“I wrote down over and over every morning that I was in Paris, that I will be the Olympic champion in my Notes app… and I envisioned the race all day, every day, imagining myself winning and crossing the line in front,” said Gabby Thomas talking to CBS Morning News after her victory at the Paris Olympics. The athlete won a record three gold medals in this year’s competition. This is a feat achieved only by track legends like Allyson Felix and Florence Griffith-Joyner. Thus, ever since she returned to the US, she has become quite a star athlete for obvious reasons.

However, the success has not led to Gabby Thomas forgetting her roots. She credits her mother for acting as an inspiration to her throughout her life. She raised Gabby and her siblings all alone, as she was very young when they were born. In fact, Jennifer Randall hadn’t even graduated when she got pregnant. Talking at the Why Not Me? with Mike Jackson podcast, Gabby Thomas revealed the circumstances of her family before the birth of her and her twin brother, Andrew.

During the time her mother was pregnant, she was still a senior at Duke University, about to graduate. Meanwhile, her father was a sophomore in college, participating in both football and track. Looking back, Gabby’s empathy for them grows even stronger, as she was a college athlete herself.

“Yeah, I remember my collegiate athlete days, and I don’t know, it’s hard enough. It’s hard enough, right? So yeah. I mean, he was at football practice every day.” She even went on to reveal that when the twins were born, her father was actually in football practice in North Carolina while her mother was giving birth to both children in Atlanta.

Gabby revealed that her early childhood was mostly spent with her extended family members, as she was the daughter of a single working mother. Thus, she understood the importance of community at a very young age. Gabby said, “The community of family, our village, and just having that—I mean, we’re so grateful for that. Right. And in Atlanta, my mom was waitressing.”

So, the track athlete felt that her early childhood was very nice despite her mother’s struggles. Slowly, she would realize the hardships she undertook to raise her and her siblings. It would inspire the track athlete a lot in her later life.

How Gabby Thomas’ mother’s struggles during her childhood shaped her later life

Gabby Thomas’ mother, Jennifer Randall, struggled throughout her life to support and raise her children. She took on multiple jobs, such as waitressing and working at a daycare, to make ends meet. During this time, she was also completing her Ph.D. at Emory University. At that time, the athlete felt that all of this was normal and not something extraordinary. However, her mother understood the importance of providing her kids with a good life.

Gabby said, “It was kind of like… this was the normal. I’m going to hustle. I’m going to grind it out because this is my dream, and I want better for myself, and I want better for you all.” Looking at her mother’s struggles so closely has inspired Gabby Thomas a lot in life. She is now a heavily accomplished athlete in track and field with three Olympic golds. But her abilities are not just limited to the track, as she is quite well educated too.

Not only does she have a bachelor’s degree in neurobiology from Harvard, but also a master’s degree in epidemiology. In fact, her mother wants her to complete her PHD too, which is one of her plans in the future. The athlete also does a lot of humanitarian work as she volunteers in the Central Texas Food Bank to give food to those in need. Thus, it seems that witnessing her mother’s struggles in person has made her a better human being.