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Gabby Thomas revealed that Michael Johnson was proud of her after she clocked a personal best of 49.14s in the 400m race at the inaugural Grand Slam Track in Kingston, Jamaica. The American sprinter placed second in the 400m and first in the 200m to win the women's long sprint title.
Thomas was participating in her first individual race of the season when she crossed the finish line with a clinical 22.62s to win the 200m title. She earned 12 points for the win and then put in a career best in the 400m to beat reigning Olympic champion Mareleidy Paulina for second place. Salwa Eid Naser finished first in 48.67.
The three-time Olympic champion was congratulated by Johnson, who she said was proud of her. Speaking during the post-race interview with Citius Mag, Thomas said:
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"He was really proud, he said, "Congratulations on a big PB, um, and he knows what it takes, right? He did two four-doubles as well. So he definitely understands how challenging it can be working on the race." [1:01 onwards]
"He was really proud and I thanked him for putting this entire thing together because it's really great for the sport you put on a show as well on the podium you gave a little celebratory dance would you do another one for us probably not right now I'm going to go home and work on it for a bit and then I'll come back."
Thomas earned $100,000 for finishing first in the women's long sprints. It was the largest prize money offered in a track and field event in history, and Thomas was equally impressed.
"Unheard of in our sport" - Gabby Thomas on $100k prize money
The highest prize for winning a track event before Grand Slam Track was $60,000 at last year's Athlos edition. While the GST paired two events together, the $100,000 was still significant.
Gabby Thomas was all smiles on receiving the $100k and said: (via Citius Magazine):
"I sure did, like, is this real? This is my check from one weekend. This is unheard of in our sport," she said.
Thomas had a career-best season last year, winning an unprecedented three Olympic gold medals. While the next Olympic Games being three years down the line, she would hope to defend the triple at the World Championships later this year.
