Quincy Wilson realizes Olympic dream despite falling short in 400 meter final
EUGENE, OREGON – Bullis School (Maryland) track star Quincy Wilson took the world by storm this week, breaking the 18-under world record in the 400 meters, twice, but was unable to grab one of the three qualifying spots in 400 meter finals, Monday night, at the U.S. Olympic Trials. Shortly after the race, however, Wilson's dream of becoming the youngest male athlete to ever make the US Track & Field Olympic Team became a reality when he was selected to be a part of the 4x400 meter relay squad.
Running in lane two in the final, Wilson fell behind the leaders early in the finals and was never in close contention for one of the top three spots needed to make the Olympic team, but passed a pair of runners down the stretch to finish sixth in the nine-man field with a time of 44.94.
Quincy Hall won the race in a time of 44.17, while veteran Michael Norman (44.41) was second and Chris Bailey (44.42) was third. Wilson ran the first 100 meters in 11.29 and was in eighth place after 300 meters. He ran the final 100 meters in 11.98 as he moved up to sixth.
In the opening round of qualifying, Wilson ran 44.66 to break a record set by Darrell Robinson in 1982. In his semifinal heat, Wilson broke his own newly minted record by posting a time of 44.59.
"All I know is I gave it everything I had, and I can't go back and be disappointed," said Wilson shortly after the 400 meter final. "At the end of the day, I'm 16 running grown man times."
Wilson stayed in an Airbnb while in Eugene with his parents, his grandmother and his sister and credits them with helping him perform his best.
"My support system is the reason why I was able to get here," he said. "Think about seeing my grandmother up in the stands cheering for me. I looked straight her and I saw she was praying for me. Those are the reasons I am out here running great times."
Wilson comes from a military family and moved to Gaithersburg, Maryland, from Chesapeake, Virginia, so he could attend Bullis School, a Maryland private school in the suburbs of Washington, D.C. with a reputation of helping develop track athletes. His father, Roy, played college football at the U.S. Naval Academy and his mother, Monique, was a basketball and soccer star in both high school and college. In addition, his sister, Kadence, was a high school state champion in track in Virginia and now competes for James Madison University.
One other aspect of Wilson's success is intelligence, as he is a straight A student at Bullis.
The last high school athlete to make the men’s Olympic team was Erriyon Knighton, who qualified for the 200 meters at the Tokyo Games as a 17-year-old. He finished fourth there, but won bronze in the event at the 2022 World Championships.
There is still a chance Wilson could end up in Paris if he is selected to join the U.S. Olympic team in the 4x400 meter relay.
GARY ADORNATO