Thomas relocated to Boulder, Colorado in the winter of 1987–88 to prepare for the Olympics. In January 1988, she reclaimed the U.S. national title. At the 1988 Winter Olympics held in Calgary, she and Katarina Witt engaged in a rivalry that the media dubbed the "Battle of the Carmens", as both women skated their long programs to the music of Georges Bizet's opera "Carmen". Thomas skated strong compulsory figures and performed well in the short program to an instrumental version of "Something in My House" by Dead or Alive. In the long program, she made mistakes on a number of jumps and placed fourth in that segment of the competition. Thomas began with a triple toe-triple toe combination, which was rare for a female skater in the 1980s. The second triple was not perfect and by her own admission, Thomas gave up on the rest of the program. Overall, she finished third and won the bronze medal, behind Witt and Canadian skater Elizabeth Manley (Thomas fell from first place going into the long program to third place overall in the final standings). By winning the bronze medal, Thomas became the first black athlete to win any medal at the Winter Olympics. Thomas won the bronze medal at the 1988 World Championships and then retired from amateur skating. She performed for Stars on Ice and won the 1988 World Professional Championships in Landover, Maryland. She also won the title in 1989 and 1991.