23 Feb With Gratitude, Trinity Thomas Takes on 2024 Starting with Winter Cup
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Go Time! With Gratitude, Trinity Thomas Takes on 2024 Starting with Winter Cup
by Christy Sandmaier
January 1, 2024. Significant in the mind of every athlete striving for the 2024 Olympic Games. Symbolic, storied, and certain to bring the highest of expectations, excitement and pressure to the forefront, there’s nothing like the interminable momentum, motion and emotion of an Olympic Year. For Trinity Thomas, it’s been a lifetime of waiting for the opportunity to fulfill her dream. It’s a story of perseverance and inspiration with remaining headlines yet to be written. And that’s exactly how she wants it.
Seven months ago Thomas made it official. Back to the gym and back to Elite gymnastics with competing at the U.S. Olympic Trials and Paris 2024 her ultimate goals. The 2022 NCAA All-Around Champion, 34-time NCAA All-American, and NCAA Career 10.0 co-leader (28) for the University of Florida announced her Elite comeback exclusively with Inside Gymnastics, sparking a whirlwind of excitement across media channels and social media from the Olympic Channel to Sports Center and platforms around the world.
“There is one more dream that I’ve always had,” Thomas told us while seated center floor at the Gators’ training facility inside the Stephen C. O’Connell Center, the spark in her eyes evident as she shared her news. “And it’s been cut short a couple of times. I’m glad that I get the opportunity to come back to Elite gymnastics with my eyes set on Paris 2024.”
Returning to the Elite stage and striving for the Olympic Games has been a long time in the making for Thomas and she’s proven time and time again how to turn moments of adversity into moments of incredible triumph and rise to record-setting achievements in the sport. Ultimately it’s her dedication, mental strength, and heart for gymnastics that shines through and has helped make the path to Paris possible for her.
With her sights now set on making her competitive return Saturday at the 2024 Winter Cup in Louisville, Thomas, who told us after podium training that she is planning on competing on bars and beam here for sure and possibly still the All-Around, is both excited and “a little nervous” about finally returning to the floor.
“I thought I was going to be done after my five years in college,” she said. “They were honestly the best five years of my life. I learned so much about myself and I have grown so much. I decided that, ‘Hey, I’ve still got fuel in the tank, and we’re going to figure out what’s left for me to do. Where else can I push myself?’ Just pushing the limits and seeing where it takes me.”
While she embraced and was ready for the moment, the excitement of the public announcement also felt overwhelming at times she said. Now she’s ready to seize this year more than ever surrounded by unbelievable support.
“Everyone was so loving, so supportive,” she told us in January following a National Team Camp (NTC) workout. “All the girls that are also coming back and all the girls who have been training reached out to me, too. It was so much love, and that made me feel a lot better because it wasn’t a hard decision, but it was a big decision. To get that love and support from all the people that mean the most to me and the fans, too, meant a lot.”
Looking back, it’s the journey that shaped her, and her resilience that’s providing the fortitude to continue, even on the hard days.
Training at Prestige Gymnastics prior to her NCAA career, in 2019 Thomas made her debut as a Florida Gator while competing as an Elite and was on track to try for a spot on the 2020 Olympic team when a number of setbacks including injuries and the pandemic steered her towards a different path. “My goal has always been to be able to compete at Olympic Trials and vie for a spot on the Olympic team,” Thomas said. “And in 2021, I was on track to do that. I was so excited and I ended up spraining my ankles and didn’t get the opportunity to even finish the NCAA season the way that I wanted to. It just wasn’t realistic for me to keep training. It was a big setback and I was definitely disappointed.”
True to her never-give-up nature, Thomas dug deep and rebounded beautifully. In 2022 she added the NCAA All-Around, bars and floor titles to her incredible resume of records set as Gator. Now etched in the history books, her story is legendary in NCAA circles. Following an incredible start to her 2023 season, she was trending to exceed the all-time Perfect 10 record when she sustained a lower leg injury during the 2023 Regional Semi Finals. After initially not being listed on the start list for the Gators for National Semi Finals, Thomas brought in a beautiful set on bars and two rotations later, stepped up to the vault runway and soared. Two days later in Finals, on her final collegiate vault ever, she would go on to tie the record of 28 held by Jenny Hansen (Kentucky) and Jamie Dantzscher (UCLA).
