Track and field Olympic champion Gabby Thomas clap backed after her intelligence was mocked by trolls.
An internet user said of the 28-year-old star athlete, "Gabby Thomas doesn't sound like she's the brightest out there."
The three-time gold medalist clocked another victory by responding to the unprovoked rudeness by not stooping to their level, but by mentioning her higher education.
"You’re probably right," wrote Thomas followed by an 'Oh, well' and crying laughing emojis.
She added, "darn my Harvard degree."
The Georgia native who grew up in Massachusetts is a 2019 graduate of Harvard with a degree in neuroscience as well as a minor in global health and health policy.
She went on to complete her master in public health degree in epidemiology from University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston.
Her retort on X (formerly Twitter) sparked a slew of racist comments suggesting she was being untruthful about having a degree from the private Ivy League research university.
The shocked athlete weighed in on the controversy and wondered, "Is this real life??"
She wrote:
“Today, on Jan 26, 2025, there are hundreds of people commenting on my Twitter page that specifically because I am black, they must assume I did not earn my admission into Harvard nor did I earn my diploma. Is this real life??”
Many people had her back and answered her question.
People also touched on the current situation and how it remains challenging to maintain optimism for the future.
Thomas won three gold medals at the 2024 Olympics in Paris individually in the 200 m, and with Team USA in the 4 × 100 m relay and 4 × 400 m relay, in which they ran the second-fastest time ever.
Prior to that at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, she won the bronze medal in the 200 m and a silver as part of the women's 4 × 100 m relay.
At the 2023 World Athletics Championships in Budapest, Thomas medaled silver in the 200 m with a time of 21.81 seconds and won gold alongside her US teammates in the women's 4x100m relay final with a championship record of 41.03 seconds.
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