For American sprinter Gabby Thomas, there was no running away from the absurdity that was the 2020 Olympics.
For starters, the pandemic-era Tokyo Games actually took place in 2021. "That was confusing, right?" Thomas joked in an exclusive interview with E! News ahead of the 2024 Olympics.
And then there were the myriad protocols put in to place to ensure each athlete would be able to compete without contracting COVID-19. "The deal was, everyone had to stay in the Village," she explained, "nobody could leave and we were tested multiple times a day."
The result: Thomas was able to toe the starting line with her fellow competitors, racing her way to a bronze medal finish in the 200m and helping the American women earn silver in the 4x100m relay.
As for the experience off the track, "That was kind of fun, right?" admitted the 27-year-old. "Because everyone was hanging out and I always describe it as summer camp when people ask me, because everyone was really just in that village together."
But as much as she's hoping to recapture that sleepover-like quality in Paris where she'll line up for the 200m heats Aug. 4 before competing in the 4x100 and 4x400 relays, it would also be très chic to be able to explore the city a bit.
"Now it'll be nice because we'll all be in the village together," noted Thomas, "but people probably won't feel as contained and stressed out from the repercussions of COVID."
And as much as she was excited to catch a glimpse of the Seine and the opening ceremonies, "because we weren't able to do that last time," mostly, she said, "I'm looking forward to being able to share the experience with my friends and family—and my team, everyone who helped me get to that point. In Tokyo my coach was allowed to be there and that was pretty much it. So that's going to be an amazing moment."
Heading up her cheer squad is mom Jennifer Randall "for sure," said Thomas, who also namechecked coach Tonja Buford-Bailey, boyfriend Spencer McManes (a former Yale football standout) and her mentor at the Volunteer Healthcare Clinic in Austin where she makes use of the neurobiology degree she earned from Harvard and the master's in public health she received from the University of Texas in May 2023.
"Growing up with a single mom and coming from not having anything and now she's just living her dream as a professor at the University of Michigan," marveled Thomas, "watching her work for that has been so influential to me, and she's still someone that I call to talk to all the time about everything."
Among their topics of conversation is when exactly Thomas might return to school to seek out a PhD. Though at the moment, her plate isn't just full, it's overflowing.
Because in addition to doggedly pursuing Olympic gold in Paris, she's still focused on her equally ambitious plan A of changing the world. Back when she graduated from Harvard in 2019, the Atlanta native was lured to Texas both by the opportunity to train with Buford-Bailey's track club and to earn another degree.
"That was my life path," she explained, "to volunteer at this clinic, get my master's in public health, graduate and do a fellowship, and then continue on that journey working in the health care space. And then, you know, COVID happened and I saw even more how socioeconomic disparities were disproportionately affecting people of color, which really validated my desire to continue this journey."
So she moved full speed ahead with both goals.
Though she's been hot on the heels of idols like the now-retired Allyson Felix and the late Florence Griffith Joyner, Thomas never really thought she'd be a professional runner.
"There's no guarantee that you're going to have success in track and field," she explained. But after she earned her way onto the U.S. team for the 2020 Games, "I definitely saw my track career differently. I knew it was something that I wanted to do for as long as I could, especially as you see these women in the sport, they run well into their 30s now, they're sprinting and doing better than they ever had before. So that's what I saw for myself."
But that doesn't mean she needs to run away from her original love.
"I came to a point where you think, 'Do I have to make a choice?'" she admitted. "And I thought, No, because I've never had to choose before. I've always been able to pursue exactly what I wanted to do and I've always been able to do it all, and so I told myself, I'm going to do it all! I'm going to utilize this master's and work on this health equity stuff that I love, and help make an impact on the community while also running on the track."
For Thomas that means leaning into opportunities like the chance to partner with Eli Lilly and Company—the health equity sponsor of Team USA.
Given her areas of expertise, she was particularly drawn to the brand's "work to increase diversity in clinical trials and expanding education and employment opportunities for people in historically marginalized communities," noted Thomas. "It's just been really important to me, I dedicate a lot of my time off the track to this purpose and this is something that I've been passionate about through high school, through college, and even through my master's, so I'm really excited."
But as eager as she is to hit the ground running with her work in health, she has no plans to hang up her spikes anytime soon.
"I definitely want to continue running for awhile," said Thomas, indicating Paris won't be her last Olympics appearance. "I'm so inspired seeing what these other women in the sport have been doing and how long they've been able to have their careers—and juggle other parts of their life—so I can do the same thing. Some people get tired of running, some people just don't want to do it, but I do."
Before she toes the starting line, get to know more of the athletes competing in Paris.
Noah Lyles
Noah Lyles is in the running to be declared the fastest man in the world.
The 2023 world champion in the 100 meters, 200 meters and 4x100 meter relay—the rare sprint treble—has designs on sweeping all three in Paris after a surprising bronze finish in the 100 in Tokyo.
Simone Biles
Simone Biles is the most decorated gymnast in history, full stop. But the 2016 all-around Olympic gold medalist has unfinished business to attend to in Paris after a case of the twisties prompted her to pull out of most events in Tokyo in 2021.
Representing Team USA alongside Biles are Suni Lee, Jordan Chiles, Jade Carey and Hezly Rivera.
Alyssa Naeher
Longtime women's national soccer team goalie Alyssa Naeher has two World Cup titles, a slew of impressive stats and a big gap in her resume she'd love to fill with Paris gold after the squad's bronze showing in Tokyo.
Sha'Carri Richardson
Sprinter Sha'Carri Richardson was supposed to make her Olympics debut in Tokyo but was sidelined after a positive marijuana test. Now the reigning world champion in the 100 meters, she's a favorite to torch the competition in Paris in her signature event.
