Gabby Thomas Made a Powerful Statement in These Exclusive SI Swimsuit Behind the Scenes Pics

The 27-year-old athlete posed for Ben Horton at The Boca Raton for the 2025 issue.
Gabby Thomas arriving at the Carolina Herrera fashion show during New York Fashion Week
Gabby Thomas arriving at the Carolina Herrera fashion show during New York Fashion Week / Gilbert Carrasquillo/GC Images/Getty Images

Hot on the heels of her three gold medals at the 2024 Paris Games, Olympic sprinter Gabby Thomas has been making headlines all over again, but this time not for her incredible athletic abilities. The 27-year-old, who celebrates her birthday next month, is joining several fellow elite athletes as the first group of models set to appear in the 2025 SI Swimsuit issue. The professional runner traveled to The Boca Raton last week for her photo shoot with Ben Horton and the debut images are nothing short of spectacular. Even the candid, behind the scenes pics have us in awe, and, lucky for you, we’re totally happy to share.

For one series of images, the Atlanta-born, Massachusetts native donned a super stunning, sleek bright blue square-neck, scoop-back one-piece from Rat Boi featuring classy white trimming and a delicate teeny tiny rose front and center. The suit was custom embroidered by Abbode to read “Voting is Hot.”

Gabby Thomas
Gabby Thomas / SI Staff

“We are thrilled to launch our shoot season for the 2025 issue with an extraordinary lineup of powerful female athletes,” SI Swimsuit editor in chief MJ Day said about the talented group of women including Suni Lee, Nelly Korda, Eileen Gu, Ali Truwit, Caroline Marks, Jordan Chiles, Cameron Brink and Anna Hall. “This remarkable group, featuring Olympic medalists, world champions, and record holders, embodies the next generation of all-stars poised to transform the world of sports. They defy stereotypes and champion equality, inspiring young girls to envision themselves as both athletes and leaders. At SI Swimsuit, we’ve always celebrated the future of women, and there’s no better way to honor these remarkable achievements than by featuring them on the pages of our issue.”

Gabby Thomas and MJ Day
Gabby Thomas and MJ Day / SI Staff

Thomas, known for her incredible speed, is the fourth-fastest woman in history in the 200m. She achieved her record-breaking 21.60-second sprint at the 2021 U.S. Olympic Trials. This year, she traveled to France and walked away with three gold medals for the 200m sprint, the 4x100m relay and the 4x400m relay.

Thomas also joined Allyson Felix as the only American track athletes to secure three Olympic golds in a single game.

Gabby Thomas
Gabby Thomas / SI Staff

Off the field, the Harvard University graduate has a bachelor’s degree in neurobiology as well as a Master of Public Health in epidemiology from the University of Texas. She uses her platform to raise awareness for public health causes and advocate for diversity in STEM industries. She is dedicated to helping underserved communities and regularly volunteers at a clinic for people without insurance in Austin, Texas where she lives now.

Gabby Thomas
Gabby Thomas / SI Staff

Thomas, who is a New Balance ambassador and former SKIMS campaign star, has also been dabbling in modeling a bit over the past couple of years, and it’s totally evident in her SI Swim images (which you can see for yourself in the magazine next May).

Next. Gabby Thomas Intro. Everything to Know About Gabby Thomas, SI Swimsuit Athlete. dark


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Ananya Panchal
ANANYA PANCHAL

Ananya Panchal is a writer on the Lifestyle and Trending News team for SI Swimsuit. Before joining SI Swimsuit in 2022, she worked at Bustle, the San Francisco Chronicle and the TODAY Show. When she is not writing or doom-scrolling on social media, Panchal can be found playing sudoku, rewatching One Tree Hill or trying new restaurants. She's also a coffee and chocolate (separately) enthusiast. Panchal has a bachelor’s in communications and journalism from Boston University.