Olympic champions Gabby Thomas and Grant Holloway receive major honors from USATF after their 2024 seasons

Olympic champions Gabby Thomas and Grant Holloway have been awarded major honors for their incredible 2024 season. The 200m sprinter was named the winner of the 2024 Jackie Joyner-Kersee Athlete of the Year award, while the 110m hurdler has been awarded the Jesse Owens Athlete of the Year award.

Thomas’ season began with a 300m race at the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix, where she stormed to a dominant win. She kicked off her outdoor season in late March, winning the 100m and 200m sprints at the Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays and following it up with a 400m win at the LSU Alumni Gold.

After a few outings in the relay events, Gabby Thomas had a difficult time at the Los Angeles Grand Prix but redeemed herself at the New York Grand Prix a couple of weeks later. The sprinter then went on to dominate the U.S. Olympic Trials in the 200m.

At the Paris Olympics, the American won her maiden gold medal in the 200m and followed it up with top-of-the-podium finishes in both the 4x100m and 4x400m relays. This made her the only track and field athlete to win three gold medals at the Games.

Meanwhile, Grant Holloway kicked off his 2024 season running the indoor 60m hurdles race. He went unbeaten in the event over the course of four competitions, winning gold at the World Indoor Championships. He began his outdoor season in April, winning the Tom Jones Memorial, Prefontaine Classic, U.S. Olympic Trials, and Monaco Diamond League in dominant fashion.

At the 2024 Games, Holloway stormed to the 110m hurdles gold medal in a time of 12.99s. Now, the American has been honored with the Jesse Owens Athlete of the Year award for his accomplishments, while Thomas will receive the Jackie Joyner-Kersee Athlete of the Year award.

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Gabby Thomas reacts to being named the Jackie Joyner-Kersee Athlete of the Year awardee

Jackie Joyner-Kersee was an incredible athlete, winning two Olympic golds in the heptathlon as well as an Olympic title in the long jump. The American also won two World Championships gold in both of these events and has been a heptathlon world record holder since 1988.

The Jackie Joyner-Kersee Award is given to the top female track and field athlete in the United States, and Gabby Thomas expressed her gratitude after finding out she was the recipient of the award for 2024. Taking to X, she re-shared USATF’s post announcing her as the winner and added a teary-eyed emoji as well as the folded hands emoji.

Gabby Thomas and Grant Holloway will receive their award on December 7 at the 2024 USATF Night of Legends in Orlando, Florida.