The list of Americans as accomplished as sprinter Gabby Thomas by the age of 28 is not long.
Thomas is now the owner of three Olympic gold medals, having won the 200-meter race, 4x100-meter relay, and 4x400-meter relay at the 2024 Summer Games in Paris. Already the owner of two medals from the 2021 Tokyo Games, she added a pair of World Relays gold medals in the Bahamas last May.
That's on top of her neurobiology and global health degree from Harvard and masters of public health from Texas. Now, she can add participation in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue to her lengthy resume.
"I was definitely very self-aware of my body, and my body type," Thomas told SI of her early days as a sprinter. "I teetered between not wanting to look too masculine and strong, and also wanting to maintain a feminine look and also be thin."
Track, Thomas said, helped her get more comfortable in her own skin—and she hopes she can impart that lesson to people of all body types.
"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," Thomas said. "That's for you to decide, and you can do amazing things with it."
The 2025 SI Swimsuit issue is out today wherever magazines are sold.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Gabby Thomas, Fresh Off Olympic Success, Debuts for Sports Illustrated Swimsuit .
