Athletics-Gold medallist Thomas harassed by bettor at Grand Slam Track
NEW YORK (Reuters) -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.
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."
(Reporting by Amy Tennery in New York, editing by Ed Osmond)
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Star
an hour ago
- The Star
Feature: Reaching new heights - China's artistic swimming triumphs at Singapore Worlds
by sportswriters Li Jia, Wang Zijiang and Yue Chenxing SINGAPORE, July 25 (Xinhua) -- With a performance inspired by the Terracotta Warriors, the Chinese artistic swimming team concluded their World Championships campaign in Singapore on Friday, as they secured a gold in the team acrobatic event, bringing their total medal tally to four golds and three silvers in the tournament. China triumphed once again over the Russian squad, competing as Neutral Athletes B (NAB), as the Chinese team scored 229.0186 points for the gold. NAB finished second with 224.7291 points, while Spain took third with 221.0962 points. China also outshone NAB in the team technical event. "When we won the team technical, I was still quite anxious," said China head coach Zhang Xiaohuan. "But in the acrobatic event, their (NAB's) difficulty increased significantly from the preliminary round to the final, which put pressure on me. However, I followed the advice of our research team and focused on doing our best. What mattered most in the final was the quality of our artistic choreography and the overall execution of the routine." For China, who made history by winning both the duet and team events at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, their victory at the Singapore Worlds further demonstrated the ongoing rise of Chinese artistic swimming. This triumph marks a new milestone, as the team has now surpassed the long-time powerhouse Russia. This victory solidifies China's place at the top of the sport. "What we've done in this competition, especially winning the team technical event with NAB participating, is a new chapter in the history of Chinese artistic swimming," said China's Spanish coach Ana Tarres. "It's the first time China has ever beaten this strong rival in a competition where they were both present. I think this is a great motivation for the girls. Nothing is impossible through hard work, discipline, commitment, and swimming. This is a step forward." "The team technical gold is just as important as the one we won at the Paris Olympics," said Zhang. "We've always looked forward to a direct showdown with our strongest competitors." Despite dominance at the 2024 Doha Worlds and the Paris Olympics, it wasn't until the Singapore Worlds that China dispelled doubts that they could only win in the absence of Russian competitors. Proving their competitiveness has even been a reason for veteran swimmers to stay on the team, despite already having won world and Olympic titles. "I failed to compete in the team technical, but today I participated in the acrobatic event, and we defeated NAB. We broke through the doubts with our strength," said Paris Olympic champion Zhang Yayi, who injured her foot 15 days ago but still managed to participate in the last event in Singapore. Head coach Zhang Xiaohuan added that the victory would not only motivate veteran swimmers but also inspire younger athletes and encourage everyone in China's artistic swimming. "It will boost the entire sport," she said. "Artistic swimming is developing at an incredible speed. Every competition shows how unpredictable it can be - sometimes third place can jump to first, and sometimes the champion can fall behind. It's hard to say who will win the gold medal. There is no eternal champion," she added. Team captain Feng Yu acknowledged, "We've waited for this chance to compete against a team we've been wanting to measure ourselves against for a very long time. That makes this result special." In the team free event, Feng was called upon to replace Zhang Yayi just nine days before the final. Young talents also shone. Xu Huiyan, 19, secured four gold medals and a silver in her second World Championships. She made history by winning China's first-ever gold in the women's solo technical event with a huge lead. She then followed up with a silver in the solo free final, setting a personal best. Xu also helped the team win three team golds, despite catching a fever on Friday. "I think our young athletes did really well, especially Xu, along with other swimmers who competed in individual events," Zhang said. "I've seen their improvement, but they still need to work harder. They will carry China's flag in the future, and they need to keep improving faster." Guo Muye, 17, competing in his first World Championships, claimed a historic silver in the men's solo free. Twin sisters Lin Yanjun and Lin Yanhan, also debuting at the Worlds, earned a silver in the women's duet technical. "I have higher expectations, but I accept that this is the best our team can do right now with a new lineup in this new cycle," Zhang admitted. "I hope we can do even better next time. But I think we made a big breakthrough in this competition." Looking ahead to the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, Russian swimmers will still be China's biggest competitors. "They (NAB) have a solid talent pool in artistic swimming. Many of their athletes are very young, born in 2007 and 2008, yet they perform at a very high level," Zhang said. "This is something we really admire and respect. Their performance still stays at a very high standard, with good synchronization, teamwork and consistency. This brings a lot of challenges for us in the future. We just won this time, but we still have a long way to go." "Compared to them, we need to make some adjustments. Many of our veteran swimmers are dealing with injuries, so we'll have to make some changes going forward," Zhang continued. "Also, I think the choreography of Spain, Italy and France is excellent." "We must always consider ourselves as challengers, never take the champion's position for granted. We still need to keep improving," Zhang concluded.
