Wesley Chapel girl qualifies for Junior Olympics in 400-meter sprint

Wesley Chapel girl competing in Junior Olympics

FOX 13's Mark Skol Jr. shares the success that a Wesley Chapel girl is having as her young track career is taking off already.

TAMPA - A Wesley Chapel girl has qualified for the Junior Olympics and there's one thing that is obvious to see when you meet Miraya Thomas.

"I'm fast," Thomas said. 

The 13-year-old is one of the fastest middle schoolers in the nation.

"These kinds of athletes, I was told, come around every so often," Speed Starz Track Club head coach BeBe Roberts said. 

The backstory:

Thomas won the fastest athlete in the Tampa Bay contest in 2024. She was named the Pasco County Conference Champion the last two years and competed in New York last month and Jacksonville a few weeks back, becoming an All-American in both. 

Now, she is heading to Houston, Texas to participate in the Junior Olympics and run in the 400-meter sprint.

"I'm excited," Thomas said. "I think I am going to do pretty well. You sprint and slow down, don't slow down."

However, her coach says setting the ceiling at the Junior Olympics is just too low. 

"We truly believe she is going to go farther than this," Roberts said. "We know for a fact she will get invited to the trials in 2028 and we know, by the favor of God, that she will definitely go to the 2028 Olympics."

That's the goal Thomas has had on her mind for awhile.

What they're saying:

"That would be pretty awesome," Thomas said. "I am not going to lie. That would be pretty awesome."

She might be on track to do just that. 

"She is just one of those kids who will get the job done," Roberts said. "She will finish with at least a Top 3 in every single race if not the winner. I know for a fact no matter what the competition is, no matter what the mountain is, she will overcome it. She hasn't really reached her peak yet."

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Even if she's running a race up a mountain, you'll know where to find her.

"Seeing me in first, being in front and not seeing nobody," Thomas said.

What's next:

Thomas will compete for gold in the Junior Olympics at Humble High School in Houston this week.

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