Gabby Thomas knew exactly who to run to after winning gold at the women’s 200m track final: her boyfriend Spencer McManes.
The Olympic champion and McManes have been dating since October 2022 and he’s been rooting for her throughout their relationship. After the track star took home gold at the 2024 Paris Olympics, she ran into McManes’ open arms as he commended her on her accomplishment.
“For me, being surrounded by people that are uplifting and supportive and empowering really fuels me,” Thomas told NBC Sports. “I’ve always been surrounded by that kind of energy and that sort of support system.”
While Thomas ran track for Harvard University, McManes was also a college athlete, playing football for Yale University. However, the two met after graduation when they were both living in Austin, Texas.
So who is Gabby Thomas’ boyfriend? Here’s everything to know about Spencer McManes and his relationship with the track star.
He played football for Yale University
Gabby Thomas/Instagram
McManes grew up in Georgia, attending Blessed Trinity Catholic High School. After graduating in 2013, McManes started playing football for Yale University, where he was a quarterback.
He graduated from Yale in 2017 with a bachelor’s in political science and government, per his LinkedIn. Thomas also attended an Ivy League college, graduating from Harvard University in 2019.
McManes started his own non-alcoholic kava seltzer
Gabby Thomas/Instagram
After graduating, McManes worked in Virginia at McChrystal Group, a consulting service, before moving to Austin in 2021 where he transitioned to a career as a customer success manager at People.ai, an AI platform, according to his LinkedIn. He has since moved into the same position at DataGrail, a data privacy company, in August 2023.
However, in May 2023, McManes took on an additional role as the founder of his own non-alcoholic kava seltzer brand, Kaviva. The company is based in Austin and sells the seltzer in 12 oz. cans that come in a variety of flavors.
They started dating in 2022
Gabby Thomas/Instagram
According to an anniversary post, McManes and Thomas first started dating in October 2022. Though McManes made his Instagram account private ahead of the 2024 Olympic Games, he is featured throughout Thomas’ Instagram as they’ve attended numerous events together from South by Southwest festival in March 2024 to visiting family in Georgia.
McManes moved to Austin in January 2021 while Thomas moved in late 2019 after graduating from college. She came to the city to train with Tonja Buford-Bailey and eventually started school at the University of Texas-Austin to earn her master’s in public health.
“I left Boston and everything that I was comfortable with, to come train in Austin, TX at the end of 2019,” Thomas wrote in a September 2021 Instagram post, after winning a bronze and silver medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. “The training was more than I was used to, and the pressure was too. The pressure was a lot.”
Though it’s unclear exactly when they met, McManes was there to see Thomas graduate with her master’s in May 2023.
“It just got another degree hotter!!!” she wrote in a graduation post featuring McManes on Instagram. “I am SO happy to announce that I’ve completed my Masters in Public Health at the UT Health Science Center. I started this journey in 2020, and I can’t believe how much has changed since then.”
She has a close bond with his family
Gabby Thomas/Instagram
In addition to sharing a close bond with McManes, Thomas also has a sweet relationship with his family, including his younger brother Carter and younger sisters Mackie and Livvie. McManes’ mom, Lori McManes, frequently posts photos of Thomas and McManes together and the whole family joined McManes’ side to root for Thomas at the Paris Olympics.
After the Olympic Trials in June 2024, Lori posted a sweet tribute to Thomas, sharing her awe of all the hard work the athlete put in to get to the position she is in.
“We are SO PROUD to be TEAM GABBY. That win yesterday was hard!” Lori wrote in the caption. “Incredible talent on the line. We are so happy Gabby will represent our great country on Team USA. Can’t wait to cheer her on IN PARIS!!🇺🇸❤️💙🥇Love you sweet Gabby 😘😘.”
A month later, Lori posted photos from her and her family’s trip to Paris to watch Gabby compete, including their impressive seats close to the finish line of the 200m final.
McManes showcased his support of Thomas at the 2024 Olympics
Patrick Smith/Getty
After Thomas won the gold at the 200m final, she became emotional and searched for McManes in the crowd. Once he realized she’d crossed the finish line first, McManes erupted in cheers alongside the rest of her family.
Thomas later ran up to him, where he swept her up into a big hug and praised her for the “hard” work she’d put in while she cried in his arms.
“This is six years in the making at least,” Thomas told reporters, including PEOPLE, after her win. “All of it was for this moment. My coach told me everything we’ve done up until this point — Tokyo Olympics, World Championships, even my injured year 2022 — it was for this, so that I was prepared and I was mature and I was ready.”
