In less than a week, Gabrielle ‘Gabby’ Thomas will race down the tracks at Stade de France. However, she couldn’t pass up the opportunity to have a candid conversation with U.S. track and field legend and IOC Athletes’ Commission member Allyson Felix. During their conversation, the Olympic medalists didn’t shy away from discussing how often chasing glory takes a mental toll.

The 2x Olympic medalist explained how the pressure to perform on the grandest stage has a crippling effect. However, the sense of disappointment truly envelopes an athlete if they’re unable to live up to their own expectations. The 200m specialist also warned that this feeling isn’t exclusive to the Olympics.

“It’s so easy to fall into a mind trap,” Gabby Thomas said during her conversation with Felix. “It feels like, ‘This is my identity, and if things don’t go the way I want, the world is over.” The 27-year-old explained that athletes also fall into this trap at practice and during meets. However, “You can especially fall into that at the Olympics,” the Tokyo 2020 bronze medalist told Felix.

The track icon’s fellow Team USA athlete found out firsthand how damaging chasing Olympic glory can be. “From being 15 years old now, my mindset had always been Olympics, Olympics, Olympics. It was nonstop,” Olympian Jordan Chiles said on The Squeeze Podcast. The pressure to perform nearly drove the gymnast to self-harm.

Gabby Thomas believes there’s more to life than just winning medals, and that’s what she preaches. The athlete was grateful that legends such as Allyson Felix have said the same. “It changes the whole perspective,” said the 2024 London Diamond League 200m gold medalist. However, Allyson Felix is doing a lot more than just speaking out in an effort to help athletes in Paris.

How Allyson Felix is fighting for athletes like Gabby Thomas

This is the first time in nearly two decades that Allyson Felix will be at an Olympics, but won’t compete. However, the 11x Olympic medalist has a different objective as an athletes’ representative at the 2024 Games. The 38-year-old is no stranger to the difficulties athletes face during the games and how it affects their mental states.

Competing as a mother of a newborn, staying away from her baby wasn’t a pleasant experience for Felix. So this time, she has partnered with Pampers, to set the first of its kind Pampers Nursery in the heart of the Olympic Village. This exclusive nursery will help athlete-mothers stay close to their babies during the Olympics. Meanwhile, athletes like Gabby Thomas have also thanked Felix for ushering in a new era.

Thomas thanked the mother of two for speaking up about the mental health battles. Not only have veterans such as Felix, Simone Biles, Michael Phelps, and others made the public more aware of athletes’ physical and psychological struggles by speaking out about it, but are actively fighting for fair treatment of the current and future generation of stars.

There’s nothing wrong when an athlete chases an Olympic medal. After all, it’s the greatest achievement in all of athletics. However, Gabby Thomas, Allyson Felix, and many others hope aspiring athletes don’t get lost in their pursuit. In the words of the 11x Olympic medalist, “There’s so much more that matters.”