'I often felt out of the loop'- Gabby Thomas opens up on why she felt out of place at Harvard

, a three-time Olympic gold medalist and five-time Olympic medallist, is widely regarded as one of the most accomplished athletes to have emerged from Harvard University.

However, despite her remarkable success on the track, Thomas recently shared that her time at the prestigious institution was marked by a deep sense of unbelonging.

Speaking on the podcast on YouTube, Thomas opened up about the challenges she faced at Harvard, both academically and athletically.

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s, having moved schools multiple times as a child, she admitted that adjusting to Harvard was a different kind of struggle.

“When I decided to go to Harvard, I knew I was putting myself in an environment where I would be challenged and forced to push myself,” Thomas shared.

“To be honest, that was something I welcomed. I usually thrive in those environments. I was not always the smartest in the room, so that wasn’t something new to me.”

Despite her willingness to take on the challenge, T—both in the classroom and on the track.

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She acknowledged that coming from a public school background made the transition to the rigorous academic expectations particularly difficult.

“I do remember freshman year being incredibly difficult for me because of that. I wasn’t fully prepared for college—it was a completely different beast,” she admitted.

“But I think that’s important putting yourself in environments where you’re not the best at everything. It means you’re growing, getting to where you’re supposed to be, and becoming the best version of yourself.”

While , she revealed that her early track days at Harvard were anything but smooth.

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Many of her teammates had years of experience in club track and had competed in elite junior competitions, making her feel like she was behind from the start.

“Many of the people I ran track with at Harvard had been doing club track for years. They had competed in junior high school championships and AAU track meets. It felt like track was second nature to them, and I often felt out of the loop,” she explained.

“I walked into my first day of warm-ups at Harvard doing drills with the same arm and same leg—if you know track and field, that’s just insane! I really had to start from the bottom.”

The same struggles carried over into the classroom. but she refused to let the challenge defeat her. Instead, she leaned into the discomfort, determined to grow and prove herself.

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Despite the difficulties, Thomas believes that the experience of pushing through discomfort ultimately shaped her into the person and athlete she is today.

Her time at Harvard, though challenging,

Now, with multiple Olympic medals to her name, with her journey serving as an inspiration to athletes and students alike.