Trinity Thomas Explained

Trinity Thomas
Fullname:Trinity Lemyra Thomas
Birth Date:7 April 2001
Birth Place:York, Pennsylvania USA
Hometown:York, Pennsylvania USA
Height:5 ft 3 in
Discipline:WAG
Level:Senior international elite
Natlteam:2015–19 (USA)
Club:Prestige Gymnastics
Collegeteam:Florida Gators (2019–23)
Headcoach:Tony Fatta
Show-Medals:yes

Trinity Lemyra Thomas (born April 7, 2001) is an American artistic gymnast and a four-time National Team member (2016–20).[1] She was a member of the gold medal-winning team at the 2018 Pan American Gymnastics Championships, where she also won silver medals in the individual all-around and on the uneven bars, as well as the bronze medalist on balance beam and floor exercise at the 2017 national championships. She was a member of the Florida Gators women's gymnastics team. One of the most successful NCAA gymnasts in history, Thomas finished her collegiate career with a record-tying 28 perfect-10 scores and a record-breaking five Gym Slams (scores of perfect 10 on every apparatus).

Early gymnastics career

2011–2012

Thomas commenced gymnastics training in 2008, at the age of 7 – a relatively late start for an elite-level gymnast. In 2011, training at Skyline Gymnastics in York,[2] she was the Pennsylvania state champion for Level 7 in the all-around and on all four pieces.[3] As a result, she skipped Level 8 to compete as a Level 9 gymnast, placing second at the 2012 Regionals.[4] At the 2012 Level 9 Eastern Championship in Maryland, she was fourth in the all-around; she competed against future teammate Sydney Johnson-Scharpf.[5]

2013–2014

For the 2013 season, Thomas moved to Artistic Sports Academy Plus (ASAP) in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and moved up to Level 10; the highest level of the USAG program. She was third at States,[6] ninth at Regionals and,[7] as a result, qualified to the J.O. NIT competition.[8] At the competition, held in Minneapolis, Minnesota,[9] Thomas finished fourth in the all-around and was the National Champion on floor.[10]

In 2014, following her move to Prestige Gymnastics in Lancaster, she only competed three events at the Pennsylvania State Championships.[11]

Elite gymnastics career

In February 2015, Thomas qualified as a Junior International Elite gymnast through her performance in the WOGA Classic Elite Qualifier.[12]

2017

Thomas became age-eligible for senior-level competition in 2017. She made her senior international debut at the 2017 City of Jesolo Trophy[13] where she helped the USA finish first.[14] In July Thomas competed at the 2017 U.S. Classic. She only competed on uneven bars and balance where she placed third on each.[15] Later in the summer Thomas competed at the 2017 U.S. National Gymnastics Championships where she placed fourth in the all-around behind Ragan Smith, Jordan Chiles, and Riley McCusker, sixth on bars, and third on beam and floor. As a result, she was named to the senior national team[16] and invited to participate in the Worlds Team Selection Camp.[17] After the two days of trials, Chiles and Thomas were selected as the non-traveling alternates for the 2017 Artistic Gymnastics World Championships.

2018

In the beginning of the year Thomas was selected to compete at the Tokyo World Cup,[18] where she won silver behind Mai Murakami of Japan.[19] In April she announced her commitment to the University of Florida and their gymnastics team.[20] In August Thomas competed at the 2018 U.S. National Gymnastics Championships where she placed eighth in the all-around, fourth on bars, and sixth on beam and floor, and was once again named to the senior national team.[21] On August 20, 2018, Thomas was named to the team to compete at the Pan American Championships alongside Grace McCallum, Jade Carey, Kara Eaker, and Shilese Jones.[22] There she won gold in the team final and silver in the all-around and on uneven bars.[23] [24] Thomas was invited to attend the Worlds Team Selection Camp but declined.[25]

2019

In 2019 Thomas became one of the few gymnasts to train both NCAA and elite gymnastics simultaneously.[26] Thomas competed at the 2019 GK US Classic in July, opting to only compete on uneven bars and balance beam. On the two events, she placed sixth and seventh, respectively.[27]

At U.S. National Championships Thomas competed in the all-around, where she finished in ninth place. She also placed fourth on uneven bars behind Sunisa Lee, Morgan Hurd, and Simone Biles, tenth on balance beam, and fifteenth on floor exercise.[28] As a result, she was added to the national team for the fourth time.[29]

