Latest news with #MelissaJeffersonWooden
BBC News
6 hours ago
- General
- BBC News
Grand Slam Track investigating alleged abuse of Thomas
Grand Slam Track is investigating the alleged abuse of three-time Olympic gold medallist Gabby Thomas at a meet in Philadelphia over the American sprinter posted on X, external on Monday to say that a man had followed her around the track and then shouted personal insults at her as she signed autographs for fans."Honestly the heckling is tolerable, it's following me around the stadium that's wild," Thomas, 28, wrote in a later added that "anybody who enables him online is gross".Responding to a previous Thomas post, a man shared a video of him heckling the sprinter at the starting line of the 200m, in which Thomas was narrowly beaten by Melissa Jefferson-Wooden, and said the result helped him win a bet."I made Gabby lose by heckling her. And it made my parlay win," he a statement to The Athletic, external, the event organisers said: "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."
Reuters
6 hours ago
- General
- Reuters
Olympic gold medalist Gabby Thomas calls out bettor for verbal abuse
June 3 - Gabby Thomas, a three-time Olympic gold medalist, said that an adult male sports bettor followed and verbally abused her during a Grand Slam Track meet in Philadelphia over the weekend. Thomas posted on X that as she took pictures and signed autographs for fans -- mostly children -- around the track, the man continued to follow her while shouting personal insults. She added that "anybody who enables him online is gross." Responding to a previous Thomas post, a man shared a video of him heckling the sprinter at the starting line. He also shared a screenshot of a bet slip with a parlay that included Thomas losing in the 200-meter dash as one of the legs. Melissa Jefferson-Wooden, who also edged Thomas in the 100, went on to win the 200, resulting in a win of more than $800. The man wrote: "I made Gabby lose by heckling her. And it made my parlay win." Thomas later replied that "the heckling is tolerable" but added that "it's following me around the stadium that's wild." "Grand Slam Track is conducting a full investigation into the reprehensible behavior captured on video," the track circuit said in a statement to The Athletic. "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, 28, shined at the 2024 Paris Olympics, winning gold not only in the 200 but also in the 4x100 and 4x400 relays. --Field Level Media
Daily Mail
10 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Olympian Gabby Thomas details scary ordeal with 'weirdo' fan at Philadelphia race
Gabby Thomas has revealed that a 'weirdo' fan verbally abused her and followed her around at a track meet over the weekend. Thomas, who won three gold medals at the Paris Olympics last summer, competed at the Grand Slam Track meet in Philadelphia - ultimately finishing fourth in the 100-meter sprint. And after she posted on X to thank fans for their support at the race, one provocateur took to the replies to take credit for Thomas' disappointing result. The X account, named 'Mr 100k a day,' attached a video of him heckling Thomas, as he bragged in the post about making her lose and winning parlays he placed. Thomas then publicly criticized his behavior as she quote-tweeted his message to her 81,000 followers. 'This grown man followed me around the track as I took pictures and signed autographs for fans (mostly children) shouting personal insults,' she said. 'Anybody who enables him online is gross.' Thomas added in a subsequent post that she 'wasn't even going to tweet about it but [did] since he's bragging.' She also replied 'Facts' when another fan wrote: '... This type of thing only happens to the greatest athletes in each sport...' As seen in a video posted by the heckler, who was just feet away from Thomas, he called her a 'choke artist' before repeatedly saying 'you going down.' However, he also made things personal as he said he mentioned Thomas having a white husband, and said he would instead be rooting for Melissa Jefferson-Wooden because she has a black husband. In another online reply, Thomas actually said that 'the heckling is tolerable, it's following me around the stadium that's wild.' She also added that, aside from the heckler, 'overall the fans and spectators at this meet were the absolute best!' Legendary sprinter and Grand Slam Track Commissioner Michael Johnson responded to her troubling claims and said the organization was investigating the incident. 'So sorry you had to experience this Gabby!,' he said. 'We are working to identify the individual involved and will take appropriate action as necessary. Despicable behavior like this will not be tolerated.' Unfortunately, this is not the first harrowing situation that Thomas has found herself in this year. In January, she said that a group of men have been following her around at airports. Thomas alleged in a TikTok that the men have asked her to sign pictures, and act 'aggressive and hostile' when she rebuffs them.
