Who are Gabby Thomas's parents? Mom has just one word to describe Olympic 200m medallist
Gabrielle Thomas made a fast finish in the semi-finals and is set to compete in the 200m final race on Tuesday morning, August 3, at the Tokyo Olympics. Thomas blazed through the 200m sprint at the Olympic trials, winning a berth on Team USA, setting both the fastest time in the world this year and an Olympic trials record in the process.
At the Olympics trial, Gabby Thomas won the women’s 200m by crossing the finish line in 21.61 seconds. After her win, she said, “I’ve been working so hard. I moved to Austin, Texas to train for this. I still just cannot believe it. I’m so, so happy. I’ve been working so hard. I’m really grateful.” Thomas recently got to know about a tumor in her liver. To her relief, the tumor was a benign one and she won’t have to undergo any surgery.
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Japan went ahead with this year's Olympics, even as games-related Covid-19 cases continue to rise, leading to several athletes pulling out of the event. With Tokyo facing a triple health threat, the Summer Games were very close to being canceled last minute. But that is not on the cards anymore and Thomas is eyeing gold at this year's Summer Olympics. Here's what we know about the Harvard graduate, epidemiologist and first-time Olympian's family.
Who are Gabrielle Thomas' parents?
Gabrielle 'Gabby' Thomas was born in Atlanta, Georgia, on December 7, 1996, to Dr Jennifer Randall and Desmond Thomas. Andrew, her twin brother, is her only sibling. On her mother's side, Thomas is African-American, and on her father's side, she is Jamaican. Little is known about her father, who is not a public figure and prefers to keep his life private.
Thomas' mother Jennifer is an academic who moved the family to Massachusetts in 2007 after she completed her PhD at Emory University, Distractify reported. She holds a bachelor's degree in psychology from Duke University. She also did her MAT there.
She is presently the Director of Evaluation at the Center for Educational Assessment at the University of Massachusetts, where she is a lecturer. She is also an associate professor at the university, according to her LinkedIn profile. A colleague who recommended her described Jennifer as "smart and enthusiastic with interpersonal and technical skills to match." According to the university's website, she teaches courses in statistics, research methods, scale development and measurement theory.
Speaking to Gazettenet last month, Thomas' mother talked about how she prefers the television experience to the stadium experience. “It’s not like it’s bad. You get to see the replay 50,000 times. You hear all of the commentary,” Randall said. “They’re zeroing in on your kid’s face, whereas when you’re there you’re several hundred feet away and your kid looks like a speck.”
Describing her daughter as an "outstanding competitor", she said: "Your kid makes an Olympic team — most people’s children don’t make Olympic teams. So you want to be present for that. I was present for the middle school meets. I’m just happy she gets to go. I’m happy they’re having it.”
The women's 200m hurdles finals will kick off on Tuesday, August 3, at 8.50 am EST.