Gabby Thomas gets emotional as she watches Stephen Nedoroscik and Ilona Maher perform in Dancing With the Stars Finale

Gabby Thomas recently reacted to the dance performances of Olympic medalist rugby player Ilona Maher and double Olympic medalist gymnast Stephen Nedoroscik at the dance reality show 'Dancing with the Stars'. The grand finale for the 33rd season of the 'Dancing with the Stars' was broadcasted on the 'abc' channel on November 26, which was won by Joey Graziadei and his dance partner Jenna Johnson. Maher finished as the runners-up with her partner Alan Bersten, while Nedoroscik finished fourth with his partner Rylee Arnold.

Thomas cheered for Nedoroscik and Maher as they performed for the final time at the dance reality show. The 27- year-old sprinter became emotional at their brilliant performances, as she posted on her X handle [formerly Twitter],

"Crying watching @TeamUSA on @officialdwts !!! So proud of Stephen and Ilona!"

Nedoroscik and Maher were the first Olympians to have made it to the grand finale since gymnastics' legend Simone Biles, who finished fourth way back in 2017. This came as a shock to many people, since Biles was one of the most consistent performers in the 24th season.

A similar case happened in the 33rd season [the current season] of the dance reality show. Stephen Nedoroscik and Ilona Maher surprised everyone with their brilliant performances. While Maher earned an impressive 57 out of 60 alongside her dance partner Alan Bersten, Nedoroscik and his dance partner Rylee Arnold nearly missed a perfect 60. However, in the audience vote, Nedoroscik was ranked fourth, while Maher missed the coveted trophy by a whisker, finishing as the runners-up.

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When Gabby Thomas proposed a marathon with Ilona Maher

When Gabby Thomas suggested running a marathon with Ilona Maher [Image for Representational Purposes] [Image Source : Getty]

Gabby Thomas has been supportive of Ilona Maher since the Paris Olympics. The two athletes had even attended the New York Marathon, though in different roles. While Maher served as the high performance coach, Thomas was the grand marshal for the marathon.

On November 3, Thomas posted a photo with Maher on her Instagram story, asking her fans,

"Should @ilonamaher and I run a marathon?"

Maher shared the story on her handle, terming the idea as 'terrible but hilarious'.

"That would be terrible but also hilarious," she wrote.

Apart from a historic performance at the Dancing with the Stars, Ilona Maher had also contributed to a historic medal in the rugby sevens' event at the Paris Olympics 2024, where the women's rugby team from USA won their first Olympic medal in the history of the women's team.

On the other hand, Gabby Thomas won three Olympic gold medals at Paris 2024. She outpaced the 100m champion, Julien Alfred from Saint Lucia to win the gold medal in the women's 200m event. The 27-year-old sprinter further won two more Olympic gold medals in the women's 4x100m relay and the women's 4x400m relay for Team USA at this year's Olympics.