Gabby Thomas reacts to coach Tonja Buford-Bailey nearly failing to guess her voice in hilarious challenge

Gabby Thomas' coach Tonja Buford-Bailey failed to recognize the voice of her star sprinter during a fun challenge with other sprinters in her group on Tuesday (Jan. 21). The three-time Olympic champion has been with Buford-Bailey since turning professional.

Thomas shared a video of the hilarious challenge on her Instagram handle on January 21. While Buford-Bailey, who was blindfolded and facing the opposite direction, was able to guess the voice of nearly all of her sprinters in one or two tries, she failed to recognize the Olympic gold medalist in the first three attempts.

The American coach finally recognized Thomas after ticking off everyone at the end but the sprinter was louder and nearly burst into laughter, which made things easier for her. The 28-year-old gave full marks to Buford-Bailey nonetheless, writing:

"She almost got 100% on this one 😂😂😂."

Thomas joined Buford-Bailey in 2019 after foregoing her last year of collegiate eligibility at Harvard. She won 22 conference league titles and the NCAA 200m title at Harvard before turning pro with New Balance.

However, the 28-year-old didn't have the best rookie season and failed to qualify for the World Championships. She made a roaring comeback ahead of the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, clocking the then-second-fastest time in history of 21.61s, at the Olympic Trials.

Thomas won the bronze medal in the 200m and a silver in the 4x100m relay in Tokyo before winning the gold in both at the 2024 Paris Olympics as well as in the 4x400m relay.

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While Gabby Thomas wasn't as fast as she was in 2021, the American sprinter still cruised to an easy victory in the 200m final at the 2024 U.S. Olympic Trials. She clocked 21.81s to qualify for the Paris Olympics and penned a heartwarming note of gratitude for her coach Tonja Buford-Bailey afterward.

"Tonja Buford-Bailey fights for me and believes in me every single step of the way through every obstacle."

"Another Olympic team together, job's not finished," wrote Thomas.

Buford-Bailey competed in the 400m hurdles during her professional career and won a bronze medal in the event at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. A year before that, the American had clinched a silver at the World Championships. With her personal best of 52.62s, the 54-year-old is still the eighth-fastest American and 12th-fastest overall in history.