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ABC News
43 minutes ago
- Politics
- ABC News
Gabby Thomas harassed by gambler at track meet in United States
Three-time Olympic track gold medallist Gabby Thomas says she was verbally abused at a meet in Philadelphia last weekend, the latest incident of harassment the American has reported this year. Thomas, who won gold in the 200 metres, as well as the 4x100m and 4x400m relays at the Paris Games, said in a post on X that a man followed her around at the Grand Slam Track meet while she took pictures for fans and signed autographs, shouting insults at her. "Anybody who enables him online is gross," Thomas wrote. Thomas's post was in response to another on X that contained a video of a person heckling Thomas while she was on the starting line, shouting "you're a choke artist — you're going down, Gabby". "I made Gabby lose by heckling her. And it made my parlay win," the social media user wrote, with a screenshot of two online multi-leg bets. The track circuit said in a statement: "Grand Slam Track is conducting a full investigation into the reprehensible behaviour captured on video. "We are working to identify the individual involved and will take appropriate action as necessary. "We will implement additional safeguards to help prevent incidents like this in the future. Let us be clear, despicable behaviour like this will not be tolerated." Thomas finished third overall in the short sprints group for the Philadelphia meet, the third in the novel circuit's inaugural season. One of America's brightest stars in track, the 28-year-old Thomas catapulted to mainstream fame after her breakout performance in Paris, gracing the cover of American Vogue magazine and appearing on US talk shows. But Thomas has also suffered the darker side of fame, describing on TikTok this year how she was stalked by a group of men at several airports, as social media gives female athletes greater exposure. The incident at Grand Slam Track also reflected a growing link between sports betting and harassment, with female tennis players, including Caroline Garcia, pointing to "unhealthy betting" as a key culprit. Major tennis governing bodies moved to combat online abuse and published a report last year that attributed nearly half of abusive social media posts to angry gamblers. "Thank you for pointing out this disgusting behaviour," retired former world 10,000m silver medallist Kara Goucher wrote on X. "You are exposing the crap that women go through and will eventually help other women as well." Reuters
Straits Times
3 hours ago
- Sport
- Straits Times
Gold medallist Thomas harassed by bettor at Grand Slam Track
Gabby Thomas competing in the women's 200m on the Grand Slam Track-Philadelphia on May 31. PHOTO: AFP NEW YORK - Three-times Olympic gold medallist Gabby Thomas said she was verbally abused at the Grand Slam Track meet in Philadelphia last weekend, the latest incident of harassment the American has reported in 2025. Thomas, who won gold in the 200 metres, and 4x100m and 4x400m relays at the Paris Games, said in a post on X that a man followed her around the track while she took pictures for fans and signed autographs, shouting personal insults at her. "Anybody who enables him online is gross," wrote Thomas. Thomas' post was in response to another on X which contained a video of a person heckling Thomas while she was on the starting line, shouting "you're a choke artist - you're going down, Gabby". "I made Gabby lose by heckling her. And it made my parlay win," the social media user wrote, with a screenshot of two multi-leg bets on the FanDuel sportsbook platform. The track circuit said in a statement: "Grand Slam Track is conducting a full investigation into the reprehensible behavior captured on video. We are working to identify the individual involved and will take appropriate action as necessary. "We will implement additional safeguards to help prevent incidents like this in the future. Let us be clear, despicable behavior like this will not be tolerated." Thomas finished third overall in the short sprints group for the Philadelphia meet, the third in the novel circuit's inaugural season. One of American track's brightest stars, the 28-year-old Thomas catapulted to mainstream fame after her breakout performance in Paris, gracing the cover of American "Vogue" magazine and appearing on US talk shows. But Thomas has also suffered the darker side of fame, describing on TikTok this year how she was stalked by a group of men at several airports, as social media gives female athletes greater exposure. The incident at Grand Slam Track also reflected a growing link between sports betting and harassment, with female tennis players including Caroline Garcia pointing to "unhealthy betting" as a key culprit. Major tennis governing bodies moved to combat online abuse and published last year a report that attributed nearly half of abusive social media posts to angry gamblers. "Thank you for pointing out this disgusting behavior," retired former world 10,000m silver medallist and NBC Sports commentator Kara Goucher wrote on X. "You are exposing the crap that women go through and will eventually help other women as well." REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
The Independent
6 hours ago
- General
- The Independent
Champion runner harassed and abused at track meet
Olympic 200m champion Gabby Thomas was verbally abused at the Grand Slam Track meet in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Thomas reported on X that a man followed her, shouting personal insults while she interacted with fans. A separate X post showed Thomas being heckled on the starting line, with a person yelling: 'You're a choke artist – you're going down, Gabby.' The social media user claimed they "made Gabby lose by heckling her' so they could win a bet. Grand Slam Track has initiated a full investigation into the incident, promising to identify the person responsible and implement safeguards to prevent future incidents.
