The Summer Olympics in Paris begins this week. One high-profile athlete with local ties is Gabby Thomas. The Northampton, Massachusetts, native is one of the United States' best hopes for a gold medal in track and field. She went to high school at Williston Northampton in neighboring Easthampton.
We paid a visit to the school's track and spoke with Thomas' coach Martha McCullagh. There's a record board nearby, and she read off all of the records Thomas set there.
Martha McCullagh, former teacher and coach, Williston Northampton School: She's got the 100, the 200, the long jump, the triple jump, and the four-by-one [relay] record.
Adam Frenier, NEPM: Tell us, was there one performance that really stood out over all the rest and all those records you just rattled off?
One of the most amazing was a four-by-one relay that, I mean, it was always fun to watch her run the 100 and watch her run the 200. But there was a four-by-one at New England’s, where we were running against some really talented teams from across New England.
And our other three runners were very good sprinters, but not at the level of a world class athlete to-be. And they had done well, but they I think she got the baton in fifth, maybe sixth place. And none of us were concerned. We knew that she would win. And by the time she got to the finish line for just running her 100 meters, she was well ahead of the pack and had changed the trajectory of that race.
Obviously, you have to have a certain amount of talent that's given to you, but what are some things that have made her a world class athlete — some attributes, both physically and perhaps in other areas as well?
That's a great question. Many of us like to think that anybody can be an Olympian. And some of the Olympians would say, "Sure, if you just work hard enough, you can be too." The truth is that they are all genetically gifted individuals. Their bodies start better than most of ours.
When Gabby left Williston, one of the conversations we had was that she had a lot of decisions to make, that she was a very good athlete and certainly had the ability to to do the work, but did she want to? That there are so many opportunities in college. There are so many opportunities beyond college for, what do you want to do? And, you know, it's a series of decisions.
And she decided that this was something she wanted to commit to. And it was a series of decisions throughout her college career as well. When there were some forks in the road and she was particularly interested in health care and following that. And then [she] realized that her running would be an opportunity for her to have more of a voice with the health care disparities and that she was enjoying running, that she enjoyed the community and the success, and saw that she could have success.
What's all this been like for you? I mean, this has been a journey for several years, being able to follow her, seeing all of Gabby's success. What has this experience been like for you?
Oh, it's been it's so gratifying. The thing that anybody needs to know about Gabby is that when you see her interviewed and she seems very humble and the humility comes out and she's just a genuinely kind person — that's the real Gabby, that's not put on at all. She is incredibly kind. I've seen her, you know, be great with little kids and take all the time in the world anybody wants.
And to know that, you know, this is the Gabby who sat in my classroom for Algebra II and then again in Calculus. And then I had the opportunity to coach out here on the track and see that that she's had this great ride and is having this great ride, it's so much fun.
McCullagh is retired now and plans to be in Paris to watch Thomas compete in the Olympics — something she was not able to do at the last Olympics, due to the pandemic.
