"She took a year off" - Justin Gatlin in awe of Gabby Thomas' ability to balance between different passions and impress at the Paris Olympics

Newly crowned Olympic 200m champion Gabby Thomas has been making headlines recently, thanks to her astonishing performance at the Paris Olympics. Thomas won three gold medals, winning the 200m, 4x100m, and 4x400m women’s relay races.

Following her impressive performance, Thomas has earned praise from top personalities, including retired sprinter Justin Gatlin. The 2004 Olympic champion expressed surprise at how Thomas can balance track and field with different passions.

The legendary sprinter pointed out that through her Olympic performance, Gabby Thomas is a true definition of an inspiration to the younger generation. Gatlin added he was there to watch her perform at the Texas Relays earlier this year where she won the 100m, 200m, and the 4x100m relay.

Gatlin said on his Ready Set Go podcast:

"Congratulations Gabby, you did an amazing job and had an amazing season. You’ve finished your Olympic campaign off very strong as well. You captured that gold, you made your dreams come true, very very proud of you, you did an amazing job. Keep inspiring, you are inspiring so many young athletes to go out there and really seize their moments and goals."

"A lot of people don’t realize that she took a year off and went on a missionary trip and just kind of dived into what her passion is other than track and field. So, to be able to do that, you realise like, you can balance yourself when it comes to what your passions are and she completed a task and said now let’s go out there and achieve what we can definitely achieve and that is go out there and become an Olympic champion, she did it," he added.

Thomas was off to a great start in her Olympic campaign, winning the 200m heats and semifinal in 22.20 and 21.86 seconds, respectively. She then went ahead to win the final in 21.83s.

Thomas was instrumental in the women’s 4x100m, as Team USA claimed the top spot in the heats before winning the final in 41.78 seconds. She also aided Team USA to win the women’s 4x400m relay in 3:15.27.

Gabby Thomas speaks on drawing inspiration from Allyson Felix

Gabby Thomas speaks on drawing inspiration from Allyson Felix- Source: Getty Images

Gabby Thomas disclosed how Allyson Felix was vital to her success at the Paris Olympics, where she claimed three gold medals.

In an interview on TODAY, Thomas shared that before she went to the Paris Games, she had a chat with Felix, who fully rallied behind her.

"I remember her telling me before I even left for Paris, 'You know how to do this. You've done it for years. Go out and have fun and show the world what you have been working on.' That's what I needed to hear," Thomas said.

Gabby Thomas became the first woman since Allyson Felix to win three Olympic gold medals in a track event. Felix executed the same at the 2012 London Olympics, winning the 100m, 200m, and 4x100m relay.