"If you mess up even just a little bit, it can be detrimental" - Gabby Thomas compares 200m race to brain surgery

Gabby Thomas, who recently wrapped up her 2024 season in September 2024, compared the 200m race to brain surgery in an interview. The American athlete proved her prowess in the event by winning a gold medal at the Paris Olympics.

Thomas became the 200m Olympic champion this year by clocking 21.83s and trounced Julien Alfred and Brittany Brown, who claimed second and third place, respectively. She won two more golds in the 4x100m relay and 4x400m relay dashes at the 2024 Summer Games.

In the 4x100m relay event, she and her team clocked 41.78s to stand atop the podium, besting Great Britain, and in the 4x400m relay, the team also clocked an American record of 3:15.27, making the American win her third gold medal. Following this, she also competed in the 200m dash at Alexis Ohanian's Athlos NYC meet, where she gained a second-place finish with a time of 22.21s.

Days after performing in this discipline, she called it 'brain surgery' in an interview with Athlos. She was asked if she could compare the 200m dash to anything; then what would it be? To which Gabby Thomas replied:

"That's a good question. Let's see. Okay. I would compare running the 200m like brain surgery. It is a very precise race. If you mess up even just a little bit, it can be detrimental to the entire race. It's very challenging, but, very very rewarding."

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Gabby Thomas opened up about the reason behind choosing track and field as her career

In an interview with New Balance, Gabby Thomas revealed the reason behind choosing track as her career. She focused on how this sport helps the athlete in their personal growth and also called it self-challenging.

"I think I ended up choosing track because you can always get better you can always improve, you can always be a better athlete, be a better version of yourself and that's such a beautiful thing about track and field. We can count medals and we can count wins but you're always kind of racing yourself so, I fell in love with that," Gabby Thomas said.

Along with a stellar track career, Gabby Thomas has also pursued a bachelor's degree in neurobiology and global health from Harvard University and continued her education with a master's degree in epidemiology from the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston. The American athlete was pushed by her mother to pursue track as her career after she opted for softball initially.