2023–2024

In July 2023 Thomas announced her plans to pursue a berth on the U.S. team for 2024 Olympics Games in Paris.[30] She made her elite comeback at the 2024 Winter Cup where she placed fourth in the all-around and second on uneven bars.[31]

Collegiate gymnastics career

2018–2019 season

Thomas began competing as a collegiate gymnast for the Florida Gators in the 2018–2019 season.[32] At the 2019 SEC Championships Thomas placed first on vault, second of floor exercise behind Sarah Finnegan of Louisiana State third in the all-around behind Finnegan and Lexi Graber of Alabama. She helped Florida place second overall.[33] During the Regional Finals, the Florida Gators lost, being upset by the Denver Pioneers and the Oregon State Beavers, and thus did not qualify as a team to compete at the 2019 NCAA Championships. Thomas, however, qualified as an individual on floor exercise and uneven bars.[34] At the 2019 NCAA Championships Thomas placed seventh on floor exercise and 30th on uneven bars.[35]

2019–2020 season

On January 24, in a meet against Louisiana State, while performing on the uneven bars Thomas earned her first collegiate perfect 10.0.[36] The following week she earned her second perfect 10, this time on balance beam, in a meet against Denver and Iowa State.[37] On March 7, in a meet against Penn State, Thomas earned a perfect 10 on floor exercise; she was the second of two gymnasts that season to be awarded the perfect score, the first was Gracie Kramer.[38] Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, the NCAA cancelled the remainder of the 2020 season on March 12.[39] Thomas was nominated for the Honda Sports Award alongside Kyla Ross (who won the award),[40] Maggie Nichols, and Lexy Ramler.[41]

2020–2021 season

Thomas announced her retirement from elite gymnastics in May, citing that her ankle injuries earlier in the year has hindered her training for the 2020 Olympic Games and that she would instead focus on rehabbing her injury and continuing to compete at the NCAA level.[42]

2021–2022 season

On January 16, in a meet against Alabama, Thomas earned a perfect 10 on both vault and floor exercise. By earning a 10 on vault, Thomas became the 12th NCAA gymnast and third Florida Gator after Bridget Sloan and Alex McMurtry to earn a gym slam (a perfect 10 on all four apparatuses).[43] She is also the only NCAA gymnast to earn a perfect 10 on each apparatus at least 3 times.

2022–2023 season

During the season opener quad meet versus West Virginia, Ball State, and Lindenwood on January 6, Thomas earned a perfect 10 on the balance beam, joining Bridget Sloan as the only Gators to open a season with a perfect mark.[44] On January 27 Thomas scored a perfect ten on vault in a meet against Georgia. In doing so she earned her fourth career gym slam.[45] At the 2023 NCAA Gymnastics Finals, Thomas tied the record for most perfect 10 scores in NCAA history with her 28th perfect 10 on vault.[46]

Career perfect 10.0

SeasonDateEventMeet
2020 January 24, 2020 Uneven Bars Florida vs LSU
February 7, 2020 Balance Beam Florida vs Denver & Iowa State
February 14, 2020 Florida vs Auburn
March 7, 2020 Floor Exercise Florida @ Penn State
2021 February 12, 2021 Floor Exercise Florida @ LSU
February 26, 2021 Uneven Bars Florida vs Auburn
Floor Exercise
April 2, 2021 Uneven Bars NCAA Regionals
2022 January 16, 2022 Vault Florida vs Alabama
Floor Exercise
January 28, 2022 Balance Beam Florida vs Arkansas
February 18, 2022 Floor Exercise Florida @ Kentucky
February 25, 2022 Florida vs Oklahoma
March 4, 2022 Vault Florida @ Auburn
March 31, 2022 Floor Exercise NCAA regional semifinals
Uneven Bars
April 2, 2022 Floor Exercise NCAA Regional Finals
Vault
April 14, 2022 Floor Exercise NCAA National semifinals
April 16, 2022 NCAA National Finals
2023 January 6, 2023 Balance Beam Florida vs West Virginia, Ball St, Lindenwood
January 13, 2023 Floor Exercise Florida vs Auburn
January 27, 2023 Vault Florida vs Georgia
February 10, 2023 Balance Beam Florida vs Missouri
February 17, 2023 Florida @ LSU
March 18, 2023 Uneven Bars SEC Championships
Floor Exercise
April 15, 2023 Vault NCAA Championship Final
Totals by event
Vault 5
Uneven Bars 5
Balance Beam 6
Floor Exercise 12
Totals by year
2019 0
2020 4
2021 4
2022 12
2023 8

