Trinity Thomas earned five WCGA All-American honors as a sophomore, matching Bridget Sloan's single-season school record. (Photo: Elyse Knapp/UAA Communications
Gators Gymnast Trinity Thomas Waits, Determined Not to Allow Stoppage Spoil Future Plans
Wednesday, March 25, 2020 | Gymnastics, Scott Carter
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By: Scott Carter, Senior Writer
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – On a Saturday afternoon 18 days ago, Gators sophomore Trinity Thomas turned in another spectacular performance for the Gators gymnastics team, earning the first perfect score of her career in the floor exercise.
For Thomas, Florida's victory at Penn State carried additional weight considering she had her own robust cheering section. More than 300 family and friends made the two-hour trek from Thomas' hometown of York, Pa., to Rec Hall on Penn State's campus. Following the meet, Thomas signed autographs, took photos and said hello to as many as she could in the crowd from her hometown. Many of the fans were young girls who train at Prestige Gymnastics in York, the gym Thomas trains at when home and where she developed into an Olympic hopeful and 10-time All-American in just two seasons at Florida.
Before the coronavirus pandemic changed everything, the last place Thomas expected to be Wednesday was at home in York looking into a computer camera and discussing the International Olympic Committee's announcement Tuesday that this summer's Tokyo Olympics were being postponed until 2021.
Thomas, who turns 19 next month, is determined to make the most of a difficult situation. While disappointed in the cancellation of the Gators' season and a chance at a national team title, and now the postponement of the Olympics, Thomas is focused on being ready when the time comes.
"I miss the gym a lot. It's weird not going to the gym every day. Everything is just strange right now,'' she said. "We were so motivated this season and we were ready to go all the way. That does not stop us at all. I know my teammates are working and I know I'm working. We're going to come up with a plan and just go back out there and do our thing. We owe it to ourselves because we have worked so hard. We can't control something like this, but we can control what we do next."
Thomas turned in one of the greatest seasons in the history of the UF gymnastics program before the season came to a crashing halt. She was the only gymnast in the country who scored a 10.0 on three different events (uneven bars, beam, floor) and one of three gymnasts to earn the maximum five All-American honors from the Women's Collegiate Gymnastics Association. Bridget Sloan (2014 and 2016) is the only other Gators gymnast to earn five All-American honors in a single season.
If not for the coronavirus pandemic, Thomas and her teammates would have been training Wednesday for the NCAA Regionals on April 2. And once the collegiate season ended, Thomas planned to train in her attempt to qualify for the U.S. Olympic Trials in June.
Instead, like millions of others around the country, Thomas has spent the past several days at home, playing volleyball in the backyard with her siblings, catching up with her family and watching Netflix. The postponement of the Tokyo Olympics did not catch her by surprise like when the NCAA season ended prematurely.
"It was already something that I had just told myself, 'hey, this is probably a big possibility.' When it happened, I was already more prepared,'' she said. "Whether this virus is gone or not, this is making a huge impact on the athletes' training in general. It just would be unfair to the athletes to try to go for Tokyo this summer."
Gators gymnast Trinity Thomas soars into the air during her floor exercise routine against LSU under the watchful eye of assistant coach Adrian Burde, standing. (Photo: Elyse Knapp/UAA Communications)
Thomas isn't sure yet how the postponement will impact her future Olympic plans. She planned to retire from elite gymnastics competition following her bid to make the 2020 Olympic Trials. With that process delayed for a year and scenarios being discussed where the Olympics could be held in the spring of 2021 during the collegiate season, Thomas has a lot to consider.
First, she plans to take advantage of the break and give her body time to rest. She is doing some light training at home to maintain her skills and plans to do some "maintenance" at her home gym when the time is right. She is also taking care of her academics by finishing the semester online and maintaining regular contact with the educational resources offered remotely.
Once life returns to normal and more is known about future scheduling, she will discuss her Olympic plans with Gators head coach Jenny Rowland.
"It's just a lot all at once. I'm just trying to take time to take it all in before we decide what we're going to do next," Thomas said. "Right now, the [Olympics] plans aren't changing. That's still the plan."
Asked if the Olympics are rescheduled by chance during the 2021 NCAA season and how that would impact her thinking, Thomas said: "That would be a really hard decision to make and I don't think I'm ready to make that decision yet. But when I am, that's definitely going to be so difficult either way."
Thomas first learned of the postponement from Twitter on Tuesday. Shortly afterward, she said Rowland texted her to let her know.
If you have interacted with Thomas or watched her compete, you know she is not a glass-half-empty type. She is confident that when she does get back into the gym that the change in plans won't impact her negatively.
"I just want to win a national championship as a team,'' she said. "Because I know what this team was capable of and I know that we can do it. Honestly, this break right now is probably good for me. I haven't had a break in a while.
"You have more time to fix the best routines that you can possibly put together. You have more time to perfect all of your skills and all your routines and parts down to the basics and up to the most difficult parts also. You have more time to come up with a plan, a training plan to see what's the best for me individually to make the best of the year."
A year full of possibilities once the wait is over.
