tokyo Games and silver at the 2022 World Championships, secured her first global title by defeating 100m champion Julien Alfred and compatriot Brittany Brown.

Reflecting on her journey, Thomas admitted, "Running track in college, there were many times where I thought I would quit. When I went pro, the growing pains of joining a professional training group are real, there are a lot of egos, I didn't think that I was going to 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, I'm going to go pursue other endeavors with my life.'"

Thomas began running at her mother Jennifer Randall's encouragement, who noticed her speed on the soccer field. She ran for Harvard, where she completed a degree in neurobiology, and later earned a Master's in public health from the University of Texas. She also found comfort in her pug, Rico, during tough times.

"In every race that I ran, there were a lot of eyeballs on me,❠Thomas said. "There were a lot of expectations. And that was definitely a lot more pressure. And I had to adapt. That's what all of the best athletes do. That's what all of the greats do. You're forced to adapt when you're faced with a new challenge.â

Thomas described the experience of winning gold at a packed Stade de France: "I envisioned this race over and over from start to finish. I was not prepared for how I was going to feel when I crossed the line as an Olympic champion. There's no way to really prepare yourself for that. Tokyo Olympics was a lot of fun and it was great for me to experience that before coming here. But there is nothing like walking into a stadium of 80,000 people and they're screaming and they're right on top of you. That is a lot of pressure to put on someone and a lot of pressure for us to kind of deal with.â

Thomas' victory marked the first time since 1976 that there was no Jamaican on the podium in the Olympic women's 200m. She claimed her long-sought global title with a dominant performance, finishing in 21.83 seconds. Julien Alfred, who had won Saint Lucia's first Olympic medal in the 100m, took silver in 22.08, and Brittany Brown earned bronze for the US in 22.20.

Julien Alfred expressed her satisfaction with her Olympic performance: "I'm tired. Long five days. I did feel ready for the 200m tonight. I feel good, no complaints at all. This means a lot. First Olympics, to go back with gold and silver, I can't ask for more than that.â

Thomas had arrived in Paris with the world's fastest time of the season, 21.78, and made a strong impression in the semifinals, finishing in 21.86 seconds. British athletes Dina Asher-Smith and Daryll Neita finished fourth and fifth, respectively.

READ MORE: Gabby Thomas powers to Olympic gold in 200m to deny Julien Alfred a sprint double