NCAA Regular season ranking

[47]

SeasonAll-AroundVaultUneven BarsBalance BeamFloor Exercise
2019 5th 17th 4th 14th 2nd
2020 2nd 14th 4th 2nd 1st
2021 1st 7th 1st 10th 2nd
2022 N/A 1st 5th 3rd 1st
2023 3rd 14th 2nd 9th 2nd

Personal life

Thomas was born on April 7, 2001, in York, Pennsylvania to parents Titania and Tisen Thomas. Her father, Tisen, was a wide receiver for Penn State University's Nittany Lions football team[48] [49] a 1993 graduate.[50] [51] She has four siblings; Tesia, a former gymnast, volleyball player and swimmer now competing in track and field at Penn State, University Park[52] [53] Taleyn, a gymnast, diver and pole vaulter [54] Tristen, a gymnast and swimmer and Tayvon, an offensive and defensive football player and swimmer.[55]

Competitive history

YearEventTeamAAVTUBBBFX
Junior
2015US Classic16 13 24 11 15
P&G National Championships5
2016City of Jesolo Trophy5
US Classic42
P&G National Championships6 10 11 6 7
Senior
2017City of Jesolo Trophy
American Classic
US Classic
P&G National Championships4 6
2018Tokyo World Cup
U.S. National Championships8 4 6 6
Pan American Championships
2019U.S. Classic6 7
U.S. National Championships9 4 10 15
Worlds Team Selection Camp 12 9 8 10 12
2020 only competed in NCAA
2021
2022
2023
align = left 4 9 11
align=left 37
align=left 36 35
NCAA
2019SEC Championship 15
NCAA Championships7
2020SEC Championships Canceled due to the
COVID-19 pandemic in the USA
[56]
NCAA Championships
2021 align=left SEC Championships 10
align=left 4 11 10 13
2022 align=left SEC Championships 7
align=left 44
2023 align=left SEC Championships 12 5
align=left 5

