Gabby Thomas doesn’t just run and win. She prepares for every step, every moment, long before the world sees her make historic sprints. Remember the Paris Olympics? It is a hard-to-forget moment! Thomas lines up for the 200m finals. The crowd of nearly 80,000 fans was in the arena, which meant distractions everywhere. But Gabby neither saw nor heard the noises; she shut them all out!

Long before the guns went off, Gabby was locked in and focused only on her lane. Instead of letting distractions and competition take over, she instead let her years of mental preparation take over. And doing that is almost essential. As Gabby herself puts it, “It cannot be that moment where you say, ‘I wanna dial in and focus it; it just can’t be that moment.’” She had trained not just her body but also her mind so well that she was not daunted but “ready!” But why prepare for the moment all year long? Well, Gabby answers that, too!

That readiness, she explained, wasn’t something she could summon at will. It had been over years of meditation and mindfulness. While Gabby admits that “there’s so much going on, and it is really scary, and there’s a lot of pressure.” Of course, there is pressure; the world has heard athletes speak about the same many times before. And why wouldn’t it be stressful? It is after all four years of hard work boiling down to one singular moment that probably will not come back. But don’t worry; Gabby Thomas has got the solution to the nerves!

The solution? Focus on one’s own lane. In Gabby’s own words, “I know there are a lot of things that are outside of our control when we’re racing. And that’s okay. And I was prepared for that because I don’t know what Julian, Alfred, and the lane outside of me is gonna do. I don’t know what Dina, Asher-Smith, and the lane inside of me is gonna do, do, but I know what I’m gonna do. And I felt confident in that.” And boy-oh-boy, has her mantra worked wonders! Gabby Thomas’s 200m finals are one for the books, and she knows it too!

When the gun went off and the 200m began, Gabby went toe-to-toe with Julien Alfred and Dina Asher-Smith in the first 80 meters. It had the world on its toes and the crowds holding their breath. But as they rounded the bend, Gabby took the lead. A lead wouldn’t lose for a long time. As they reached the final 20m, there was no doubt. Gabby Thomas was unstoppable.

Gabby crossed the line, clocking 21.83, which won her the ever-so-iconic Olympic Gold. Meanwhile, Alfred won silver, clocking 22.08, and Brittany Brown went on to clock 22.20 to win bronze. Gabby owned the moment and the medal, but it was her mindset that took her there. So, what exactly is this mindset that is seemingly so powerful?

A mindset built on experience and familial bonds!

Cultivating a focus so strong in an era where the attention span globally is low is no easy accomplishment. So how does she do it? The answer lies in her roots. Gabby Thomas developed it because of her mother, Jennifer Randall, who grew up with limited resources in Mobile, Alabama. In Gabby’s words, “My mom grew up dirt poor.” Jennifer was one of eight or nine siblings, but that didn’t stop her. She refused to let her circumstances define her. Jennifer fought the odds and put herself through college. But the story doesn’t end there!

Jennifer went on to take on a Ph.D. program at Emory University. And she did that all while raising young twins. Jennifer’s pursuit and the drive to never hit the pause button inspired Gabby. In fact, it gave birth to her ‘mindset’. “I’m going to grind; that was my normal because that’s what I saw growing up—I saw a single mom doing that with twins,” Gabby revealed. And that habit of the “grind” sure translated to track when Gabby took the line for 200m. Even her mom was there watching her do the iconic sprint.

Every step Gabby took on the track was another tribute to the strength she’d inherited. While the mindset helps her stay focused. She also has tools to help. Tools beyond meditation. At times, when she needs a quick dose of confidence, she turns to music. She lets her favorite tunes help her get in the groove. Her favorite track? Megan Thee Stallion’s “Wanna Be”! Come what may, Gabby Thomas, during any race, will be owning that space and bringing some main-character energy onto the track!