Katie Ledecky
Swimmer Katie Ledecky has 10 Olympic medals, seven of them gold, and she was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in May. Competing in her fourth Games, the Stanford grad has a chance to become the first female swimmer to win gold four straight times if she dominates once again in the 800 meters.
Walker Zimmerman
Olympic soccer requires the men's teams to be all 23-and-younger with three spots allowed for "overage" players—which is why veteran defender Walker Zimmerman thought his dream of playing on this stage ended when the U.S. men failed to qualify in 2016.
"Then as things materialized this year," the 31-year-old told the LA Times, "just getting the opportunity is amazing."
Nikki Hiltz
"If you had asked me at the Trials in 2021 if I regretted coming out, I would have said yes," runner Nikki Hiltz told NBC Sports of coming out as trans and nonbinary not long before they failed to qualify for Tokyo.
But Hiltz didn't give up—on their truth or their sport—winning U.S. indoor and outdoor titles in the 1500m in 2023, repeating the indoor feat in 2024 and running a field-leading 3:55.33 to take the women's 1500m at Trials on June 30.
"It's the last day of Pride Month," Hiltz told NBC Sports at the finish line, "and I wanted to run this one for my community."
Coco Gauff
Tennis champ Coco Gauff, winner of the 2023 U.S. Open, is ranked second in the world heading into Paris. The 20-year-old is making her Olympics debut after a positive COVID test dashed her plans for Tokyo.
Victor Montalvo
Top-ranked in the U.S. and No. 2 in the world, B-boy Victor Montalvo is ready to turn the Olympics on its head as breaking makes its long-awaited debut at the Paris Games.
LeBron James
There's never only one superstar on the U.S. men's basketball team, but four-time NBA champion LeBron James is appearing in what will almost certainly be his last Olympics and he'll be one of Team USA's two designated flagbearers at the July 26 Opening Ceremony.
James told reporters he was "super-appreciative and-super humbled" by the honor.
Chuck Aoki
There's nothing not badass about wheelchair rugby and Chuck Aoki has been a star of the U.S. Paralympic team since London in 2012. With a bronze and two silvers under his belt, winning gold in Paris would really complement his collection.
Hunter Woodhall
While Hunter Woodhall is not least known for being long-jumper Tara Davis-Woodhall's supportive other half, the University of Arkansas grad is also a sprinting machine. The two-time Paralympian—and first-ever double-amputee athlete to earn an NCAA Division I scholarship—heads to Paris having dominated in the men's T62 400m and T62 100m at Trials.
Kristen Nuss and Taryn Kloth
Two athletes, but a packaged set as far as beach volleyball is concerned. Louisiana State alums and best friends Taryn Kloth and Kristen Nuss hadn't even turned pro yet when, in April 2021, Nuss gifted Kloth an ankle bracelet for her birthday inscribed with "August 11, 2024."
If you're guessing that's the date of the women's finals at the Paris Olympics, you are correct.
Oksana Masters
Six-time Paralympian Oksana Masters was born in Ukraine in 1989 with radiation-related birth defects—including webbed fingers and tibial malformation—connected to the Chernobyl disaster. Growing up in Louisville, Ky., with adoptive mom Gay Masters, she underwent a number of surgeries, including respective leg amputations at 9 and 14—after which she took up rowing.
But sun, snow... It's all the same for the seven-time gold medalist, who has three Winter Paralympics as a para-cross-country skier and para-biathlete and three Summer Paralympics as a para-cyclist and para-rower under her belt heading into Paris, where she'll compete in cycling events.
Caroline Marks
After finishing just shy of the podium in Tokyo, surfer Caroline Marks is ready to ride her 2023 world title to Olympic victory in... Well, not Paris. All of the surfing will be taking place at Teahupo'o on Tahiti, nearly 10,000 miles away from the rest of the festivities.
Jessica Long
Swimmer Jessica Long, whose Instagram bio reads "Born without legs + living my best life," is headed to her sixth Paralympics. The 29-time medalist, 16 of them gold, is pretty much just racing for bragging rights at this point.
A'ja Wilson
Las Vegas Aces, um, ace and two-time WNBA MVP A'ja Wilson will be leading the U.S. women's basketball team in their quest for their eighth straight gold medal. (The men are looking for only their fifth straight, having been vanquished in 2004.)
Caeleb Dressel
Butterfly and freestylin' fool Caeleb Dressel won five gold medals in Tokyo, no big deal, to bring his career Olympic gold tally to seven. Paris will be the swimmer's third Games and first as a dad, having welcomed son August Wilder Dressel with wife Meghan Dressel in February.
Jessica Parratto and Delaney Schnell
After Jessica Parratto earned a silver medal in Tokyo for women's synchronized 10m platform with partner Delaney Schnell—Team USA's first-ever medal in that event—the 5-foot-2 athlete retired to, as she told NBC Sports, "finally be a normal person."
She did that for, like, a year until Schnell wooed her back into the pool. But to be clear, Parratto said of her return before they qualified for Paris, "I didn’t do it because she wanted me to. I really did it because I wanted to."
But she doesn't mind the camaraderie, either. When Schnell banged her feet at the Montreal Diving World Cup in May, Parratto's first international event back from retirement, "it was a really good bonding moment for us," she said, "and just being like, okay, we got this."
Fred Richard
The U.S. men do gymnastics, too, and Fred Richard was the top scorer on both nights of the 2024 Olympic Trials. Obviously fans will flip if the 2023 NCAA all-around (and horizontal bars, and parallel bars) champion from University of Michigan helps the national team make an Olympic podium for the first time since 2008.