{"id":1203549141,"date":"2023-11-06T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-11-06T14:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/footwearnews.com\/?p=1203549141"},"modified":"2023-11-07T10:03:37","modified_gmt":"2023-11-07T15:03:37","slug":"gabby-thomas-interview-new-balance-2024-olympics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/footwearnews.com\/business\/business-news\/gabby-thomas-interview-new-balance-2024-olympics-1203549141\/","title":{"rendered":"Olympic Sprinter Gabby Thomas Is a Triple Threat: Brilliant, Beautiful and Wicked Fast\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"


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Gabby Thomas is having a hearty laugh.<\/p>\n

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It\u2019s mid-October and rumors surfaced that the sprinter was headed to the Big Apple to run the TCS New York City Marathon. But the highly decorated athlete, who, at 26, already has four medals from the Olympic Games and World Championships, assures us she\u2019s only attending as a spectator.<\/p>\n

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\u201cI\u2019m going there to support the athletes and hang out with the New Balance team. I have a couple of friends who are running, but I am definitely not \u2014 at all,\u201d said the New Balance-sponsored track star, chuckling at this most preposterous of ideas. \u201cMaybe one day \u2014 maybe a half-marathon long after I retire.\u201d<\/p>\n

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And retirement for Thomas \u2014 who gamely posed for her FN cover shoot last month on a track near her home in Austin, Texas \u2014 is far in the distance. In fact, she\u2019s only getting started.<\/p>\n

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\u201cI feel like I am really trending upward in my career. I have become a mature type of athlete and I\u2019m at a point in my career where I feel very strong, very confident,\u201d said Thomas. \u201cI understand myself as an athlete and I understand the sport more. I feel secure going into the Olympic year.\u201d (The 2024 Summer Olympic Games will take place in Paris, July 26\u2013Aug. 11.)<\/p>\n

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This year, alone, Thomas has turned in some stellar performances both on and off the track.<\/p>\n

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At the 2023 World Athletics Championships in Budapest in August, she claimed a silver in the 200 meters with a time of 21.81 seconds. And then went on to win gold as part of Team USA in the women\u2019s 4×100-meter relay final.<\/p>\n

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Additionally, earlier in the season, at the Texas Invitational in Austin, she secured a personal record in the 400 meters with a time of 49.68 seconds, besting her previous PR from May 2021.<\/p>\n

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All this while also completing a master\u2019s degree at the University of Texas at Austin in the spring.<\/p>\n

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For Thomas, the wins this year are even more meaningful as they represent a comeback story. Last year, she was sidelined by a grade 2 hamstring strain that prevented her from qualifying for the U.S. team at the 2022 World Championships.<\/p>\n

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But she is not a woman who is easily deterred. \u201cI always talk about the medals for our country and winning and the attention, but you can\u2019t just do it for that; there has to be this intrinsic desire, to go better myself, to be the best athlete I can be, to want to see improvement every day. That\u2019s what gets me out of bed.\u201d<\/p>\n

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And while she admits to having days where she\u2019s unmotivated, those are the moments when training and discipline kick in. \u201cThe motivation isn\u2019t really what wins you medals. It\u2019s the discipline that wins the medals,\u201d Thomas said.<\/p>\n

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Gabby Thomas stars on the Nov. 6 issue of Footwear News.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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Gearing Up<\/h2>\n

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At the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, Thomas will face tough competition in the 200 meters from Jamaica\u2019s Shericka Jackson. In Budapest, Jackson defended her world title with a time of 21.41 seconds \u2014 just .07 off the world record set by Florence Griffith-Joyner in 1988. Another top competitor in the 200 is American Sha\u2019Carri Richardson<\/a>, who took home bronze at the event.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThe world records are being eyed in a lot of the women\u2019s events right now, especially the sprints,\u201d said Thomas. \u201cThat\u2019s definitely on my mind and I\u2019m aware of it. But right now, I\u2019m thinking about what I can be doing to just better myself and keep medals in the U.S.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Next year, the country\u2019s hopes for gold will be pinned on Thomas.<\/p>\n

