Gabby Thomas makes her feelings clear on best sports movie of all time

Three-time Olympic gold medalist Gabby Thomas revealed her all-time favorite sports movie during her appearance at the South by Southwest Conference & Festivals. During the event, she joined 'A Touch More' Live with Sue Bird and Megan Rapinoe for a conversation.

The event also saw Paris Olympian and 1500m runner Nikki Hiltz take the stage alongside Thomas. Behind the scenes, Vox Media, who are hosting the Podcast Stage at the 2025 SXSW Conference, asked the 28-year-old about her favorite movie.

To which, Gabby Thomas responded, stating:

“The best sports movie of all time, that’s so hard. Why am I thinking ‘Bend It Like Beckham’”

Screenshot of Gabby Thomas answering the question. Credits - Instagram story/ gabbythomas

The movie is a sports-comedy drama about a British-Indian girl named Jesminder Bhamra who pursues her passion for football despite her parents' opposition.

Notably, Thomas' global popularity has soared following her three gold medal triumphs in the individual 200m and as a crucial member of both women’s 4x100m and 4x400m relay teams at the Paris Olympics.

Beyond her achievements in track and field, her following has also grown due to her impressive educational background, holding a Bachelor's degree from Harvard and a Master's degree from the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston.

Gabby Thomas reflected on whether signing shoe deal with New Balance felt like ‘life-changing’ money

Gabby Thomas at Paris Olympics. Source: Getty

Gabby Thomas reflected on signing a shoe deal and whether it felt life-changing during her appearance on the 'Why Not Me? with Mike Jackson' podcast. She admitted she didn’t come from a track and field family. So, the offer was also equal to turning pro, even though it was modest compared to other sports. In an October 2024 interview, she expressed her thoughts, stating (29:14 onwards):

“For me, it felt like life-changing money. In retrospect, I mean compared to other sports and other leagues, it's not, but in track and field, a lot of us are just people who haven't seen money before, if I'm being frank, right?"

"So, we don't know what a lot of money looks like, but for me, it really was life-changing money. I mean, signing that New Balance deal, they ended up paying for my education and gave me the opportunity to run professional track,” she added.

Thomas further mentioned that without the deal, she wouldn't have been able to stay in the sport due to a lack of resources for attending meets. However, she acknowledged that track and field is moving in a positive direction with the introduction of Athlos, founded by Serena Williams' husband, Alexis Ohanian, and Michael Johnson's Grand Slam Track League.