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Triple-Olympic gold medalist Gabby Thomas continues to find inspiration from her mother's earlier ordeals and how she responded.
Triple Olympic gold medalist Gabby Thomas has opened up about the challenges of her upbringing and how her mother’s resilience continues to inspire her remarkable journey.
Born as a twin to her brother Andrew, Thomas grew up with her single mother, Jennifer Randall, in Atlanta, Georgia.
Despite a less-than-glamorous childhood, Thomas credits her mother’s tenacity and sacrifice for shaping her drive and success.
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12:18 - 09.12.2024
'Most people haven’t done that'- Gabby Thomas boasts about one unique milestone she has achieved over other sprinters
Gabby Thomas has bragged about one thing that she has done that most sprinters are yet to accomplish.
"My parents met at Duke University. My dad was a football player and also ran track, while my mom was just graduating and figuring things out," Thomas shared in an episode of Why Not Me? With Mike Jackson.
'So my dad grew up in Florida and my mom grew up in Alabama but we have a lot of family in Atlanta Georgia and you know how it goes. I mean it takes a village so Atlanta was where we needed to be at that time. We were staying with aunts, uncles, grandparents and cousins all of that."
Randall, who grew up in poverty in Alabama, worked tirelessly to provide for her children.
"In Atlanta my mom was waitressing. She got a job at a daycare just figuring it out making ends meet," recounted Thomas.
"And my mom is a rock star in that moment it is hard but my mom grew up dirt poor in a Mobile in Alabama. I mean eight siblings and they didn't have much struggled to keep the lights on. There was a lot going on so for her to go get a scholarship at Duke was already incredible in itself.
Gabby described how witnessing her mother’s determination became a blueprint for her own approach to life.
"And this is something I talk about a lot about my own journey is watching my mom go from waitressing and working at a daycare to going back to school and got her PhD in education. My brother and I were a part of that, we watched all of it. We were there in her evening classes when she couldn't find a babysitter and we had to sit in class with her."
"So as I navigated my own life and I'm thinking about what I want to do and how I want to contribute to society there's never been a question of 'oh am I going to hustle to get there? Am I going to grind?' That was my normal because that's what I saw growing up. I saw a single mom doing that with twins," said Thomas.
Thomas’ perseverance mirrored her mother’s example as she excelled both academically and athletically.
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15:02 - 09.12.2024
'Never stop' - Gabby Thomas' captivating speech of dreaming big brews confidence to young athletes at USATF Awards
An inspiring message by Gabby Thomas after receiving her Jackie Joyner-Kersee Female Athlete of the Year honour at the USATF Awards brewed hope for young athletes.
She graduated from Harvard University in 2019 before making her Olympic debut at the Tokyo 2020 Games, where she won a silver medal in the 4x100m relay and a bronze in the 200m. However, her crowning achievement came at the Paris 2024 Olympics, where she dominated the track, claiming three gold medals in the 200m, 4x100m, and 4x400m events.
Looking ahead to an action-packed 2025 season, Thomas remains grounded and inspired by her mother’s journey.
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