Gabby Thomas calls herself an "equal opportunity doping hater"
The Olympic 200m champion named nobody, but said speaking up last year cost her phone calls and comments behind her back.
Gabby Thomas finished runner-up in the 200m at the World Athletics Ultimate Championship in Budapest, crossing in 21.77, then used the interview afterward to restate where she stands on doping in the sport.
Speaking to CITIUS MAG, Thomas expanded on comments she made last summer via Instagram stories about coaches with doping histories and the athletes who choose to work with them. She named nobody, then and now.
"I am an equal opportunity doping hater, meaning that if you are actively doping in the sport, I do take issue with that," she said. She added that she is not pointing at specific athletes, and that "if you look at yourself and you think that's what you're doing, then so be it."
I am an equal opportunity doping hater, meaning that if you are actively doping in the sport, I do take issue with that
if you look at yourself and you think that's what you're doing, then so be it.
The cost of saying it
The part that is actually new is what happened after the first time. Thomas said becoming an Olympic champion gave her a bigger platform, and she used it during a stretch when there was, in her words, "so many news coming out that summer of agents and coaches and athletes." She said the response included a few phone calls and a lot of comments behind her back.
That is the whole doping portion of the interview. No case, no names, no evidence presented. This is a star athlete repeating a position on camera, not a doping story.
The rest of the interview
Thomas called her run in Budapest the best she has ever run in a championship, and said she had a phenomenal season overall, including a personal best in the 100m. She took nearly two months off between the London and Italy meets, saying she had things to work on in training but also loves her routine at home.
She turns 30 next year and said she is prioritizing recovery. She is getting married this fall and wants to be mentally reset for the two-year cycle that runs through Worlds and the LA Olympics. The full interview is on the CITIUS MAG YouTube channel.
Win the long run conversation
One email a day. Under three minutes. Marathon results, shoe fights and training arguments, settled.