When Thomas felt like giving up track — often during her freshman year of college — her mom encouraged her to stick to her dreams. "I've had many phone calls with my mom during that time where I was thinking, 'You know, I might just not do track anymore,' and that was OK with me," Thomas told Today. "I thought it may have been too much for me to handle, but she told me to push through and that I would just be OK and to do it and I'm really glad that I listened to her."