By Chris Chavez
November 26, 2024
Gabby Thomas, the Olympic gold medalist in the 200m, 4x100m relay, and 4x400m relay from the Paris Olympics, has signed on to join Grand Slam Track ahead of the professional track league’s inaugural season in 2025.
Here’s what you need to know:
– Thomas left the Paris Olympics as the most decorated U.S. track star of the Games and finally captured her first global championship title. She broke out at the Tokyo Olympics with a bronze medal in the 200m and a silver medal in the 4x100m relay. In 2022, she suffered a hamstring injury that forced her to miss the World Championships. In 2023, she earned a silver medal behind Jamaica’s Shericka Jackson in the 200m. Thomas became the first American woman to win 200m gold at the Games since Allyson Felix in 2012.She also was part of Team USA's winning squads in the 4x100m relay and 4x400m relay.
– Most recently, she was named the 2024 Jackie Joyner-Kersee Athlete of the Year by USA Track and Field.
“This is six years in the making at least, all of it was for this moment,” Thomas told CITIUS MAG in Paris. “My coach (Tonja Buford-Bailey) told me that everything we’ve done up until this point - Tokyo Olympics, World Championships, even my injured year in 2022 - it was for this, that I was prepared, that I was mature, and I was ready.”
– Thomas’ personal best of 21.60 makes her the second-fastest American woman all-time in the 200m – behind Florence Griffith-Joyner’s 21.34 world record – and No. 4 on the global all-time list. She finished the 2024 season as the fastest 200m runner in the world with her 21.78 season’s best from the semifinals at the U.S. Olympic Trials.
– Thomas is one of America’s most popular track and field stars with 1.1 million Instagram followers, 250K+ TikTok followers, and a long list of sponsors including New Blance, Omega, and Toyota. She also is active in public health work as a volunteer at the Volunteer Healthcare Clinic (VHC) in Austin. She has a neurobiology and global health degree from Harvard, where she won the 2018 NCAA indoor 200m title. She also has a master’s in epidemiology from the University of Texas.
Kevin Morris / @KevMoFoto
What They Had To Say
Gabby Thomas (via press release): ““I am so excited to be joining Grand Slam Track, and partnering with Michael Johnson to give our sport the platform it deserves. Coming off of the Olympics, I want to continue testing myself and competing at the highest level against the fastest women in the world. Grand Slam Track allows us that chance in 2025. Michael’s vision is incredibly exciting, and I can’t wait to give the millions of track fans around the world even more chances to watch us compete. I look forward to seeing all of our fans at the four Slams next year.”
Commissioner Michael Johnson: “This is an incredibly exciting day for all of us at Grand Slam Track. Gabby was unquestionably one of the biggest superstars to come out of Paris, and for us to bring her excellence, exceptional speed, and tenacious competitive spirit to our league is a huge moment for us. What’s even more important is that this ensures fans around the world will get to see Gabby compete against the fastest women in the world four times a year at our Slams. We’ve been saying it and we mean it; we’re calling all rivals, and we want only the fastest. Gabby is a true American hero, and one of the most impactful athletes of 2024; we couldn’t be happier to be adding her as a signed Racer for Grand Slam Track.”
How She Fits In Grand Slam Track’s Model
Thomas is one of the most versatile sprinters in the world, which means she could fit into what we’ve dubbed at CITIUS MAG as the Grand Slam Track’s “unicorns” – Racers who could bounce from one event group to another at various Slams. However, we suspect Thomas will likely race in the short sprints’ 100m-200m category at Slams.
– 100m: In 2024, she raced the 100m, 200m, 300m indoors and 400m. She ran a slightly wind-aided (+2.2 m/s wind) 10.88 for 100m at the Texas Relays in late March. She also raced the 100m at the Los Angeles Grand Prix and New York City Grand Prix. Her wind-legal season’s best was only 11.34s.
– 200m: Thomas opened up her season with a 22.08 win at the Texas Relays in late March and didn’t get under 22s until the U.S. Olympic Trials in late June, where she showed she is a gold medal contender by running 22.11-21.78-21.81 in her three rounds.
In 2024, Thomas raced in just one Diamond League meet all season and won the London Diamond League in 21.82 as a tune-up before the Paris Olympics, where she went 22.20-21.86-21.83 in her three rounds. Thomas chose to pass on the post-Olympic Diamond League meets and trained for the debut of Athlos NYC, where she finished second to Olympic bronze medalist Brittany Brown 22.18 to 22.21.
– 400m: Thomas impressed many with her 49.68 personal best in 2023. She clocked a 50.37 for 400m this year at a meet in LSU in late April and was entered in the 400m at the U.S. Olympic Trials but scratched in the final days leading into the meet. Thomas split 49.30 as the third leg on Team USA’s 3:15.27 Olympic gold medal-winning 4x400m relay squad.
Who Else Has Signed With Grand Slam Track So Far:
– Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone (June 18th)
– Josh Kerr (June 27th)
– Cole Hocker and Yared Nuguse (Sept. 4th)
– Fred Kerley and Kenny Bednarek (Sept. 12th)
– Melissa Jefferson (Sept. 19th)
– Masai Russell, Cyrena Samba Mayela and Jasmine Camacho-Quinn (Sept. 25th)
– Alison Dos Santos and Clément Ducos (Sept. 26th)
– Muzala Samukonga (Sept. 26th)
– Quincy Hall and Matthew Hudson-Smith (Oct. 10th)
– Nikki Hiltz (Oct. 15th)
– Grant Fisher and Ronald Kwemoi (Oct. 15th)
– Roshawn Clarke and Ackera Nugent (Oct. 17th)
– Luis Grijalva (Oct. 22nd)
– Shamier Little, Jasmine Jones and Rushell Clayton (Oct. 22nd)
– Jessica Hull (Oct. 22nd)
– Devon Allen and Daniel Roberts (Oct. 22nd)
– Marileidy Paulino (Oct. 22nd)
– Jereem Richards (Oct. 22nd)
– Marco Arop (Oct. 22nd)
– Tsigie Gebreselama and Agnes Ngetich (Oct. 22nd)
– Salwa Eid Naser (Nov. 21st)
– Elise Cranny and Nozomi Tanaka (Nov. 21st)
– Mary Moraa (Nov. 21st)
– Daryll Neita (Nov. 21st)
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Chris Chavez
Chris Chavez launched CITIUS MAG in 2016 as a passion project while working full-time for Sports Illustrated. He covered the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro and grew his humble blog into a multi-pronged media company. He completed all six World Marathon Majors and is an aspiring sub-five-minute miler.
