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Thomas was an overwhelming favourite to win the 200m gold following Shericka Jackson's withdrawal and she has opened up on how she overcame the weight of expectation.
Gabby Thomas has shared her insights into how she managed to handle the immense pressure of stepping up as the favourite and securing the 200m gold medal at the Paris Olympics.
The expectations were high after her main competitor, Shericka Jackson, was ruled out due to an injury.
Thomas, who had previously won bronze in the 200m and silver in the 4x100m relay at the Tokyo Games, entered the Paris Olympics with added pressure.
The absence of Jackson only heightened expectations, and her visibility in the lead-up to the Games, particularly through her partnership with Japanese car manufacturer Toyota, added to the weight on her shoulders. Despite these challenges, Thomas delivered when it mattered most, bringing home the gold medal.
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14:08 - 09.08.2024
American sprint icon Michael Johnson on how incredibly similar Gabby Thomas is to Allyson Felix
Gabby Thomas is the new 200 meter champion at the ongoing Paris 2024 Olympic games, and Michael Johnson has now revealed how similar she is to the legendary Allyson Felix.
Reflecting on how she dealt with the pressure, Thomas revealed, “Everyone was texting me telling me, ‘I see you for Toyota everywhere like before trials or before I even made the Olympic team.’ I had not even made the Olympics yet,” she shared on Shannon Sharpe and Chad Johnson’s YouTube channel Night Cap.
Thomas’s journey to becoming a professional athlete started at Harvard, where she made a name for herself by breaking the NCAA indoor collegiate record in the women’s 200m.
However, she only began to consider professional athletics after winning accolades in college. By night, when she’s not training, Thomas works as a volunteer at a health care clinic in Austin, Texas, providing care for people without insurance.
“There is definitely a lot of pressure and for me in 2021, coming from Harvard but having not had any medals or been part of any US team, it was just a lot of fun. I was out there running without much expectation and was just having a great time. Let's go out there and line up next to Allyson Felix and see what happens. It would be great,” Thomas recounted.
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12:31 - 08.08.2024
Paris Olympics: Sha’Carri Richardson & Gabby Thomas lead Team USA to 4x100m relay final
Team USA had no equals as they coasted to the Olympics 4x100m relay final with Germany, France, Britain, Jamaica and Switzerland joining them.
However, her mindset changed dramatically after she made the Olympic team and won a bronze medal. “As soon as I made the Olympic team, it changed. As soon as I got an Olympic bronze medal, it changed. Suddenly people are saying ‘If you do not medal, that is an L [loss].’ If you do not make this team next year, that is a big L, and so it changed my mindset," she added.
To cope with the pressure, Thomas adopted several mental techniques to stay focused and calm under the intense scrutiny of the global stage.
“I was telling people before I even stepped to the line for my prelims that I had never felt that kind of pressure in my entire life. You walk out there and you are by yourself, you do not have a team to take that loss with you. If someone messes up, there is no voo-do, next play, none of that,” she explained.
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12:20 - 09.08.2024
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Botswana declares afternoon off to celebrate Letsile Tebogo’s historic 200m Olympic gold
“You are going out in front of 80,000 people and millions of people watching you and if you do not get it right in this one moment, especially in the short sprints, it is over.”
Thomas shared that meditation, practice, and focusing on the moment were key to her success. “For me, I meditate, practice, focus and dissociate in that moment, that separates good athletes from great athletes. If you are there on the line thinking how many people are watching you, you will mess up.”
The ability to stay composed under pressure, Thomas believes, is what separates the best from the rest. “You can see it in people’s faces when they line up to the line. You can see and tell whether an athlete has figured it out and they are about to knock this race out, and someone is scared.”
Gabby Thomas’s triumph in Paris not only added another prestigious title to her name but also demonstrated the power of mental resilience in the face of high expectations.
Her journey from Harvard standout to Olympic champion serves as an inspiration to athletes everywhere, showcasing that with the right mindset, even the most intense pressure can be overcome.
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