IN OUR SPORT, as in nature, spring Is a time for new beginnings. For Gabby Thomas, the opportunity to tie on her spikes and race outdoors again was especially welcome after a ’22 campaign that did not go to plan after a break-out ’21.
The Harvard alum, now a New Balance pro who has been training with Tonja Buford-Bailey’s crew in Austin, was felled by a hamstring injury in the run-up to last year’s USATF meet. Though she made it to the finals of the 200, she ended up struggling to a non-qualifying 8th. Named to the Worlds team as a relay member, she didn’t get a chance to run in what would have been her first World Championships.
Perhaps that’s why showing up at the Texas Relays in early April to win a 100/200 double in 11.09/22.46 felt so good. It marked an important milestone in a season that the 26-year-old hopes will have an entirely different conclusion than last year’s.
She explains, “It was about 10 days before Trials, and I was doing a sprint workout just to stay sharp and feel really good about Trials. And I tore my hamstring, really abruptly. It was a grade 2 hamstring tear and I had 10 days to get it together, which,” she says with a laugh, “anyone in sports knows that’s impossible. But I did what I could and I went out and raced anyway.
“That was a tough time,” she admits. “I mean, I was feeling really good. We were running PBs in practice. My starts were looking really good and cleaned up, which is something that I struggle with a little bit. And then we were doing an over-speed workout, and I guess it was just one too many and that was it.
“We had one more left in that session, and that was our last speed day before Trials. But, I mean, the thing about track & field is you’re just literally pushing your body to its limits — that’s the whole idea of the sport — which is why it’s so exciting and you run so fast and you break records. But unfortunately, we pushed it just a little too far past the limit, and that’s what happened. So it was really tough.”
To that point, Thomas had been considered one of the top contenders for a 200 berth on Team USA. In our last formchart prior to the meet, she had been picked to win. That was no stretch. The previous year, she had blasted a 21.61 to win the Olympic Trials, a mark…
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