When Gabby Thomas crossed the finish line and won the women’s 200-meter Olympic track final on Wednesday, the applause was loud and clear.
“This moment was way more special than I ever imagined,” Thomas shared with Today. “Winning and sharing it with everyone who’s supported me up to now was the best part and the happiest moment of my life.”
Thomas’s incredible win owes a lot to her boyfriend Spencer McManes, their families, and their whole community cheering her on. They fell in love in Austin, Texas, then traveled all the way to Paris, France. It’s been quite a journey since they met in 2022. Here’s everything we know about Spencer McManes.
They began dating in 2022.
McManes has rooted for Thomas since they started dating in 2022. We don’t know how exactly they met, but it happened in Austin after she moved there post-graduation in 2019 to train with coach Tonja Buford-Bailey.
“I wouldn’t have guessed that I’d end my first season with two Olympic medals,” Thomas wrote on Instagram after winning bronze and silver at the Tokyo Olympics. “I thought it would take longer. But I’m proud because I stayed committed through COVID, injuries, distractions. I fell back in love with track through this journey.”
McManes was an Ivy League athlete.
Thomas isn’t the only athlete; McManes was a football quarterback at Yale University. He graduated in 2017 studying political science and government while Thomas finished Harvard in 2019 with degrees in neurobiology and global health. She later earned a master’s degree from UT Austin.
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@gabbythomas
Fans think it’s cool how supportive he is.
McManes is an entrepreneur.
After moving to Austin in 2021, McManes worked as a customer success manager before starting his non-alcoholic seltzer brand Kaviva in 2023. The drink is marketed as “athlete approved,” but no word yet if Thomas drinks it herself.
@gabbythomas
Thomas has McManes’s family’s full support.
At the Paris Olympics of 2024, not only did McManes cheer for Thomas but so did his entire family—his parents Lori and Skip, siblings Carter, Mackie, Livvie—and also Thomas’s mom Jennifer were all there at the finish line 🏅.
“This journey started six years ago,” said Thomas on Today. “Every year, every month mattered so much. I’ve never worked harder for anything else or had so many people come together to help me achieve this dream.”