Gabby Thomas, Noah Lyles and other athletes involved in X drama: All you need to know

Gabby Thomas, Noah Lyles, Rai Benjamin, and many other athletes recently posted curious tweets about a track-related account on X (formerly Twitter). The account, which shared updates about track athletes, has since gone inactive following the athletes’ posts.

It all began when Thomas posted a tweet after doing some investigation, adding she had uncovered something interesting about the person behind the account. She remarked:

Following these tweets by the two-time Olympian, two-time Olympic gold medalist Rai Benjamin tweeted, commenting:

Meanwhile, the Olympic 100m gold medalist Noah Lyles too joined, with his tweet, saying:

Notably, Thomas is known for not shying away from hitting back at trolls directly on social media.

Gabby Thomas hits back at critic who questioned about her intelligence

Gabby Thomas hit back at an individual who shared a judgemental message suggesting she lacked intelligence. Besides being a three-time Olympic gold medalist, Thomas earned her bachelor’s degree in neurobiology and global health from Harvard University and completed a master’s in public health in May 2023.

The 28-year-old responded with a witty and sarcastic comeback by mocking the comment while highlighting her academic credibility of holding a degree from Harvard, stating:

It was Thomas' mother who inspired her to prioritize education alongside her athletic career. Her mother, Jennifer Randall, holds the prestigious Dunn Family Chair in Psychometrics and Test Development at the University of Michigan.

About the author

Abhiruchi is a US Olympics journalist at Sportskeeda, specializing in Athletics, Swimming, Gymnastics, and Wrestling among other sports. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Journalism and Mass Communication and has over 2 years of prior experience in the sports journalism sector.

Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy are Abhiruchi’s favorite Olympians. She began following them in 2018, and seeing their transformation from initially not wanting to play together to becoming the world's top-ranked men's doubles pair inspires her.

Track & Field excites Abhiruchi the most because of the diverse range of events involved in it. Neeraj Chopra's historic performance at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics stands as her favorite Olympic moment as it was India’s first gold in track and field events. She feels that focus should be placed on up-and-coming athletes to increase the coverage of Olympic sports during the off-season.

Abhiruchi applies journalistic principles learnt while pursuing her Bachelor’s degree by prioritizing first-hand information, cross-checking via multiple reliable sources, and fact-checking for accuracy. She follows reputed sources and numerous established athletes on social media platforms to remain updated.

When not reporting, Abhiruchi enjoys traveling and spending time with her family and friends.

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