New York Times
11 hours ago
- Entertainment
- New York Times
Olympic gold medalist Gabby Thomas calls out bettor for following, heckling her at Philadelphia meet
Three-time Olympic gold medalist Gabby Thomas said she was followed and verbally abused by a sports bettor during a Grand Slam Track meet in Philadelphia over the weekend. 'This grown man followed me around the track as I took pictures and signed autographs for fans (mostly children) shouting personal insults- anybody who enables him online is gross,' Thomas wrote on X on Monday. Advertisement In response to a previous post from Thomas, a man posted a video of him heckling the sprinter at the starting line and shared a screenshot of a winning bet slip which showed he won over $800 on a parlay which included a victory by Melissa Jefferson-Wooden in the women's 100m. Thomas, who won gold in Paris in the 200m, was bested by Jefferson-Wooden in the 200 on Saturday and then beaten by Jefferson-Wooden again Sunday in the 100. The man wrote, 'I made Gabby lose by heckling her. And it made my parlay win.' In a thread, Thomas later replied to another commenter: 'Honestly the heckling is tolerable, it's following me around the stadium that's wild.' Grand Slam Track said Tuesday it's working to identify the man in the video and is investigating the incident. 'Grand Slam Track is conducting a full investigation into the reprehensible behavior captured on video,' the track circuit said in a statement to The Athletic. '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, 28, saw a boost in fame after winning gold in the 200m, 4x100m and 4x400m at the Paris Olympics last summer. Her rise in mainstream popularity has also brought more intrusive attention from fans. Earlier this year, she said in a TikTok video that she was repeatedly approached by a group of men at several airports asking her to sign a stack of photos. The men reportedly got aggressive when she declined. Thomas is the latest athlete to speak out on the alarming treatment from fans related to sports betting. Houston Astros pitcher Lance McCullers Jr. and his family recently received death threats from a fan on social media following a 13-9 loss to the Cincinnati Reds on May 10. The Astros alerted Major League Baseball and the Houston Police Department, which later identified the fan as a frustrated bettor who lashed out online while inebriated. Editor's note: The Athletic has a partnership with BetMGM. The Athletic maintains full editorial independence. Partners have no control over or input into the reporting or editing process and do not review stories before publication.
BBC News
2 days ago
- Business
- BBC News
Kerr gains revenge at latest Grand Slam Track meet
Great Britain's Josh Kerr avenged his Olympic 1500m defeat by Cole Hocker in a thrilling battle in Sunday's Grand Slam Track surged past Kerr, 27, to claim a shock victory and Olympic gold in Paris last it was Kerr's turn to produce a decisive finish in Philadelphia, storming past the American in the final few metres to win by seven-hundredths of a claimed victory in a season's best time of three minutes 34.44 a fifth-placed finish in the 800m on Saturday, Kerr missed out on the top prize of $100,000 (£74,000) for the short distance group by just one point to Canada's Marco Arop, who won the the women's 100m, US sprinter Melissa Jefferson-Wooden clocked a world-leading time as she stormed to an emphatic Olympic bronze medallist, 24, claimed victory in a personal best 10.73secs, making her the 10th fastest woman to run the distance, tied with France's Christine Arron."It means everything, I've been working so hard for this," said Jefferson-Wooden, who also won the 200m on Saturday. "It's just all coming together."Compatriot Tamari Davis placed second in 11.03secs, with Great Britain's Dina Asher-Smith fifth in 11.16secs. GB's Matthew Hudson-Smith clinched the top prize for the men's long sprints group for the second time in three winning the 400m in 44.51 on Saturday, the 30-year-old's fifth-place finish in the 200m was enough to claim another Grand Slam title, having secured the first in Kingston, Slam Track is a new competition created by Michael Johnson which aims to bring the world's fastest athletes together to compete for lucrative events were scheduled for the opening series and the final meet will be in Los Angeles from 27-29 June.