Following Fort Worth, Thomas could have put a cap on her career knowing she is truly one of the greatest athletes ever to compete on the NCAA stage. Instead she donned her grips, chalked up, and is allowing herself to see what’s possible in this ever-competitive lead up to Paris.
Last November, she attended her first NTC since 2019 (the last time she was a member of the National Team as well) to test the waters. It reignited the social media buzz surrounding her comeback, particularly when she posed alongside 2012 Olympic All-Around Champion Gabby Douglas, who is also in the midst of her own comeback journey to the Games, but unfortunately had to withdraw from Winter Cup due to having COVID-19.
“It was a working camp,” Thomas said, “and I was able to see some of the younger girls. It was a junior heavy camp. Some of the seniors were there, and it was a good camp to get back into the swing of things and to get reintroduced. The national staff helped me work on parts and skills and putting halves together and figuring out what routines would work best for me. So that camp was absolutely amazing, with ups and downs as always, but it was great.”
The positive atmosphere provided under USA Gymnastics’ leadership team — very different from her prior experience competing for Team USA — was palpable. Alicia Sacramone Quinn, Chellsie Memmel and Dan Baker ushered in a new era for USA Gymnastics’ Women’s Program in 2022 with Quinn serving as strategic lead, Memmel as the technical lead, and Baker as developmental lead.
“It’s a very positive atmosphere, very uplifting. There’s smiling, there’s laughing, there’s talking. So that’s different from camps before,” Thomas noted. “It was really nice to see because obviously I’ve been in the collegiate environment for five years, and so I’m used to that. I’m used to the screaming for each other, the laughing, the talking. So coming in and seeing the girls smiling, the girls excited to be there, the staff excited to be there and encouraging the girls was amazing.
“Making sure that everyone is comfortable and everyone is healthy and happy and that should always be first and foremost — it seems like that’s a huge priority now. I think the girls are so much more comfortable, as they should be, and can train to their best potential.”
As her 2024 journey takes shape, Thomas’ perspective on her own accomplishments thus far and what defines success for her are also evident. Reflecting on how she is different both as an athlete and person this time around, she said, “I think the biggest difference is my mindset. I just have a completely different appreciation for gymnastics, for the sport, for what all these amazing athletes do, but also what my God-given ability to be able to do as well. Honestly, my love for the sport is so different and just my outlook on how I train, what my goals are, they’re a lot different, too. Right now, for me, the biggest thing in doing this, deciding to continue training, is because I love gymnastics and I really just want to see what else I’m capable of doing.”
Inside the gym, where she’s also a student assistant coach for the Gators this season while finishing her second graduate degree, Thomas is focused daily on listening to her body and mind with the big picture always in mind. Communicating how she feels and what she’s capable of has been key she said, and is something she attributes primarily to her college career.
In Louisville she told us coaching has changed her perspective on the sport.
“I definitely find myself when I’m coaching, like when I say things to the girls, I’m like, ‘maybe I should say that to myself! And remember that when I’m training'” she said. “So honestly, I see a lot of me in them, and it’s a lot easier for me to help them and then in return help myself later and when I’m training. It’s honestly been great. It has changed my perspective a lot and honestly has grown my love for the sport.”
Learning to be comfortable letting her coached know how she feels day in and day out, has also been key.
“In college the biggest thing is communication,” Thomas said in January. “With my coaches, if I am not feeling great, one of the days I let them know and we modify my assignments so that I can get through a productive practice but also be safe, obviously. So that’s like a huge thing, just making sure that we’re on the same page. And if I’m a little bit tired, if I’m a little bit mentally not there, then we’ll cater to that. And so I think that’s been the biggest thing. But honestly, just coming in every day, no matter if my tank is full or half empty and just giving what I’ve got that day is probably the biggest thing. Every day is not going to be a great day, and that’s okay. But just give it what you have.”
As Thomas embarked on this journey, it wasn’t surprising she chose to have the Gators right by her side. Her teammates and coaches are family to her she said, and she draws much of her strength and joy from seeing them succeed. Coaching has also provided her a new peace and perspective.
“The (Florida Gators) team looks amazing. They are incredible. So passionate. You can see their love for gymnastics every day in the gym and it’s really special,” she said. “We’ve got a younger team this year than we have the past few years. I’m just so proud of everything that they’ve already accomplished. Being able to see them achieve their goals and reach their dreams is so special, too, because not everybody gets to see the behind the scenes, but we get to see each moment that we have together – I think that’s what I’m looking forward to most – getting to be in here still with my teammates and being able to help them continue to reach their goals while I continue to reach mine.
