Gabby Thomas overwhelmed as fans rally after injury forces her to miss World Athletics Championships 2025

American athlete Gabby Thomas made her feelings known after receiving immense support from the track world after announcing her withdrawal from the 2025 World Championships in Tokyo. Thomas had qualified for the 200m race after her performances at the Nationals, where she finished third.

Despite her qualification, Thomas had highlighted that she had been dealing with an Achilles issue that had prevented her from training much across the 2025 season. Now, this injury has forced Thomas to skip the Worlds.

Despite this withdrawal, Thomas expressed her feelings after receiving immense support from the fans and shared that she would try to get back on track as soon as possible. She wrote (via her X handle):

"Wowow I was a little nervous about sharing my injury news, but I have been met with so much support from partners and track fans. It truly means so much. I love track and can’t wait to get back to myself and racing the best in the world. See you guys soon 🫶🏽"

Several notable personalities, such as Serena Williams' husband and Athlos founder, Alexis Ohanian, have expressed their wishes to Gabby Thomas in recent days.

Gabby Thomas shared her thoughts after being sidelined from the World Championships 2025

Gabby Thomas expressed her disappointment after pulling out of the World Championships in Tokyo due to an Achilles injury. During her last outing at the World Championships in Budapest, Thomas clinched two medals, a gold as part of the relay team and a second-place finish in the 200m race.

In a press release, Thomas remarked that her withdrawal would be disappointing for fans, but it was important for her and her body. She also mentioned that she wants to work hard on the track, but it's very difficult to do that while trying to counter an injury. She said:

"I understand that it will be disappointing for some track fans to hear this news, but I’ve finally come to the realization that it’s OK to be human and take care of myself. As an athlete you always want to keep grinding, but sometimes you simply can’t outwork an injury."

In her release, Gabby Thomas also wished good luck to her US teammates who will be competing in Tokyo, and several of them were also her teammates in Paris, including Sha'Carri Richardson and Melissa Jefferson-Wooden.

About the author

Soumik is a journalist at Sportskeeda who covers US Olympics. Currently an Honors student of Journalism and Mass Communication, he has also worked for other firms as a tennis and football content writer.

Soumik’s favorite Olympian is Michael Phelps and he believes that the eight-time Olympic gold medal-winning swimmer has revolutionized the spectrum of Swimming. Nonetheless, the adrenaline rush that Track & Field sports offer interests him the most; and Neeraj Chopra’s historic gold-medal victory at the 2020 Tokyo Games is his favorite moment from past Olympics.

Soumik sources data and facts from credible sources like BBC and NBC for accurate and relevant reporting, and keeps up with updates on social media and news media platforms.

He feels that covering collegiate tournaments, similar to what is done in the United States can be a good way to cover the bridge the coverage gap during the Olympics off season.

When not reporting on the latest Olympics news stories, Soumik likes to play cricket and watch movies.

Know More

Edited by Tushar Bahl