At the ESPYs, Thomas will be in good company, nominated alongside gymnast Simone Biles, basketball player A’ja Wilson, and fellow track and field athlete Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone. “I’m really proud to stand alongside them in showing the world how impactful and powerful women’s sports are,” says Thomas. “It just feels really good to be up there representing our sport. It’s something that I’ve always dreamed of when I was a little girl.”

While she can’t control the outcome of who will go on to win the award, Thomas is taking the future of track and field into her own hands. Together with fellow Olympians Sha’Carri Richardson and Tara Davis-Woodhall, she has come on as an adviser-owner of Athlos League, a team-based, women-centric track and field competition set to debut in 2026. 

“I’ve always wanted to leave the sport better than I found it. And the fact that we were able to do that, and also celebrate powerful women and uplift female athletes in the process, it means everything to me,” she says. “It’s going to be such a great opportunity for us athletes in the sport in terms of having competition, in terms of being paid, and just shaking things up a little bit with the new format… [and] to inspire the next generation and show what we can do in sports.”

The 2025 ESPY Awards will be broadcast on ABC at 8 p.m. EST on June 16 and streamed on Hulu, Disney+, and ESPN+.