At just 16 years old, Quincy Wilson has become one of the most captivating stories of the U.S. Olympic track trials, qualifying for the finals in the 400 meter with the fastest teenage times in American history.
A kid with a real chance of flying to Paris for the Summer Olympics wouldn’t even be able to drive himself to the airport.
Advertisement
Wilson’s weekend started with a time of 44.66 in round one Friday, which broke Darrell Robinson’s 42-year-old national high school record of 44.69.
Wilson then doubled down on his record-breaking weekend, lowering his own record Sunday night to 44.59 in the semifinals to finish third in his heat and qualify for Monday’s finals on time.
16-year-old Quincy Wilson with a tremendous effort in the 400m semi! He has officially QUALIFIED for the final. 👏pic.twitter.com/nL4Nj8m5BT
— NBC Sports (@NBCSports) June 24, 2024
“I’ve never been this happy a day in my life when it came to track. I’ve been working for this moment. That record that I broke two days ago … that’s 42 years of nobody being able to break that record,” Wilson said. “And I broke it twice in two days. It means a lot to me because I know my hard work’s been paying off.”
The high school sophomore will face competitors who are mostly a decade-plus older on Monday. The finals field includes Michael Norman, who won the 2022 world title in the 400m and took home a gold medal from the 2020 Olympics in the 4×400.
Norman advanced to the finals with ease, winning his heat in 45.30, while Quincy Hall ran the fastest time of the semifinals at 44.42.
"YOU'RE IN."
Watch the moment 16-year-old Quincy Wilson and his coach realized he was headed to the 400m final at pic.twitter.com/7UYCrDrkvN
— NBC Sports (@NBCSports) June 24, 2024
After his dominant Friday night, Wilson said his recent success has him focused on athletic accomplishments far bigger than high school competition can provide.
“When I come to the big meets, I usually drop a second or half a second,” Wilson said. “I’m not running in high school anymore, I’m running with the big dogs. I just had to come out here and give it my all.”
Advertisement
Wilson, who attends Bullis High School in Potomac, Md., previously set the under-18 world record for the indoor 400 meter in March, running 45.76, a time which would have placed him fourth in the world at the 2024 World Indoor Championships.
In 2022, Wilson broke the national under-14 record in the 400, finishing the year with a time of 47.77 before he even entered high school.
“The first thing when I got off the track, my coach told me he’s extremely proud of me. He was telling me the things we’ve got to do to break down the race. He’s not caught up in the moment, and with that on my side I think I have great things for tomorrow. I can’t wait for tomorrow,” Wilson said Sunday.
“I’m on the world’s biggest final coming up tomorrow. At 16 years old, I’m like ecstatic right now.”
Required reading
- Could future U.S. Olympic track trials be moved from Hayward Field? USATF officials discuss potential moves
- Sha’Carri Richardson wins 100m title at U.S. Olympic trials again, will be joined in Paris by training partners
(Photo: Ben Lonergan / The Register-Guard / USA Today)