Gabby Thomas, reflecting on her rise to the top of the world rankings in the 200m, spoke fondly of her childhood mentor’s impact: “She showed me firsthand what it means to pursue and achieve your dreams.” Gabby Thomas’s journey to becoming an Olympic sprinter didn’t begin on the track. Growing up, she was a versatile athlete, exploring soccer and softball before discovering her true calling in sprinting. Witnessing the athletic prowess of Allyson Felix ignited Thomas’ passion for the track. 

Meanwhile, McKenzie Long’s story resonates deeply. In Eugene, Oregon, the USA Track and Field team trials are in full swing this weekend, showcasing the fastest competition in history. Sprinters are setting new American and world records daily. Recently, Thomas edged out Long’s 200m record by a mere 0.05s. Off the track, Thomas expressed admiration for Long’s graceful handling of recent personal challenges, citing it as a source of inspiration.

Gabby Thomas finds inspiration in McKenzie Long’s resilience

FloTrack recently tweeted an interview with Gabby Thomas after her 200m semifinals where she spoke about McKenzie Long. Thomas said, “It’s one of those inspiring stories you hear about and inspires me.” The tweet was captioned, “Gabby Thomas says she’s touched by McKenzie Long’s story, as well as comments on keeping tabs on the Jamaican Trials”. Gabby Thomas just posted a time of 21.78s in the 200m trials, overtaking the record set by McKenzie Long’s 21.83s. Thomas has now officially moved forward into the 200m finals. McKenzie Long initially graduated to the semis after a fantastic heat of 22.49s. 

Earlier last year, Long lost her mother Tara due to a heart attack. She has been open about how much the loss has affected her and how she’s coping by channeling her grief into inspiration to do better on the field. Tara was a single mom who went to grad school, got a PhD, and became a professor, instilling the importance of hard work into her daughter.

Long expressed her loss saying, “It’s hard because I’m just like, ‘Mom, what do you think of this?’…Because my mom, she wanted to be involved – she wanted to deal with all the hands-on stuff.” Thomas has praised her resilience saying, “You see her [ Long ] doing incredible things on the track despite what she’s going through in her personal life. It just kind of fuels me to go into my races and do well.”

Additionally, at the 100m event, McKenzie Long finished third in the heat with a time of 10.94 seconds. Though she did not qualify for the finals, her being fresh off the collegiate level and NCAA to standing her ground amongst veteran athletes like Sha’Carri Richardson and Gabby Thomas is a feat in itself. She was previously scratched from the 400m event, however; she is hoping to make a spot for herself in the 200m event. Last time in the Tokyo Olympics she won Bronze so hopes are high about her success. 

Thomas and McKenzie Long’s wealth of experience

Gabby Thomas won 22 conference titles during her time at Harvard. She won them across 6 different events and set the Ivy League records for 100m and 200m as well as the 60m indoor races. Besides the Bronze in Tokyo, she was also part of the 400m relay team that won silver. During the 2023 World Athletics Championship, she won a silver in the 200m as well as winning a gold in the same relay. Additionally, she has broken the 11-second barrier for the 100m in the Texas Relays with a time of 10.88s. 

She’s very eager to not only defend her Olympic title but also to have a higher podium finish. She said, referring to the people who don’t believe in her, “It’s really all that outward talk and chatter that you hear that makes you want that gold medal. You’re like ‘Dang, we’ll I really got to go get that!’” Similarly McKenzie Long also has some experience in the competitive field to fall back on. Earlier this month at the 2024 NCAA championships, the Ole Miss star swept three titles. 

They won in the 100m, 200m and 400m relay events. She ran 10.82s to victory in the 100m, 21.83 in the 200m, and the total time for the relay was 42.34s. The 200m semi-finals are set for Friday followed by finals on Saturday. If Long manages to move forward into the 200m finals, Thomas and her will go head to head. This will surely make for some very exciting games that fans are waiting to see.