"I would just love to know what that speed feels like" - Nikki Hiltz makes feelings known about trading places with Gabby Thomas

Nikki Hiltz has said they would love to trade places with Gabby Thomas. The Olympians attended the SXSW Conference and Festivals on Sunday, March 9, 2025, where they participated in a live taping of WNBA legend Sue Bird and the U.S. Women's National Team's soccer World Cup champion Megan Rapinoe's "A Touch More" podcast with Vox Media.

In an appearance on the red carpet, Hiltz was asked by Vox Media to name one athlete who she would love to trade places with. They mentioned the 2024 Olympic Games' women's 200m sprint champion in response, admiring her prowess and expressing their desire to trade places to experience the speed at which she ran.

Thomas earned the gold medal of the quadrennial event after clocking a stunning time of 21.83 seconds. Hiltz expressed fascination and awe at her ability and high level of athleticism:

"I think Gabby Thomas. I mean I would just love to know what that speed feels like. I want to be Gabby Thomas for like 23 seconds, however fast she runs, probably like 22 seconds. However fast she runs the 200."

Furthermore, the two discussed the current sports climate across various circuits and emphasized the issues women and members of the LGBTQ+ community in sports face. They also highlighted the collaboration between sports and pop culture.

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"Grown so much as an athlete since Tokyo" - Gabby Thomas reflects on her improvement for Paris 2024

Gabby Thomas secured the gold medal in the women's 200m sprint at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, France, the credit for which she gave in a September 2024 interview with Olympics.com to years of hard work, consistent choices, and growth as an athlete since participating at the 2020 Olympic Games (held in Tokyo, Japan, in 2021 due to a delay caused by the COVID-19 pandemic).

“I’ve grown so much as an athlete since Tokyo,” Gabby Thomas said. “It’s all part of this process and this grand play of working my way up to be a gold medalist, and then, just going for it and taking that opportunity and doing it.

“It all kind of made sense, it’s a culmination of just years, months, weeks, days and minutes of making the right choice over and over again so I can have the opportunity for gold,” she added.

At the Tokyo edition, the American athlete bagged a bronze medal in the same event.