When the Paris Olympics were just a week away, Gabby Thomas was already living in a different reality. The notes in her phone were filled with about 500 lines of the same affirmation: “I will be an Olympic Champion.” She had lived the race so many times over and over again in her head that she started believing it had already happened. And the result? We all know. She left Paris with a triad of gold medals. Well, there’s another athlete who has also taken inspiration from Thomas’ mantra, and it has led her to her dream victory!
That athlete is American tennis queen, Coco Gauff. Gauff has just won her maiden French Open title, following her brutal loss in the 2022 final. But this time, something was different. What? Well, minutes after Gauff beat Sabalenka in the 2025 French Open finals, she pulled out a chit from her bag that had “I will win the 2025 French Open” written on it multiple times. She credited Gabby Thomas for that inspiration. And now, a slew of American track and field icons are coming forward to wish Gauff in her success.
June 7, Coco Gauff took to Instagram and added a carousel of images from the 2025 French Open event. The first one was the most heartwarming one that featured Gauff hugging the cup, showing how some victories can be quite sentimental for athletes. She wrote, “I worked so hard for this moment and for it to have happened is insane. thank you God and thank you everyone. this means the world….”
Both Sha’Carri Richardson and Gabby Thomas liked Gauff’s post. Not just this, they even took to their Instagram stories to support her. Replying to Gauff’s shoutout about the manifestation mantra, Gabby said, “YOU DESERVE IT ALL!!” whereas Sha’Carri Richardson called Gauff’s win “amazing!” on her story.
Well, Gauff’s 2025 French Open win was her redemption story. And that is something that both Gabby Thomas and Sha’Carri Richardson can surely relate to. Three years ago, Coco Gauff’s French Open final match ended with her crying under a towel after she lost a one-sided match. But this year, no one was in her league. Similarly, for Sha’Carri, who missed out on Tokyo due to her failed d–g test, but returned from Paris with two Olympic medals. Even for Thomas, she worked on her Tokyo 200m bronze and upgraded it to a gold in Paris. So, yes, perhaps these athletes can relate to Gauff’s journey.
But this isn’t all. Comments flooded below Coco Gauff’s post, and among them was nine-time Olympic medalist track athlete Allyson Felix. Felix wrote, “Congratulations!!! So well deserved!!” Even the reigning long jump champion, Tara Davis-Woodhall, took to her Instagram and reshared Gauff’s story with a one-word caption, “HER.” Clearly, the track and field community was all about giving Gauff a pat on the back, and they deemed Gauff to be an absolute G.O.A.T. And not just the community, there were many Olympians who commented on Gauff’s win.
Alongside Gabby Thomas, many Olympians stepped in to congratulate Gauff
Commenting below Coco Gauff’s post were some more Olympians, who know what it feels like to win at the highest stage. Mikaela Shiffrin, who became the world’s only woman skier to complete 100 World Cup wins last season, congratulated Coco Gauff by saying, “Just incredible .”
But Shiffrin wasn’t alone in the alpine skiing world to applaud Gauff. Another American legend, Lindsey Vonn, who made her competitive skiing comeback in 2024 after retiring in 2019, wished Gauff on her success. She wrote, “SOOOOO PROUD!!!!!” for the tennis icon. Hardships have been a constant hurdle in Vonn’s journey to the top, yet it’s her unflinching courage that saw her come back after a partial knee replacement surgery too. So yes, Gauff’s redemption may be something that resonates with her, too.
Then, it was Jade Carey, the Team USA gymnast who completed a two-medal haul in Paris, who chimed in to wish Coco Gauff. The youngster wrote, “You are amazing!! so proud.” All in all, America’s top female sports athletes came out in Gauff’s support, especially from the track world. If this isn’t joining forces to celebrate the win of a female athlete who represents women’s sports at the highest, then what is? After all, Coco Gauff, who topped Forbes’s list of the highest-paid female athletes of 2024, is representing women in sports. And her win has now got the loudest cheer from the community!
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