Balancing passion and livelihood is never easy, especially if you carry a lot of your country’s hopes on your shoulders. But for 27-year-old Gabby Thomas, life isn’t that hard because she enjoys everything she does to the fullest. The track star is a 200m specialist who won her maiden Olympic gold in the distance just moments ago, but it isn’t just her on-track accolades that define Thomas.

An article by NBC News from earlier this year shed light on Gabby’s life as a Harvard student-athlete. The article revealed that despite training three to six hours with the objective of making a name in the City of Love, Thomas also puts in several hours at a healthcare clinic in Austin, Texas as a volunteer. While Gabby’s dream of becoming an elite track sprinter is already well-known, her determination to help people without insurance is also commendable.

As an undergraduate in an Ivy League institution, Gabby studied neurobiology and global health. But her academic achievements don’t end there. Last year, along with winning gold at the World Championships, she also completed her master’s degree in epidemiology from the University of Texas Health Science Center in Houston.

Notably, pursuing multiple interests at the same isn’t an easy thing to do, and unsurprisingly, Thomas had someone close by to help her show the way. In the article, Gabby talked about how mother has been a seminal figure in her life and one of her biggest support systems. “She showed me in real time growing up what it’s like to go after your dreams and to achieve them, and to become successful. I watched her just achieve all of that by herself and while raising us,” the article quotes the sprinter saying.

Considering how Gabby is excelling in both her medical and track professions, we can only say that her mother’s guidance has been nothing short of brilliant for her, and she paid her respects in the most sensational manner on the biggest stage in style.

Gabby Thomas blitzed into glory by defeating an Olympic champ

Winning the 200m gold in the City of Love, Thomas put an end to the dominance of Jamaican runners in the distance. With that, she has also shown physical troubles (Gabby was diagnosed with a liver tumor just before the Tokyo Olympic Team Trials) can never dictate the life of an athlete who’s determined to prove their mettle no matter how big the adversity. Clocking 21.83 seconds, Thomas breezed across the finishing line to win her first-ever gold medal at the quadrennial event.

To win the race, the Massachusetts resident defeated Julien Alfred of Saint Lucia, who won the women’s 100m gold just a couple of days ago on the purple track of Stade de France. Thomas also matched McKenzie Long’s best time in the distance with her latest victory, despite not running anywhere close to her own best time in the 200m. Along with her maiden Olympic gold, she is also set to receive $37,500 from the USATF, $50,000 from the World Athletics, and an additional $50,000 from former NFL star Shannon Sharpe.

Now, as the dust settles on the bank of the Seine, it remains to be seen if Gabby’s medical career also takes flight similar to her thunderous triumphs on the track or if her sprinting achievements are what defines her in the years to come.