"I'm a pro now" - Gabby Thomas makes her feelings known on being honorary starter in Austin Marathon 

Gabby Thomas was delighted to start her second honorary marathon race as she prepares for the 2025 season. The American sprinter has yet to race this indoor season and is expected to begin her campaign directly with Grand Slam Track in April.

Thomas served as the Grand Marshal of last year's New York City Marathon and was now an honorary starter at Sunday's Ascension Seton Austin Marathon. The 28-year-old was honored to kick off the runners with some motivation in Austin's chilly weather and said:

"Today I had the honor of starting the marathon and sending off the runners with some motivational thoughts. And I mean, this has been incredible. I'm having so much fun, and it's definitely a little chilly this morning, but I mean, watching these runners do their thing is so much fun."

When reminded that this was her second time starting a marathon, Thomas joked she had become a pro distance runner now.

"Yes, I am a pro now...It really is so much fun. The running community is so special," Gabby Thomas said.

Thomas specializes in short sprints and rarely runs distances farther than 400m. She won the gold medals in the 200m, 4x100m, and 4x400m at the 2024 Paris Olympics and is expected to run similar distances in the Grand Slam Track.

The 28-year-old admitted never running more than a mile, even during training.

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"We don’t do that" - Gabby Thomas' response when people ask her to run with them

Gabby Thomas at the TIME Impact Dinner - Source: Getty

Speaking in an interview with US Weekly last year, Gabby Thomas revealed that sprinters don't do much running in training and the fact that she had even run a mile a few times was a rarity in the sport.

“People are surprised we don’t run much. We don’t run more than a mile, and the fact that I’ve run a mile in my life is really a lot for a sprinter. Most people haven’t even done that,” she said.

“So when people ask us, ‘Do you want to go on a run?’ The answer is always, ‘No, we don’t do that,’" she added.

The 28-year-old is the fourth fastest 200m runner of all-time, clocking 21.60s at the 2023 USATF Championships. However, it was only last year that she won the first major title in the event, the Olympic gold, and would now be eyeing the gold at the World Championships later this year.