American Olympic gold medalist Gabby Thomas harassed by a bettor who followed her around the track

Olympic gold medalist Gabby Thomas was subjected to verbal harassment and stalking by a sports bettor during the Grand Slam Track meet at Franklin Field over the weekend, highlighting growing concerns over athlete safety amid the rise of sports betting.

Thomas, 28, who clinched three gold medals at the 2024 Paris Olympics in the 200m, 4x100m, and 4x400m relays, recounted the disturbing incident on social media.

She stated that a man followed her around the track, shouting personal insults as she interacted with fans, many of whom were children. "Anybody who enables him online is gross," Thomas wrote on X.

The suspect

The man, known online as "Mr. 100k A Day," posted videos of himself heckling Thomas during the women's 200m race, calling her a "choke artist" and making racially charged comments about her interracial relationship. He later boasted that his actions contributed to Thomas's performance, aiding his successful parlay bets on FanDuel, where he claimed to have won over $2,500.

Response from the authorities

In response, Grand Slam Track issued a statement condemning the behavior and announced a full investigation. "We are working to identify the individual involved and will take appropriate action as necessary," the league stated. "We will implement additional safeguards to help prevent incidents like this in the future. Let us be clear, despicable behavior like this will not be tolerated."

This incident is not isolated for Thomas. Earlier this year, she shared experiences of being stalked by groups of men at various airports, who aggressively demanded autographs and appeared to have access to her flight information. "They have my flight information, and they show up at the front door of the concourse, or they show up at my gate, which means they have flight tickets and get past security," Thomas revealed in a TikTok video.

The intersection of sports betting and athlete harassment is a growing concern. A report by major tennis governing bodies found that nearly half of abusive social media posts directed at players came from disgruntled bettors.

Fellow athletes have voiced support for Thomas. Retired runner and commentator Kara Goucher praised her for speaking out, stating, "You are exposing the crap that women go through.”