"Probably my Olympic highlight" - Gabby Thomas credits Ilona Maher and Team USA for getting her familiarised with women's rugby

Gabby Thomas is a rising track and field athlete who specializes in both 100m and 200m sprints. The Paris Olympics triple-gold medallist recently talked about the soaring sport of rugby sevens and rugby star, Ilona Maher.

Thomas recently appeared on one of the episodes of the “Not Gonna Lie with Kylie Kelce” podcast and shared her thoughts on rugby sevens and from where she started getting familiar with the sport. She also spoke about renowned rugby player Ilona Maher and her successful off-field work on social media.

“I went and I saw women's rugby because, huge Ilona Maher fan, yes, yes. That was so much fun to watch, that probably was my Olympic highlight. Yeah so I had seen it before. So my boyfriend actually plays club rugby. So I became a huge like rugby fan, I watched the Netflix doc and everything. But I hadn't seen so much of the women's rugby,” she said [18:02 onwards].

Thomas further continued:

“And I mean I've always been a fan of Ilona ever since honestly, the Tokyo Olympics because her social media presence is everything. So I watched like a little bit, but I genuinely feel like this was the year of women's rugby and like even before the girls started playing we had like a mixed practice.”

Two-time Olympian Gabby Thomas additionally gave optimistic thoughts on their combined practice sessions with the rugby team. She further emphasized their team camaraderie, mentioning it was “cute” and “really fun."

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Gabby Thomas reveals minute details engraved on her three Olympic Gold medals

Gabby Thomas at the 2024 Paris Olympics - Athletics - Source: Getty

Gabby Thomas secured three gold medals at the Paris Olympics in three different events of track and field. The 28-year-old athlete who won 22 conference titles talked about the best features of her gold medals while talking to GQ Sports.

“Each medal is engraved with the event that I won. So, this one is my 200 meter, and you can see it there on the little edge there. And that way I won't get them mixed up or confused. I love these medals. I think they are so beautiful. One of my favorite parts about them is that they have little pieces of the Eiffel Tower in them, which is really cool. And on the back here you can see the Goddess of Victory, the Eiffel Tower, and the Parthenon. And I feel like this really commemorates the Paris Olympics really well,” she shared [0:07 onwards].

After a successful stint at the Summer Olympics last year, Gabby Thomas also talked about the inaugural edition of Alexis Ohanian-founded track meet Athlos NYC, which she participated in. The iconic athlete and former Harvard student also has a master's in public health and is passionate about pursuing goals in health equity.