Want to master the art of balance? Look no further than Gabby Thomas for inspiration. She successfully juggled her voluntary duties at a healthcare clinic and her preparation for the 2024 Paris Olympics. Her three Olympic gold medals this year are a testament to her focus, balance, and planning. No doubt, NFL legend Chad Johnson needed some advice from her.

The track and field star, in a conversation with Shannon Sharpe and Johnson, was asked by the latter, “My daughter is a freshman at the University of Kentucky and runs track there. What advice would you give me to pass on to her? How can she stay inspired and disciplined to strive for greatness?”

Who else could provide an insight better than Gabby Thomas? At 27 years old, she holds several Olympic medals and an undergraduate degree in neurobiology from Harvard, a master of public health degree in epidemiology from the University of Texas Health Science Center, and has plans for a PhD in the future! During her four years in high school, Thomas set multiple school records. Some of her achievements at Harvard were:

• NCAA champion in 200m (22.38). She was the first NCAA sprint champion in Ivy League history (2017-18).
• She set a collegiate record in 200m (22.38) (2017-18).
• Thomas set school and Ivy League records in the outdoor 100 and 200 and indoor 60 (2015-16).
• She was a part of the school record-holding 4×100 and 4×400 relay teams (2015-16).

So what message did she share for Johnson’s daughter?

“Oh man, as a collegiate track athlete, I would tell her to just really focus on enjoying the process. What really makes a track athlete great is that they’re enjoying the environment they’re in. And that they’re just taking in every moment of the process and focusing on getting better.

“Don’t focus on every time, every single race because you get so many races; just focus on the overall journey and getting better,” she said on Nightcap on YouTube. But while Thomas has achieved so much in her career, she has also seen the other side. Hence, in her conversation with Chad Johnson, she talked about that too, making Johnson a bit emotional.

“In track and field, success is never going to be a straight line—it’s always going to have ups and downs. So she just needs to ride it out and enjoy it, and she’ll do great.” If her career history is anything to go by, Chad’s 14-year-old daughter, Cha’iel Johnson, has what it takes to be a winner, and Gabby understands that.

Cha’iel Johnson, Chad Johnson’s daughter, joined the track team at the University of Kentucky last June. She was undoubtedly a standout in high school. She won the Florida State high school 800-meter championship last year with a time of 2:11.41, marking her third consecutive win in this event. Not only this, she also contributed to her team’s second-place finishes in both the 4×400 and 4×800 relay events at the state meet. But there’s more.

In 2015, she clinched the AAU Junior Olympic title in the 400 meters with a time of 1:01.57 at just 10 years old, setting several national age group records. This season, her best time in the 400 meters is 54.72.

But coming back to Gabby Thomas, she is inspiring a new generation of sprinters to succeed in track in field, just like how she was influenced by athletes in her childhood.

Gabby Thomas turned inspiration into Olympic gold!

Gabby Thomas found inspiration in her role model, a female track and field Olympian, which greatly influenced her path to becoming a standout athlete. While Thomas tried her hand at sports such as softball and soccer while growing up, it was witnessing Allyson Felix’s performance at the 2008 US Olympic Trials for the Beijing Games that sparked an interest in the sport.

This year she set a record, for the 200-meter time globally running an impressive 21.78 seconds at the US Olympic Trials in June. Motivated by her hardworking mother, Thomas excelled both academically and athletically, earning 22 conference titles and making history as the NCAA sprint champion from the Ivy League.

At the Paris Games, she solidified her reputation by becoming the first Harvard alumna to clinch an Olympic gold medal in track and field, demonstrating that she is not just participating in the race but leading it with determination.

Interesting Fact: After Gabby Thomas graduated from Harvard, she moved to Austin, Texas, and joined the Bailey Bunch- an all-Black women’s track group which is led by Tonja Buford-Bailey- a former Olympian.

With a total of three golds, one silver, and one bronze in the Olympics, she is one of the most prominent faces in track and field in the country. She aims to train for LA 2028 and bag some more medals for the country. “I’m gonna go home, enjoy some downtime in Austin, Texas, with my dog, with my friends. And then maybe plan a little vacation before we get back to work,” she said after her wins in Paris.

Do you think she will win more medals in 2028? Let us know in the comments below.