USA Today
8 hours ago
- Sport
- USA Today
Gabby Thomas, American gold medalist, calls out bettor for harassment at track
Gabby Thomas, American gold medalist, calls out bettor for harassment at track Show Caption Hide Caption Gabby Thomas found track later in life, now she has her eyes on gold Gabby Thomas didn't find track until later in life. She has a silver and bronze from Tokyo Olympics, but now she's looking for gold in the 200-meter Gabby Thomas took to social media Monday to call out a sports bettor whom she said verbally harassed her and followed her around the track at last weekend's Grand Slam Track meet in Philadelphia. Thomas, a three-time Olympic gold medalist, wrote on X that the bettor shouted personal insults at her and "followed me around the track as I took pictures and signed autographs for fans" at Franklin Field on Sunday. The man had posted a video clip of himself on X yelling at Thomas prior to the women's 100-meter dash, and boasting that the interaction had helped him win a parlay bet. "Anybody who enables him online is gross," Thomas wrote in her post. "Honestly the heckling is tolerable," she added in a second post. "It's following me around the stadium that's wild." In the video clip, the bettor is heard calling Thomas a "choke artist" and referencing the fact that she is Black and her fiancé is White. He also posted screenshots on X of two separate bets he had made on FanDuel, indicating that he had won more than $1,000 on parlay bets that included the women's 100-meter dash, in which Thomas finished fourth. In response to a direct message from USA TODAY Sports seeking comment, the bettor, whose real name is not listed on his X account, disputed Thomas' characterization that he was following her around the stadium and expressed his reasons for disliking her. When asked for his name and city of residence, he first asked that he be identified only by his X handle, then gave a reporter a fake name. He said he resides in Puerto Rico. "Grand Slam Track is conducting a full investigation into the reprehensible behavior captured on video," the track league said in a statement provided to Reuters. "We are working to identify the individual involved and will take appropriate action as necessary." Thomas has become one of the most popular athletes in track and field during the past few years after winning three gold medals at the 2024 Paris Games – including in her signature event, the 200-meter dash – to go along with a bronze and silver from the 2021 Olympics in Tokyo. The 28-year-old is one of several athletes who have become outspoken about harassment and other troubling interactions they have had with fans. Thomas said on TikTok earlier this year that she has been confronted at airports in multiple cities by the same small group of adult men, who approached her with a stack of photos, asked her to sign them and became aggressive when she declined. "They have my flight information, and they show up at the front door of the concourse, or they show up at my gate, which means they have flight tickets and get past security," Thomas said in the video. Thomas' interaction Sunday also highlights the overlap of harassment and sports betting, which some athletes and leagues have highlighted as an increasingly worrisome issue. A report published by major governing bodies in tennis late last year found that nearly half of the abusive social media posts that were directed at players came from angry bettors. Several Major League Baseball players have talked about receiving online death threats following poor performances, including Houston Astros pitcher Lance McCullers Jr., who told The Associated Press last week that the threats prompted him to get 24-hour security for his family. "It used to be fans who were upset because you blew the game for the team, but now it's gambling," MLB pitcher Paul Sewald told USA TODAY Sports last summer. "These people don't really care about the (team). They just care about their bets, and we're talking about money they don't have that they are losing. So, it's a very scary spot." Contributing: Reuters Contact Tom Schad at tschad@ or on social media @
The Hindu
8 hours ago
- Sport
- The Hindu
Olympic Gold medallist Gabby Thomas harassed at Grand Slam Track
Three-times Olympic gold medallist Gabby Thomas said she was verbally abused at the Grand Slam Track meet in Philadelphia last weekend, the latest incident of harassment the American has reported this year. Thomas, who won gold in the 200 metres, and 4x100m and 4x400m relays in Paris, said in a post on X that a man followed her around the track while she took pictures for fans and signed autographs, shouting personal insults at her. 'Anybody who enables him online is gross,' wrote Thomas. Thomas' post was in response to another on X which contained a video of a person heckling Thomas while she was on the starting line, shouting 'you're a choke artist - you're going down, Gabby'. 'I made Gabby lose by heckling her. And it made my parlay win,' the social media user wrote, with a screenshot of two multi-leg bets on the FanDuel sportsbook platform. Grand Slam Track did not immediately respond to a request for comment. One of American track's brightest stars, Thomas catapulted to mainstream fame after her breakout performance in Paris, gracing the cover of American 'Vogue' magazine and appearing on U.S. talk shows. Also read | India continues to be second in AIU's global list of doping offenders But Thomas has also suffered the darker side of fame, describing on TikTok this year how she was stalked by a group of men at several airports, as social media gives female athletes greater exposure. The incident at Grand Slam Track also reflected a growing link between sports betting and harassment, with female tennis players including Caroline Garcia pointing to 'unhealthy betting' as a key culprit. Major tennis governing bodies moved to combat online abuse published last year a report that attributed nearly half of abusive social media posts to angry gamblers. 'Thank you for pointing out this disgusting behavior,' retired former world 10,000 metres silver medallist and NBC Sports commentator Kara Goucher wrote on X. 'You are exposing the crap that women go through and will eventually help other women as well.' Related Topics Gabby Thomas
