August 26, 2023
I follow track & field. The 2023 World Track & Field Championships are taking place as I type in Budapest, Hungary. The athletes are laboring in sweltering heat, which is causing many of them to leave the track in wheel chairs, but that is another story. The USA won both the men’s and women’s 100 meter sprints, and the team as a whole has a substantial lead in the medal count.
So, I was a little disappointed this morning to read the headline in today’s sports section that “Richardson finishes third in 200 meters at world championships.” I have nothing against Sha’Carri Richardson, who won gold in the 100 meters, but the headline in the Springfield Republican should have read, “Harvard graduate Gabby Thomas of Florence, MA finished second in the 200 meters.”
Thomas’ mom moved the family here in 2007 to accept a teaching position at U.Mass. Before attending Harvard, Gabby spent four years at Williston Northampton. She won a bronze and silver medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. In her spare time, she is studying for her Ph.D in Epidemiology at the U. Of Texas. Gabby Tomas should be the headline.
The Spin Doctor 