“I train with all of the coaching staff (at Florida), which has been great. There are many different perspectives and again, strengths and weaknesses and being able to work together to come up with the best routines and the best things for me, they’ve been absolutely incredible. I’ve worked with them for the last five years, so they know me so well and are able to help me when some days it’s hard to help yourself. They’ve been amazing.”
Sharing the floor with Gator teammate Leanne Wong, who is pursuing her Elite and NCAA career simultaneously and is coming off the best gymnastics year of her life, has also been very special to Thomas.
“Leanne is one of a kind, for sure! She’s incredible as a student, an athlete, a person, an entrepreneur. She’s amazing and it’s been an absolutely pleasure to be in the gym with her every day. She’s got some serious talent. We really push each other. We’ve got different strengths, and we pull for each other and encourage each other through the good days and through the hard days. She’s been there for me a lot and I’ve been there for her as well. It’s been an incredible ride so far and I’m just so glad that we get to be together to finish out my career, but also just to continue to watch her shine as well. I think she’s going to blow it out of the park. I’m very, very appreciative of her and so excited to see all that she does this upcoming year.”
Thomas acknowledges the arrival of 2024 felt a little stressful but is confident in what she’ll put on the floor. An incredible blend of strength, finesse, power and performance quality, Thomas’ own arsenal of skills includes one of the best double layouts on floor in the business and sky-high release moves on bars. And while the NCAA to Elite routine construction is taking time to develop and test, she’s excited to see what she can accomplish.
Skillswise, she’s honing in on consistency right now and what works best for routine composition at this stage in the game. Clips of her bar routine shared online got everyone talking and Thomas says she’s also working on a Yurchenko double, a front full through to full in, full twisting double layout and front double full on floor, and back handspring layout layout and gainer full dismount off the front on beam.
“Nobody has ever seen me compete a double full on vault,” Thomas said. “And so that’s probably the biggest, I would say, obstacle for me just because vault has always been something that I’ve struggled with. I think that’s probably the biggest thing that a lot of people are looking forward to seeing me try — doubles on vault. I’m trying to get the technique down and figure it out. I’m looking forward to it.”
Looking ahead, no matter the end result, Thomas’ comeback and return to the Elite arena is already a beautiful new page in her legendary career. Based on her tenacity and raw talent alone, she certainly has the capability to be a major factor in the lead-up to the Games and beyond. Her proven work ethic and ability to hit under the lights under immense pressure has allowed her some of the sport’s greatest moments. Something that will be key as she heads into the Olympic hopeful spotlight.
When asked if she ever allows herself to look back and reflect in order to put her career to date in perspective and strive forward, she couldn’t help but smile.
“Sometimes I try to put myself back into my freshman self and look ahead, and it’s so crazy,” Thomas said. “I wouldn’t have ever thought that this is how it would go, whether it be the highs, the best things that happened during my career or the injuries and the lows. To be sitting here where I am today, I’m so thankful for all of it. I learned that even through the worst, or what felt like the worst times, the injuries, not making it to where I wanted to make it, I learned so much about myself. I learned to dig deep, keep working, and move forward knowing that there was going to be something greater at the end of the road. You can’t always control the things that happen to you, but you can’t control what you do next and how you move forward.”
And when the chalk settles at the end of each day, gratitude is first and foremost on her mind. For what she’s accomplished, the team surrounding her, and this generation of athletes — the most decorated Team USA has ever fielded.
“I think it goes to show how strong we really are. I am so blessed to be part of this with them. These women are absolutely incredible and have done some incredible things. For everybody to be here in one spot and to be coming back or continuing their journey is absolutely unbelievable. Just to be able to bounce ideas off each other, watch each other, encourage each other, I think it just makes all of us better. It’s incredible to watch and I’m really excited for a really fun year with them.
“I’m not in it alone. It really does take a village to reach your goals and I’m just so thankful for all the amazing people in my life, for my faith and for everything. I’m very thankful for everyone who’s helped me get to where I am, and who continues to help me every day to reach my goals. Just my utmost appreciation for everyone.”
Photos by Lloyd Smith for Inside Gymnastics
Look for the feature in the February 2024 issue of Inside Gymnastics magazine.
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