As for running faster than she ever had before, she told the Globe, “I was like, ‘I’m just happy to be here. I’m going to kick ass because I’m healthy.’ Maybe that was part of it. Part of my relief, it showed in how I raced.”
She still plans on making the world a healthier, more equitable place, but she’d like to do so with a gold medal from the Tokyo Olympics on display next to her degrees. (Or two, having also been named to the women’s 4x100m relay team since the trials.)
“Now I’m just going to have to map out a different trajectory for my life,” she said on My New Favorite Olympian. “My dream was to make the Olympic team, not to even win the Olympic trials—not even to break the meet record. Now that I’ve accomplished those as well, I’m just going to set higher goals and I’m excited about that.”
Asked if one of those higher goals included a world record, which would make her second-to-none in the 200m, Thomas replied, “I don’t want to say no. I don’t want to put a limit on myself. I’m not going to say it’s unattainable.”
That attitude bodes well both for the U.S. track and field team and countless other people.
“What we’re seeing with COVID, and what we saw with COVID, was nothing that I was surprised by, it just really solidified that I wanted to do what I was doing,” she told CBS News of her public health aspirations. “It’s time to make a change and I think everybody’s on board. So, I’m happy to be a part of it.”
Be the first to comment