Gabby Thomas reveals her ‘toxic trait’ as she spills beans on viral track video while training for the upcoming season

Three-time Olympic champion Gabby Thomas is one of the fastest 200m sprinters of all-time. Recently, the American divulged what she thinks is her toxic trait when it comes to running, making a surprising revelation.

For Thomas, her 2024 season was absolutely phenomenal. Making an appearance at her second consecutive Olympic Games, the 27-year-old stormed to the 200m crown, before helping Team USA win gold in the 4x100m and the 4x400m.

Now, as she trains for the 2025 season, the sprinter revealed that her ‘toxic trait' in running is believing she could ace a mile. Taking to X (formerly Twitter), she wrote,

“My toxic trait is believing I could run a sub 5 mile.”

Thomas did indeed run a mile a few days ago in training, a video of which was shared on YouTube by the Track: All Access channel. In the video, the Olympic champion clocked a time for 5:43, visibility struggling as the end. Reacting to that, she wrote on X,

“I know there’s a video circulating of me running a mile time trial…I may have went out too fast that first lap, but I’m a SPRINTER 😂 it’s all I know!!”

Gabby Thomas previously revealed that she doesn't run long distances too often, telling the Today show in August,

"We don't get a lot of mileage in. The furthest I will run is one mile. We do a mile in the fall. It's a gut check. We do it to tap into your mental side: 'Can you finish a mile?' It's really difficult for us.”

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Gabby Thomas’ personal bests in sprinting events

Gabby Thomas in action at the Paris Olympics (Image Source: Getty)

While she may not be running a mile under 5 minutes as of now, Gabby Thomas’ pace on the track is electric when it comes to sprinting. In the shortest distance, the 100m, the American holds a wind-aided personal best of 10.80s, set in April of 2022 at the Clyde Hart Track and Field Stadium in Texas. Her legal personal best in the distance is 11 seconds.

Meanwhile, in her speciality event, the 200m, Thomas is one of the fastest women of all-time. Her personal best in the event is a 21.60s, set at the 2023 USA Championships. This places her fourth on the all-time list.

Back in 2021, for a brief moment in time, the American was the second-fastest woman of all-time when she clocked a 21.61 at the US Olympic Trials. However, that time was soon outdone by Elaine Thompson-Herah at the Tokyo Olympics a month later.