AUSTIN, Texas — There was a moment on a recent random Wednesday, as the world champion sprinter and Olympic medalist Gabrielle Thomas juggled emails about a meeting she had to run at a volunteer health clinic and readied for a voiceover for a commercial with a blue-chip sponsor and figured out the logistics of an upcoming weight-training session, when she had something of an epiphany.
“You drop a talented, competitive person into a national-class group, and that allows her to take off,” he said. “The group pushed her to become so good so fast.” At the Olympic trials in 2016, she lined up on the same track as her heroes, including Felix, and finished sixth in the 200 meters. She remembers Torie Bowie, who won the race, finishing 0.5 seconds ahead of her, making up the staggered-start lead Thomas had on her within the first few strides. “I got smoked,” Thomas said.