The Star
an hour ago
- The Star
Violence in Mexican state of Sinaloa continues one year after 'El Mayo' Zambada's arrest in US
Members of the National Guard guard a crime scene where a man was gunned down, as violence and economic turmoil escalate in Culiacan one year after the abduction and extradition of Sinaloa Cartel leader Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada to the United States, in Culiacan, Sinaloa state, Mexico, July 7, 2025. REUTERS/Jesus Bustamante Culiacan, Mexico (Reuters) -The street vendor said the few tourists who still visit Culiacan no longer look for posters of drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman and accused drug kingpinIsmael "El Mayo" Zambada, once the Mexican city's most famous residents. The posters, which for years were in high demand, have become symbolic of a spike in horrific violence sparked by an alleged betrayal that led to Zambada's arrest one year agoand fueled fighting within the Sinaloa cartel. "I imagine that at some point in my life, tourism will return to Culiacan," said Jazmin, who now sells a smattering of magnets, keychains, and mugs. She declined to share her last name because of the constant threat of violence in this once-bustling city of 1 million people. Friday marks one year since Zambada, one of Mexico's most infamous accused drug lords, was arrested at an airfield near El Paso, Texas, along with one of El Chapo's sons, Joaquin Guzman Lopez. Zambada says El Chapo's son, Joaquin, kidnapped him andturned him over to U.S. agents. The alleged betrayal was shocking. Prosecutors allege Zambada and "El Chapo" founded the Sinaloa cartel and represented different factions of the criminal organization. The arrests sparked a break in the group and triggered a wave of violence that continues. During the first six months of this year, authorities registered 883 homicides in Sinaloa compared to 224 during the same period a year earlier. The vast majority happened in Culiacan. The homicides may be just the beginning. Authorities say more than 1,500 people have gone missing in Sinaloa since September 2024, after Zambada's arrest. Security officials say criminal groups were involved in many of the disappearances. "Life in Culiacan is no longer the same," said a local official who requested anonymity for fear of reprisals. "There are no more parties here due to fear," he said, adding that schools prefer to hold classes online instead of in person. Security analysts say violence in the state is at the highest level since the last major split between criminal groups in 2008, when the Sinaloa cartel broke an alliance with the Beltran Leyva brothers' cartel. "It's one thing to break a pact through betrayal, as happened then, and another to hand over an important partner, as happened last year," said Tomas Guevara, an expert on security issues in Sinaloa, referring to Zambada's alleged abduction. "The situation is more gruesome these days,' he added. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has struggled to control the spiraling violence, sending thousands of heavily armed soldiers to Sinaloa to patrol the area, along with helicopters, armored vehicles, high-caliber weapons, and drones. Still, the discovery of corpses continues, sometimes piled up by the dozens. Bodies have been hung from bridges and mutilated with messages of revenge between rival groups. U.S. President Donald Trump said last week that Mexican authorities are "petrified" of the drug cartels and alleged they have enormous control in the country and over Mexican politicians. Sheinbaum said those allegations are blatantly untrue. Mexican Security Minister Omar Garcia Harfuch said on Sunday during a visit to Sinaloa that the government's priority is "restoring peace to families." Zambada said in February he was willing to plead guilty to charges related to drug trafficking, money laundering, and weapons possession if U.S. prosecutors take the death penalty off the table. (Reporting by Jesus Bustamente in Culiacan and Lizbeth Diaz in Mexico City; Edited by Adriana Barrera and Rod Nickel)
The Star
2 hours ago
- The Star
Cycling-Arensman wins Tour de France 19th stage as Pogacar retains yellow jersey
Cycling - Tour de France - Stage 19 - Albertville to La Plagne - Albertville, France - July 25, 2025 Ineos Grenadiers' Thymen Arensman in action during stage 19 REUTERS/Benoit Tessier LA PLAGNE, France (Reuters) -Thymen Arensman claimed his second victory in this year's Tour de France when he benefited from the top guns' waiting game to prevail in the 19th stage, the last mountain trek of the race on Friday. The Ineos Grenadiers rider, whose team have been facing doping questions related to their glorious days as Team Sky, went solo in the final climb to La Plagne before crossing the line two seconds ahead of Jonas Vingegaard and Tadej Pogacar, who were second and third respectively. Slovenian Pogacar retained the overall leader's yellow jersey and leads Vingegaard by 4:24 going into the final two stages and is widely expected to win a fourth title if he avoids a major incident. German Florian Lipowitz took fourth place on the shortened stage to cement his third place overall, stretching his advantage over fourth-placed Oscar Onley of Britain by 41 seconds to 1:03. It would have taken a colossal coup from Vingegaard to topple Pogacar on the final mountain test in the Alps, but the Visma-Lease a Bike rider only tried within the last 100 metres to take two seconds off of the Slovenian's lead, with Pogacar emerging as the puppet master of the peloton. A leading trio featuring France's Lenny Martinez and Valentin Paret Peintre as well as former Tour runner-up Primoz Roglic, reached the Col du Pre with a small gap of a chasing group after a brutal 12.2-km ascent at 7.7%. The peloton, controlled by Pogacar's UAE Emirates-XRG, trailed by less than a minute. With two kilometres left in the climb up to the Cormet de Roselend (5.9km at 6.9%), Paret Peintre and Roglic shook off Martinez, but only briefly as the Bahrain-Victorious rider clawed his way back. Roglic went solo in the descent into Bourg Saint Maurice, dropping Martinez and Paret Peintre, who were quickly caught by the bunch. Roglic was then swallowed two kilometres before the final climb and spat out immediately. Austrian Felix Gall, gunning for a top five finish in Paris, accelerated 14.5km from the finish with Arensman, Pogacar and Vingegaard reacting. Pogacar made his own move 14km from the top with Vingegaard and Arensman the only riders able to get into his slipstream. Pogacar eventually let Arensman go and seemed content with setting a decent tempo to keep the Dutchman within reach, but the Slovenian eventually did not make the effort to go for a fifth stage win this year. (Reporting by Julien Pretot; Editing by Timothy Heritage and Christian Radnedge)
