Nostalgia Hits Olympic Gold Medalist Gabby Thomas as She Pens 5-Word Heartfelt Note

“I watched my mom work very hard. I watched her come from nothing and just have a dream, have a plan, and work for it and make it happen,” the 28-year-old Olympic Gold medalist Gabby Thomas had reminisced while speaking to Set The Pace back in 2024. And she did make it happen. Thomas has always been grateful to her mother, Jennifer Randall, for giving it her all. And once again this time, she is looking back at the good old days that have placed her in her feats today. Because sometimes, before you run forward, you have to look back — just to remember how far you’ve come.

While speaking to Why Not Me? with Mike Jackson back in October 2024, Gabby had said,  “My mom grew up dirt poor in Mobile, Alabama. I mean, Jennifer, eight siblings, nine, um, they didn’t have much, struggled to keep the lights on.” But then she gave the best life to her daughter after becoming a professor, even when she was a single mother after her divorce. Thanks to her mother’s persistence, Thomas is a decorated track and field superstar. Today, after achieving some of the biggest accolades in her career, she reminisced about the old times when she just started in track and field. She has been participating in track and field races since she was in seventh grade.

This week on June 7, Gabby Thomas took to her social media to post an adorable black and white photograph in her Instagram story. She could be seen with her teammates in the picture. She also tagged one of them named Lena. The Olympic gold medalist wrote, “My first year of track.” Thomas won three gold medals at the Paris Olympics, making history. She overcame 100m champion, Julien Alfred of Saint Lucia, to succeed in winning the gold medal in women’s 200m.

Thomas played a pivotal role in Team USA’s dominant relay performances at the Paris Olympics, helping secure gold in both the women’s 4x100m and 4x400m events. Add that to her Olympic resume, which already included a silver in the 4x100m relay and a bronze in the 200m from Tokyo, and her legacy only grows stronger. Each of these medals stands as a testament to her relentless drive — and the unwavering support of her mother. Now, with years of hard work behind her, Thomas can glance back at the young girl who once stepped onto the track and take pride in just how far she’s come.

During a conversation on The Jimmy Kimmel Live with the iconic RuPaul in August 2024, Thomas thanked her mother for pushing her onto the tracks instead of softball. “Mom, I want to thank you so much for forcing me to do track and field. Thank you. You knew what you were doing. I originally chose softball; I wanted to do it with my friends, you know, track and field was not my first love, soccer was. My friends were doing softball, so I signed up, but my mother had another idea, and I don’t know. You know about black households, you don’t get to talk back,” she recalled.

After achieving so much in her life and reminiscing about those days, what do you think she would have told her younger self?

Gabby Thomas revealed a message to her younger self

In an interview with Marie Claire from June 3, 2025, Thomas revealed her perspective on mental health and her wellness principles she’s learned to live by. Thomas revealed how she wished she could share these with her younger self. “Think about wellness holistically and consider how we can thrive mentally, physically, and emotionally,” she said. “As an elite sprinter, wellness encompasses all aspects of my performance: how I recover, how I fuel, how much I sleep, and how much I’m able to incorporate mindfulness and meditation into my day-to-day.”

Waking up in the morning, getting simple chores done around the house, or just going out to get breakfast are also victories from her perspective. “A little goes a long way” is her motto, and what she wants her inner child to know. Even though her latest performance at Philly was not as iconic as the rest of her accolades, she delivered a new mindset. Thomas finished 3rd in her group but was not disheartened even when someone heckled her from the stands.  Her take on the whole thing? “My favorite place to compete has always been London (fans and atmosphere)…but after this weekend, Philly comes close,” she posted on X. “Such a cool stadium and fans coming from all over.” 

She is truly powerful because she can control what affects her. Winning and losing are a part of life, but the memories she makes in the sport —the joy — is what keeps her running.

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