"You know black households, you don't get to talk back"-Gabby Thomas opens up about being forced into track and field by her mother

Gabby Thomas recently revealed that her mother was the reason she chose track and field as a sport. The Olympic champion appeared on the Jimmy Kimmel Live days after her Paris Olympics exploits.

Thomas stole the spotlight at the 2024 Summer Games, where she clinched three gold medals in the 200m, 4x100m relay, and 4x400m relay dashes. She clocked a time of 21.83s to claim the 200m title, finishing ahead of Julien Alfred and Brittany Brown, who recorded 22.08s and 22.20s, respectively.

Along with this, the American also delivered a victorious performance in the 4x100m relay and 4x400m relay with her team and clocked 41.78s and 3:15.27, respectively. Making an appearance on a recent episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live, which was hosted by guest host, RuPaul, Gabby Thomas opened up about the reason behind pursuing track and field as her career.

The 27-year-old thanked her mother, Jennifer Randall, for making her pick track as a sport and revealed that she "originally chose softball," and track and field wasn't her first love.

"Mom, I want to thank you so much for forcing me to do track and field. Thank you. You knew what you were doing," Thomas said. "I originally chose softball; I wanted to do it with my friends, you know, track and field was not my first love, soccer was. My friends were doing softball, so I signed up, but, my mother had another idea, and I don't know. You know about black households, you don't really get to talk back."

She added:

"She made that decision for me. She said track and field; she signed me up, and I showed up to practice for first day, and never looked back."

The athlete's mother, who was sitting in the crowd, replied:

"You're welcome, baby. Always listen to your mother."

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Gabby Thomas opened up about the secret behind winning three gold medals at the Paris Olympics

Gabby Thomas, who dominated at the Paris Olympics, unveiled her strategy to win three gold medals in the event in the CBS Mornings interview. She opined on the power of self-talk, saying that she manifested being an Olympic champion even before competing in the event.

"I am building my self-talk. I'm building my confidence in that moment. I am telling myself that I am already the Olympic champion," said Thomas. "I wrote down over and over every morning, while I was in Paris, that I will be the Olympic champion in my notes app, over and over and I envisioned the race all day, every day, imagining myself winning and crossing the line in front," she said [at 1:00].

Gabby Thomas is now expected to run in the 200m event at the Athlos NYC, slated to be held at the Icahn Stadium, New York on September 26.