diff --git a/Modules/threadmodule.c b/Modules/threadmodule.c
index e0afde5ea9e..48f1f36cdac 100644
--- a/Modules/threadmodule.c
+++ b/Modules/threadmodule.c
@@ -204,8 +204,7 @@ t_bootstrap(void *boot_raw)
 	else
 		Py_DECREF(res);
 	PyThreadState_Clear(tstate);
-	PyEval_ReleaseThread(tstate);
-	PyThreadState_Delete(tstate);
+	PyThreadState_DeleteCurrent();
 	PyThread_exit_thread();
 }