Notes and References

  1. Web site: USA Gymnastics | Women's Past Junior National Teams .
  2. skylinegym.com
  3. Web site: 2011 Pennsylvania Level 7 State Championship . MyMeetScores.com . 2022-05-09.
  4. Web site: 2012 Region 7 Level 9 Championships . MyMeetScores.com . 2022-05-09.
  5. Web site: 2012 Level 9 Eastern Championships . MyMeetScores.com . 2022-05-09.
  6. Web site: 2013 Pennsylvania Level 9, 10 State Meet . MyMeetScores.com . 2022-05-09.
  7. Web site: 2013 Region 7 Level 10 Championships . MyMeetScores.com . 2022-05-09.
  8. Web site: 2013 J.O. National Invitational Tournament . MyMeetScores.com . 2022-05-09.
  9. Web site: 2013 J.O. National Championships and J.O. NIT Results .
  10. https://usagym.org/PDFs/Results/w_13jonit_jra.pdf Results
  11. Web site: 2014 Pennsylvania Level 9, 10 State Championships . MyMeetScores.com . 2022-05-09.
  12. Web site: WOGA Classic 2015 . MyMeetScores.com . 2022-05-09.
  13. Web site: USA Gymnastics names U.S. Team for Jesolo Trophy. USA Gymnastics. March 25, 2017.
  14. Web site: 2017 City of Jesolo Trophy Results. The Gymternet. April 2, 2017.
  15. Web site: 2017 U.S. Classic Meet Results. USA Gymnastics. July 29, 2017.
  16. Web site: Smith wins women's all-around crown at 2017 P&G Championships. USA Gymnastics. August 20, 2017.
  17. Web site: USA Gymnastics invites 10 women to 2017 World Championships Team Selection Camp. USA Gymnastics. August 29, 2017.
  18. Web site: USA Gymnastics selects gymnasts for three World Cup events. USA Gymnastics. February 25, 2018.
  19. Web site: Thomas, Mikulak win silver, bronze at Tokyo World Cup. USA Gymnastics. April 14, 2018.
  20. Web site: Trinity Thomas Announces Commitment To Florida On Facebook Live. FloGymnastics. April 9, 2018.
  21. Web site: USA Gymnastics names 2018-19 U.S. Women's National Team. USA Gymnastics. August 19, 2018.
  22. Web site: USA Gymnastics names U.S. Women's Team for 2018 Pan Am Championships. USA Gymnastics. August 20, 2018.
  23. Web site: U.S. women win team gold at 2018 Senior Pan Am Championships. USA Gymnastics. September 16, 2018.
  24. Web site: McCallum, Thomas go one-two in women's all-around at 2018 Senior Pan Am Championships. USA Gymnastics. September 15, 2018.
  25. Web site: U.S. women's World Team Selection Camp begins Oct. 10. USA Gymnastics. October 1, 2018.
  26. Web site: Balancing Act: Trinity Thomas Pursues Her Elite & NCAA Dreams. Inside Gymnastics. June 27, 2018.
  27. Web site: USA Gymnastics USA Gymnastics. www.usagym.org. 2019-07-21.
  28. Web site: 2019 National Championships Results. USA Gymnastics. August 11, 2019.
  29. Web site: Biles soars to sixth U.S. women's all-around title at 2019 U.S. Championships. USA Gymnastics. August 11, 2019.
  30. Web site: Trinity Thomas: "It's not what happens to you, it's what you do next". July 13, 2023. International Olympic Committee.
  31. Web site: DiCello wins women’s senior all-around crown at 2024 Winter Cup. February 24, 2024. USA Gymnastics.
  32. Web site: Trinity Thomas - Gymnastics . Florida Gators . 2022-05-09.
  33. Web site: LSU wins SEC Champ, Finnegan wins all-around. Southeastern Conference. March 24, 2019.
  34. Web site: Gator Gymnastics Season Over. ESPN Radio. April 8, 2019.
  35. Web site: Nichols wins NCAA all-around title. USA Gymnastics. April 19, 2019.
  36. Web site: West York's Trinity Thomas enjoys first perfect 10 of her college career with Florida. The York Dispatch. January 25, 2020.
  37. Web site: Watch it: York County gymnast Trinity Thomas earns another perfect 10 with Florida. York Daily Record. February 8, 2020.
  38. Web site: Week 10 Standings: Individual Floor. roadtonationals.com. 2020-03-15.
  39. Web site: NCAA cancels remaining winter and spring championships due to coronavirus concerns NCAA.com. NCAA.com. www.ncaa.com. en. 2020-03-15.
  40. Web site: Kyla Ross receives Honda Sport Award, concluding her record-setting Bruin career. April 15, 2020. Daily Bruin.
  41. Web site: Trinity Thomas Among Four Honda Award Finalists. Florida Gators. April 6, 2020.
  42. Web site: York's Trinity Thomas to retire from U.S. gymnastics team; won't contend for Olympic spot. York Daily Record. May 19, 2021.
  43. Trinity Thomas Redefines Perfection for Gators With Two Money Performances. Sports Illustrated. January 16, 2022.
  44. Web site: No. 2 Florida Sets Season Opening High to Start 2023 with Quad Win . 2023-01-09 . Florida Gators . en.
  45. Web site: Trinity Thomas earns gym slam in impressive Florida win against No. 17 Georgia. January 27, 2023. The Independent Florida Alligator.
  46. Web site: Trinity Thomas Ties Record For Most Perfect Ten Scores At 2023 NCAA Gymnastic Finals . 2023-04-19 . Yahoo Life . 17 April 2023 . en-US.
  47. Web site: Road to Nationals - NCAA Gymnastics Rankings. roadtonationals.com. 2019-04-25.
  48. Web site: Monday, May 9, 2022 . Inquirer.com: Philadelphia local news, sports, jobs, cars, homes . Articles.philly.com . 1992-09-11 . 2022-05-09.
  49. Web site: Knee injury ends Thomas' season . 26 August 1993 .
  50. Web site: Tisen Thomas College Stats College Football at Sports-Reference.com.
  51. https://www.linkedin.com/in/tisen-thomas-7371088 LinkedIn Profile
  52. Web site: Mid-Cap championships bring summer swim season to an end . pennlive.com . 2015-07-25 . 2022-05-09.
  53. Web site: Tesia Thomas, Prestige Gymnastics . MyMeetScores.com . 2022-05-09.
  54. Web site: Taelyn Thomas, Prestige Gymnastics . MyMeetScores.com . 2022-05-09.
  55. https://usagym.org/pages/athletes/athleteListDetailPrint2.html?id=376048 Athlete List
  56. Web site: NCAA cancels remaining winter and spring championships due to coronavirus concerns. NCAA. March 13, 2020.