As someone who has competed in two different Olympic games and won three gold medals, track and field star Gabby Thomas knows what a high-pressure situation feels like. However, what she likely didn’t expect when competing in the recent Grand Slam Track event in Philadelphia was for someone in the stands to use that pressure to their own advantage.
A sports bettor, who reportedly refers to himself as "The Track and Field Bully" on social media, sat in the stands near the starting line of the race and ruthlessly heckled Thomas as she prepared to compete.
"Don't choke, Gabby, like you did yesterday, Gabby," he yelled. "You a choke artist. You going down, Gabby."
The heckler recorded over a minute of video footage from the incident and then later posted it online, writing, "I made Gabby lose by heckling her. And it made my parlay win." He then shared a parlay split from the sports betting company FanDuel, which showed he won $1,000 after selecting Melissa Jefferson-Wooden to win the race over Thomas.
The following day, Thomas commented about the incident on X.
"This grown man followed me around the track as I took pictures and signed autographs for fans (mostly children) shouting personal insults- anybody who enables him online is gross," she wrote.
FanDuel has since announced that they’re investigating the incident and intend to ban the heckler.
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