"Is this real?"- Gabby Thomas in shock as she flexes $100,000 paycheck at Grand Slam Track

Gabby Thomas expressed her astonishment as she received a paycheck of $100,000 in the inaugural edition of Michael Johnson's Grand Slam Track in Kingston, Jamaica. The American athlete dominated the lineup in the women's 200m and placed second in the 400m after clocking a personal best in the event.

The Olympic gold medalist made her season debut at the Texas Relays and ran her first individual race of the season in Grand Slam Track in the 200m. She clocked 22.62s to win the 200m title. A day later, Thomas marched onto the 400m and clocked a personal best performance of 49.14s. Gabby Thomas clinched second place in the event after finishing behind Salwa Eid Naser, who clocked 48.67s to seal the top spot.

Both these performances brought her a total of 20 points, with 12 points from her first-place finish in the 200m and 8 points from her second-place finish in the 400m. The combined score made her one of the four athletes to win the massive $100,000 prize money for their performances in two events. She reacted to the $100,000 paycheck in a post-race interview with Citius Mag and expressed her disbelief.

Furthermore, she revealed that it was her first time witnessing such a massive paycheck in one track meet.

"I sure did, like, is this real? This is my check from one weekend. This is unheard of in our sport," she said.

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Gabby Thomas on the harsh reality of making money as a track athlete

Gabby Thomas speaks at The Sportico House at SXSW - Day 2 - Source: Getty

During her appearance on the Networth and Chill podcast, Gabby Thomas spoke about the harsh reality of making money as a track athlete. The American athlete expressed how the prize money offered in the sport is much less as compared to other sports like tennis and basketball.

Moreover, Thomas revealed that most of her earnings come from her second job, which is running her own brand and becoming an influencer.

"For a gold medal in the US, you get paid 37,000 dollars. That's it and if you do relays, then you get to split it. Silver medals, I think you get $ 23,000 and Bronze something like $15,000 And world athletics, so if you do track and field, actually this year, this year is new. If you win a gold medal, you do get $50,000. And that's from World Athletics,” she said.

"I have a job that is to run but I have a second job is to essentially that is to be an influencer, is to run my own brand. I don't make my money on the track, running at all. That gives me the opportunity to make money," she added.

Thomas also revealed how winning major races like the Olympics and the World Championships gave her access to sponsorships and ad campaigns, which acted as a catalyst in building her own personal brand.