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USA Track & Field, the national governing body for running sports, noted that she is the second-fastest 200-meter runner the U.S. has ever seen, behind only Griffith-Joyner. \u201cWe\u2019re excited at the potential of seeing Gabby on another Olympic team and looking forward to what\u2019s in store for 2024,\u201d said a spokesperson for USATF.<\/p>\n

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And if you ask Thomas, she\u2019s ready to bring it home. \u201cMy goal is to win gold. I feel like I\u2019m there mentally. I feel like I can get there physically,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

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Her sponsor, New Balance, will be behind her all the way. \u201cSimply put, she is one of the best female sprinters globally. Her performances on the track alone make her a standout sensation,\u201d said Pete Riley, head of running sports marketing at New Balance. \u201cAn Olympic 200-meter bronze in Tokyo put a stake in the ground as a world-class athlete and a contender for major championship medals for years to come.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Former Olympian and Saysh founder<\/a> Allyson Felix, who specialized in the 200 for more than a decade, also expressed confidence in Thomas\u2019 ability to succeed next year. \u201cGabby had a great year and delivered an exciting performance at the World Championships. It was especially impressive coming back from injury,\u201d said Felix. \u201cI think she will continue to shine in 2024 and be a huge asset to the USA with her combination of speed, strength and versatility.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\"Gabby
Gabby Thomas wears the New Balance Fresh Foam X 1080v13 sneakers, which she said are her “go-to shoes for life.” <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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The Prep Work<\/h2>\n

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When FN spoke with her last month, Thomas was in the middle of a six-week off-period, but was due to begin her preseason training on Nov. 1, to start preparing for the U.S. Olympic team trials in Eugene, Ore., in June.<\/p>\n

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\u201c[Preseason is] just about getting in volume \u2014 so a lot of running, establishing a base. That way we\u2019re strong and we\u2019re not getting injured,\u201d said Thomas.<\/p>\n

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She noted that the biggest challenge in the preseason is making sure she peaks at the right time \u2014 which is not at the Olympics but at the trials. \u201cThat\u2019s very unique to our country because we have so much talent,\u201d she said. \u201cYou have to be at your best just to get on the team, and then you have to maintain that for the next month or so for the Olympics.\u201d<\/p>\n

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In terms of distances, after her strong showing in the 400 meters earlier this year, Thomas is thinking of moving up to that event at the trials. But she\u2019s still fully dedicated to the 200: \u201cI don\u2019t even think I\u2019ve hit my full potential in it yet. I just keep getting better at it each year.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Aside from the physical is the mental preparation. Thomas recognizes that the 2024 Summer Games will be very different from her first Olympics in Tokyo, which were held mid-pandemic with no spectators<\/a>. \u201cIn Tokyo, there was nothing \u2014 nobody was there. We finished our races and we didn\u2019t have to do anything. It wasn\u2019t this huge, distracting, like, craziness. [Budapest] was my first time experiencing that, and I do think I learned a lot from it,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

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Over recent years, many sports and entertainment pundits have noted the declining importance of the Olympics among Americans. For instance, the Tokyo Games were the least-watched primetime Olympics on record, with an average 15.6 million viewers per night across NBC\u2019s television and digital platforms.<\/p>\n

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But with the 2024 competition set in a centrally located city (so her family and friends can actually watch it live), Thomas is hopeful the games can again serve as a unifying moment. \u201cPeople didn\u2019t feel like they could celebrate the Tokyo Olympics properly because of all of the craziness around it,\u201d she said. \u201cNow I think it\u2019s going to bring the world together in a good way.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Gabby Thomas wears the New Balance Fresh Foam X 1080v13 “Starlight” sneakers. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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Academic Ambitions<\/h2>\n

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Thomas\u2019s achievements on the track are only one part of her lofty accomplishments. She\u2019s also excelled in academics.<\/p>\n

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After completing her undergraduate degree at Harvard University, studying neurobiology and global health, she this year received her master\u2019s in epidemiology and health care management from the University of Texas Health Science Center.<\/p>\n

