Gabby Thomas Shares the Invaluable Life Skills She Learned From Being an Olympic Sprinter

The American track and field star makes her SI Swimsuit debut in the 2025 issue, which hits stands today.

Gabby Thomas has spent years proving herself as one of the fastest women in the world. Now, she’s making her mark in front of the camera.

The American Olympic sprinter makes her SI Swimsuit debut in the 2025 magazine, hitting newsstands this week. While on location for her photo shoot with Ben Horton in Boca Raton, Fla., she spoke candidly about her strength, confidence and long journey toward self-love.

Thomas, who was born in Georgia, excelled in both academics and athletics from a young age. When she discovered her passion for track and field, she also became aware of the pressures that came with it. “I teetered between not wanting to look too masculine and strong and also wanting to maintain a feminine look and be thin,” she says. “There were times where it would make me feel self-conscious to be a really strong track athlete.”

View Gabby Thomas‘s full 2025 SI Swimsuit gallery here.

Over time, the sport became a source of empowerment and the 28-year-old gained a tremendous amount of confidence.

“Focusing on goals gave me a sense of purpose. I was less focused on what my body looked like and more on what it could do for me,” the newly engaged model shares. “I think what I would tell girls now is to not worry about what society thinks about your body. Don’t worry about what society tells you your body is for. That’s for you to decide, and you can do amazing things with it.”

That mindset helped Thomas, a two-time Olympian, rise to the pinnacle of her sport. At the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, she earned a bronze medal in the 200-meter dash and a silver medal in the 4x100-meter relay. At the 2024 Paris Games, she captured gold medals in the 200 meters, 4x100-meter relay and 4x400-meter relay, cementing her status as one of the most decorated American sprinters of her generation. She also holds the distinction of being the fourth-fastest woman in history in the 200 meters, with a record-breaking 21.60-second sprint at the 2021 U.S. Olympic Trials.

Gabby Thomas was photographed by Ben Horton at The Boca Raton. Swimsuit by GIGI C. / Ben Horton/Sports Illustrated

Through the sport, she has developed discipline, resilience and the invaluable ability to bounce back from both wins and losses—a skill she says carries into every aspect of her life

Off the track, the Austin resident holds a degree in neurobiology and global health from Harvard and a master’s in epidemiology from the University of Texas.

She balances her elite athletics career with a passion for public health and enjoys painting, music and spending time with her dog, Milo.

Redefining strength and femininity

On set in Florida, Thomas posed confidently in an array of sleek, bold swimwear looks alongside nine other trailblazing young athletes featured in the 2025 SI Swimsuit Issue. As the shoot wrapped, she reflected on the moment. “Today was really hectic, but I’m so happy,” she shared. “And I feel like a model.”

Behind the scenes, she also addressed common misconceptions about track and field and the challenges female athletes continue to face. “People assume we’re just effortlessly fast. But the truth is, it takes years of practice to get even a tenth of a second faster. That’s so many hours per day,” she explained.

For Thomas—and many of her peers—success comes not from raw talent alone, but from relentless dedication. Years of incremental progress, sometimes shaving just one-tenth of a second off a time, require effort rarely seen or fully appreciated by the public, who often view sprinting and professional sports as one-dimensional entertainment.

She also points out the broader lack of recognition for women in sports. “A lot of times, we don’t respect or celebrate women as athletes as much as we should, and we see women’s sports as kind of like this other,” she says. “But really, women’s sports is just like men’s sports, and it’s just a part of the sports world. And I think we’re getting closer to that [mindset], but there’s still a lot of room for improvement.”

While visibility has improved, disparities in media coverage, pay and sponsorship opportunities remain.

Closing that gap starts with continued exposure and advocacy. “Force people to see it. Force people to respect it,” Thomas encourages. “Because we have such an amazing product.”