Former Rush-Henrietta track star is on a path to compete for a world championship

The path to a person's goals can take a turn or two, becoming a long and winding road, even if you are a successful track and field sprinter.

Lanae-Tava Thomas, a three-time Democrat and Chronicle All-Greater Rochester high school track athlete of the year at Rush-Henrietta, has a chance to become a world champion.

Thomas has qualified to race in the women's 200-meter dash with the Jamaican national team at the World Athletic Championships in Budapest, August 19-27. The only track and field meet more prestigious than the world championships are the Olympics Games.

"Going to worlds and going to the Olympics are every track person's dream,' Thomas said. "Worlds is one of the biggest accomplishments you can have.

"For me to qualify at 22 (years old) is just amazing. Not only is it great to have on your resume, it's just an amazing feeling."

Miranda Melville, another Rush-Henrietta graduate, also has advanced to the world championships in Hungary. The 34-year old racewalker, an Olympian in 2016 at the Rio de Janeiro Games, will represent the United States after finishing third in the 20k race during the USA Track and Field Outdoor Championships on July 8.

Sammy Watson, a 2017 Rush-Henrietta graduate, made it to the United States women's 800 final in Eugene, Oregon but needed a top-three finish to advance to the world championships.

The path Lanae-Tava Thomas took to the World Athletic Championships

Thomas made it after:

• Sprinting and jumping during four years at the University of Southern California.

• Graduating from USC in 2022 with a degree in human biology.

• Joining the then Division I national runner-up University of Texas women's track and field team

• Helping the Longhorns win the 2023 national championship

• Deciding to compete for a spot on the Jamaican team.

• Placing third in the women's 200-meter dash during the Jamaica Athletic Administrative Association National Senior Championships in Kingston on July 8.

"I’m so excited. I feel like it's been a very long journey to get here," Thomas said. "Switching schools, switching countries, there is a lot that went into me being here.

"Everything that happened, should have happened. God has his way. Everything worked out in my favor."

Thomas' path from USC to Texas

Thomas, who has run the fastest girls 100- and 200-meter dashes in Section V history, committed to join the women's track and field team at University of Southern California after her five-year varsity career at Rush-Henrietta ended in 2018.

As a freshman at USC, Thomas placed fourth in the 200 at the NCAA Division I Indoor Championships, which made her All-America. She earned that status again by coming in sixth in the 100 dash during the Division I outdoor championships, and was on USC's record-setting 4 x 100 relay.

That summer, Thomas won the 200-meter race at the Under 20 Pan-American Games while representing the United States. Thomas was All-America again in 2021 as the Trojans won the national outdoor championship.

She then transferred to University of Texas during 2022. At the end of her first season as a Longhorn, the graduate student finished sixth in the 200 at the NCAA Indoor Championships, again earning All-America honors.

In spring 2023, Texas won the national women's outdoor championship. Thomas scored points for the Longhorns with a fifth-place finish in the 200.

"It was just the climate, the team was doing amazing," Thomas said about her to move from USC to Texas. "When I visited it felt very homey. I felt very welcomed.

"The workouts were a little different, so it did take awhile to adjust but I felt I meshed very well with the team and the coaches. SC was a great place but when I got to Texas, I felt like this was the place I was supposed to be."

Thomas' path from Texas to Jamaica to Hungary

Thomas said she decided before the outdoor season that her attempt to enter international track and field would be made through Jamaica instead of the United States. Since she was born in Jamaica and met the standard time for the 200 dash for both trials, Thomas had the option of trying to represent either country.

"I've always wanted to run for Jamaica," Thomas said. "My coach thought it was a great idea. We kind of made it our goal at the start of the season.

"Both countries, it's kind of hard to make the teams, regardless. It was not (an easy attempt) at all. It was very tiring, very draining. It’s a very long season."

Thomas said that despite the level of competition and the stakes for all of the sprinters, she did not "notice any negativity" toward her.

"I was there to do a job," Thomas said. "Once I was on the team (for the world championships), I qualified, it was nothing but being very happy for me. I have a lot of family there. Whatever negativity was there, was wiped out by the happiness from my family. People were very kind."

Jamaican trial finals produce 'heart palpitations'

An official on the track was one of those kind people.

Thomas came close to not running during the Jamaican trial finals and failing to advance to the world championships, after settling into the starting blocks.

"False-started, but I was putting my hand up while I was doing it," Thomas said. "So they put me back into the race. Amen, isn’t God great? Because sheesh.

"I was stressed because he was taking too long to give the verdict."

Lance Thomas, the sprinter's father, was watching a live stream from the meet.

"You can laugh about it now," he said. "I was having heart palpitations."

Aubrey Sheffield, who has known the Thomas family since the sprinter was in seventh grade, said he could tell the false-start led to some caution at the beginning of the race.

“She waited a half-second before getting out of the blocks (so as not to false start again), so she was playing catch up from the start," Sheffield said. "For her to run down girls to finish third was amazing.

"These are world-class athletes, the best in Jamaica. We know how strong Jamaica has been over the years.”

Shericka Jackson was a comfortable winner, finishing in 21.71 seconds. Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce was the next one across the finish line in 22.26. Thomas beat out fourth-place finisher Natalliah Whyte 22.55 to 22.67.

“I remember the last 10 meters of the race, crossing the finish line thinking 'Wait am I third?' " Thomas said. "I saw my name on the board say I was a world championship qualifier."

Lance Thomas might have realized the accomplishment at the same time as his daughter.

"You are competing against the best of the best throughout the world," he said. “Many people go through this routine year after year and never make it.

"Many people are not going. It's not that they are not good enough. There is so much talent out there."

Lanae-Tava Thomas is in elite company

Rush-Henrietta track coach Mike DeMay watched two former Royal Comets advance to the world championships in the same week.

"(Almost) half the teams in the NFL make the playoffs," Demay said. "Her equivalent is that only the top three (in a country) make the playoffs.

"It’s very cool. I got a hold of her right away. It’s an amazing feat, it’s something that we had talked about when she was in high school, going to that next level. She has worked hard to make this happen. She has talent, but she’s also putting it to good use."

There is a strong chance that Thomas starts down another long, winding road after the world championships, by becoming a professional track and field athlete.

“I’m super excited," Thomas said. "Whatever feels right for you, you should just do it.”

JAMESJ@Gannett.com

This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Lanae-Tava Thomas to run in World Athletic Championships for Jamaica