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\u201cTrack is a big part of my life, but it\u2019s not my entire life. I think it\u2019s important for us to have some a balance,\u201d said Thomas, who was raised in Massachusetts and relocated to Austin in 2019 for grad school. \u201cI\u2019ve been passionate about health care and health disparities all through college, and that continued after I graduated. Part of me moving to Austin was finding a city where I could find a great group of teammates to train with and also a great grad school.\u201d<\/p>\n

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When she\u2019s not training with her coach, three-time Olympian Tonja Buford-Bailey, Thomas works at the Volunteer Healthcare Clinic in Austin that provides services to uninsured and under-resourced individuals.<\/p>\n

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Those efforts have gained her the respect of Felix: \u201cNot only is Gabby a phenomenal talent on the track, but her interest in global health and wanting to make a contribution there is something I really admire about her.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Throughout her educational journey, Thomas said New Balance has been a key partner. She ran in their shoes in high school, and the brand was a sponsor of Harvard\u2019s track team. So when they came to Thomas with a multiyear contract in 2018, she called it a \u201cno-brainer.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u201cIt\u2019s actually a partnership in every sense of what that means, instead of just a transactional influencer or brand relationship. There\u2019s this real synergy,\u201d said Thomas.<\/p>\n

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Riley agreed: \u201cEvery time we look at any athlete, we try to take the time to get to know who the athlete really is. Likewise, it\u2019s important that an athlete truly understands who we are and what we stand for.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Thomas credits the brand with helping fuel her goals on and off the track. \u201cWhen I signed with them, I still had one year left of undergrad at Harvard, and they knew that I had ambitions of getting a master\u2019s degree and supported me in that. It meant a lot to me,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

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In turn, Thomas has been integral to New Balance\u2019s product development and marketing efforts in running, becoming a well-known face for the brand at a time when sneaker companies are putting a bigger emphasis on the female athlete. Since 2022, she\u2019s appeared in ads for its Fresh Foam X 1080 line and was featured in the Conversations Amongst Us campaign with lifestyle collab partner Joe Freshgoods<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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And together, they\u2019ve made an impact at the clinic where she works. New Balance said Thomas has used her charitable donation to provide supplies to the clinic, and during the state\u2019s ice storm emergency<\/a> in 2021, New Balance worked with Fleet Feet Austin to get the clinic footwear.<\/p>\n

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Gabby Thomas has lived and trained in Austin, Texas, since 2019.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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Using Her Platform<\/h2>\n

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In addition to New Balance, Thomas has brand relationships with Omega, Toyota and Delta. And through her Instagram account, she also helps highlight issues around health and wellness, for instance as part of Indorsia Pharmaceutical\u2019s \u201cSeize the Night and Day\u201d campaign promoting the importance of sleep.<\/p>\n

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For Thomas, she hopes to use her public platform to inspire the next generation of young women. \u201cEverything that I do, I try to be well intentioned and understanding that I have a following and people are looking up to me,\u201d she said. The message she wants to put out into the world is to embrace your excellence: \u201cWork hard. Don\u2019t let people put limits on you. Do what you\u2019re passionate about and be great at it.\u201d<\/p>\n

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She\u2019s also eager to see more people embrace running and applauded New Balance\u2019s recent inclusive messaging around the sport. In March, the athletic brand launched its Run Your Way global campaign, which aimed to legitimize running no matter the distance or pace and recognize all types of athletes.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThat\u2019s the kind of thing I would love to see more of, instead of this idea of one particular type of person \u2014 one really fit running type \u2014 always being projected out into the media,\u201d said Thomas. \u201cThat can be intimidating for people and sets in your mind, \u2018Well, running is not for me, I just can\u2019t do it.\u2019 Shifting that representation has been incredible.\u201d<\/p>\n

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As for her own comfort level as a role model in the sport, Thomas said that right now, it feels natural. \u201cIt\u2019s happened in such a gradual way and for very positive reasons \u2014 for being excellent in sports and academics. And that\u2019s true to who I am. That\u2019s my authentic self,\u201d she said. \u201cSo if that\u2019s what people are paying attention to, and that\u2019s the side of me that people are watching, then yeah, I\u2019m very comfortable with that.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Gabby Thomas aims to add to her four world medals at the 2024 Olympic Games.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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