Gabby Thomas (USA), athletics, 200m, neurobiology
“I could never have imagined I would be an Olympic medallist, let alone a gold medallist when I went off to Harvard to run track,” said US sprinter and neurobiology graduate Gabby Thomas after winning gold in the 200m at Paris 2024.
The 28-year-old, who won two further gold medals at the Stade de France in the women’s 4x100m and 4x400m relays, put her studies to good use in achieving the triple whammy.
“With track and field, everyone knows so much of it is mental, but a lot of it has to do with your brain chemistry, too,” said Thomas, who is also pursuing a master’s degree in epidemiology and health care.
“My coach (Kebba Tolbert) focused a lot on meditation. It does change your brain chemistry over the long term, so we would do that before hard workouts and before every competition. If you can calm your nervous system down, it affects how well you can train.
“The neuroplasticity aspect really fascinated me,” said Thomas of the visualisation techniques she uses, “this idea that if you train your brain to do something, that it starts to become second nature.
“It’s basically muscle memory, and just understanding how your nervous system works, the importance of your endocrine system and how your hormones are affected by certain behaviours. Ultimately, that is what affects your performance in track and field.”
