Quincy Wilson's ‘dream comes true’ as USA 16-year-old makes historic Olympic debut at Paris 2024
Quincy Wilson became the youngest ever Team USA male to compete in an Olympic track and field event on Friday [9 August] after an exciting debut at the Paris 2024 Olympics that left the 16-year-old looking forward to more top-level races.
Wilson raced the opening round of the men’s 4x400m relay at the Stade de France, teaming up with Vernon Norwood, Bryce Deadmon and Christopher Bailey to qualify third from heat one, which was won by men's 200m champ Letsile Tebogo's Botswana.
“This was a dream come true,” a delighted Wilson told Olympics.com minutes after the race, adding that he didn’t have pre-race jitters ahead of his first major championship race.
“I didn’t run my best, but I knew I had a great team on my hands. I wasn’t nervous, I was 100% myself.”
Quincy Wilson of Team United States (L) and Maksymilian Szwed of Team Poland compete in the Men's 4 x 400m Relay Round 1 at Stade de France on August 09, 2024 in Paris, France.
Wilson led off the relay by putting the defending 4x400m men’s champions in seventh place before handing over to Norwood.
Norwood, already a silver medallist in the 4x400m mixed relay at Paris 2024, passed the baton to Deadmon who helped Team USA to into fourth, with Bailey ensuring qualification by easing past Japan’s Sato Kentaro in the last bend.
Tebogo, who returned to the track just over 15 hours after winning a historic 200m men's Olympic title, ran an easy opening leg ensuring his team qualified top ahead of Team GB, USA and Japan from the first heat.
Hosts France qualified first from heat two, ahead of second-placed Belgium and Italy in third. Zambia qualified as the fastest loser from that heat.
Last June, the prodigy had a remarkable outing at the U.S. Trials. He dashed to an under-18 world record of 44.66 seconds in the preliminary round of the 400m, smashing a record that had remained unbeaten for 42 years.
He again lowered the age-group record to 44.59 in the semi-finals. Wilson’s sixth-place finish in the men’s 400m at the U.S. Olympic Trials earned him a spot in the Team USA Olympics 4x400m pool.
“I know I have multiple world championships, multiple Olympics to go to, so it’s one of many. I will keep looking up, keeping out here like Sydney McLaughlin. So I will come back and get better for next year. This is just but a start,” he added about teammate McLaughlin-Levrone who won her second Olympic 400m hurdles title on Thursday [8 August] in a new world record.
Before Wilson, who races in events between 200m to 800m, 17-year-old Arthur Newton, who competed in the 1900 Games in the 2500m steeplechase was the youngest Team USA Olympian.