Northampton, Massachusetts-native Gabby Thomas took home the gold medal Tuesday in the women's 200 meters during the track and field competition at the Olympics in Paris. And at her former prep school, Williston Northampton in Easthampton, dozens gathered to cheer her on.
The large room inside the campus center where the watch party was taking place grew quiet as the runners took their position in the starting blocks. And once the race was underway, the cheering grew and reached its peak when Thomas hit the finish line first.
Then the celebration began, complete with hugs and high-fives.
Thomas decisively won the gold medal with a time of 21.83 seconds, ahead of the silver medalist, St. Lucia’s Julien Alfred, and fellow American Brittany Brown, who picked up the bronze.
Thomas attended prep school at Williston before going to college at Harvard. After the race, the prep school's head, Robert W. Hill III, said he became emotional watching his former student.
"I have to admit that I was brought to tears watching her at the end of that race and seeing how happy she was and just the sheer joy from all the training and all the work she's done," Hill said. "To get gold, is just remarkable."
Associate athletic director Melissa Brousseau, who was at Williston when Thomas was there, said she was proud of what the Olympian has accomplished.
"She is an amazing person, inside and out, and is superbly talented and works really hard for what she's accomplished," Brousseau said. "It means the world to this community."
Brousseau said while she was watching the race on Tuesday, her mind went back to a moment when Thomas was just starting out at Williston.
"I was actually thinking about her back in eighth grade when she was beating all of her fellow eighth graders sprinting at field day and she was crushing it then as an eighth grader, Brousseau said. "Just to see her cross (the finish line), I almost cried. It's just so amazing."
Ann Hallock, the school's communications director, said Thomas continues to be remembered fondly on the Easthampton campus.
"She set a new record just about every time she stepped on the track here, but was also a tremendous community member and scholar and everything else," Hallock said before the race. "It's very exciting to see somebody the community knows and loves very much achieving her dreams on the world stage."
The gold was the third Olympic medal for Thomas. She won a bronze medal in the 2021 Tokyo Olympics in the 200 meters and a silver in the 4x100 meter relay.
It’s possible Thomas could still participate in a relay later this week.
