Olympian Gabby Thomas Says ‘Aggressive and Hostile’ Men Have Been Following Her at Airports
Thomas said the men show up outside of the airport or at her gate inside the terminal to ask her to sign photos
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US' Gabrielle Thomas reacts after competing in the women's 200m semi-final at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games on August 5, 2024.Olympian Gabby Thomas is turning to fans for advice on a frightening situation.
In a video message on TikTok on Tuesday, Jan. 28, the three-time gold medalist said a group of "middle-aged men" have been getting "aggressive and hostile" with her at airports all over the country.
"I need some advice right now because I fear I’m being stalked and I genuinely don’t know what to do or who to go to," Thomas, 28, said. "At this point, every time that I travel, I'm afraid that these men — it's three to six of them, middle-aged — are going to show up and harass me."
Thomas, who won the gold medal in the women's 200m final at the 2024 Paris Olympics, said that the men show up in multiple cities to ask her to sign photos of herself — "like 40 of them," she said — and they have approached her both outside of the airport and at her gate inside the terminal.
"They show up either at the front door of the airport, at the correct concourse or they show up at my gate, which means they have flight tickets and they get past security," the Olympian told her followers.
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Gabrielle Thomas of Team United States celebrates winning the gold medal after competing in the Women's 200m Final on day eleven of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 at Stade de France on August 06, 2024 in Paris, France"What scares me is they have my flight information," said Thomas, noting that she's changed all of her email passwords in an attempt to regain her privacy. "I don't know if they're hacking me, but they get really hostile and aggressive if I say no," said Thomas.
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"They got really hostile with my boyfriend yesterday," she added. Thomas has been dating former Yale University football player Spencer McManes since 2022.
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Gabrielle Thomas takes selfie with Spencer McManes after competing in the Women's 200m Final on day eleven of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games on August 06, 2024.Thomas expressed concern over not being able to go to the police in Austin, Texas, where she lives, because she doesn't know where the men who follow her live.
"Do I go to airport security? It's, like, a multi-city thing, so I can't just go to the Austin police because they're not in Austin right now. I don't know where these people live."
And when she tried to ask the men how they found her flight information, "they lied," said Thomas.
"They make up a story," she said. "They say, 'Oh, I saw you here so I figured you were flying back,' and the stories don't make sense."
She said the men get "easily aggravated" when she refuses to sign their photos. "So I just don't talk too much and away," she said.
Thomas concluded her video, "I just don't get why people can't respect privacy. I really don't get it. I don't like feeling unsafe traveling."
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