Topline
Quincy Wilson, a 16-year-old track and field runner from Virginia, is set to make his Olympic debut on Friday in the 4×400 meter relay in Paris—though the phenom is no stranger to making history and breaking records.
Quincy Wilson competes in the men’s 400 meter final on Day Four of the 2024 U.S. Olympic Team Track … [+]
Key Facts
Wilson is expected to become the youngest American male to ever run in an Olympic track and field event when he runs in Friday’s relay.
The high school athlete seemingly confirmed reports he will be running in the event when he posted on Instagram Thursday morning with the caption “Tune in Friday.”
Wilson already became the youngest American male ever to qualify for an Olympic track event, beating the record held by Jim Ryun and Erriyon Knighton, who were both 17 when they became Olympians, NBC News reported.
Wilson broke the 400 meter world record for under-18 runners twice at the Olympic trials in June, once with a time of 44.66 seconds and again with a time of 44.59 seconds—and three weeks later he broke his own record once more at a race in Florida where he ran a 44.20-second race, ESPN reported.
He has won five national AAU Junior Olympic Games titles, his most recent of which was won when he was 14 in 2022.
After he competed at the Olympic trials this year, Wilson was named the 2023-24 Gatorade Maryland Boys Track & Field Player of the Year.
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How Can I Watch Quincy Wilson’s Olympic Debut?
Wilson’s event, the men’s 4×400 relay, is scheduled to start Friday at 5:05 a.m. ET. He is expected to run in the opening leg, USA Today reported.
Big Number
42. That’s how many years the 400 meter record Wilson broke in June had been in place. It was set in 1982 by Darrell Robinson, who ran the race in 44.69 seconds.
What We Don’t Know
Whether Wilson would run in Saturday’s final if Team USA qualifies. It’s not uncommon for teams to alter their lineups between the semifinals and finals.
Surprising Fact
Though he finished sixth and was seconds away from qualifying for the individual 400 meter dash at the Olympic trials in June, Wilson was still selected to be in the men’s relay pool. He told ESPN he was “ecstatic” when he got the call. “I started running around the house. It was just a moment for me because everybody dreams about going to the Olympics as a young kid,” he reportedly said at the time.
Key Background
Wilson was born in Chesapeake, Virginia, but his family relocated to Potomac, Maryland, so he could go to a high school with a better athletics program. He attends Bullis School, a private school in Maryland, where he trains under coach Joe Lee. His parents were both athletes—his mom was a soccer and basketball player and his father played football for the Naval Academy—and his older sister, Kadence, runs track at James Madison University. Despite being a high school student, Wilson has already signed a name, image and likeness (NIL) deal with New Balance, making history as “one of the youngest high school athletes to sign an NIL deal with a major sportswear company,” according to Citius Magazine.
Further Reading
Israel and Hamas. Previously, she has covered a range of topics from Donald Trump’s legal battles to Taylor Swift’s path to becoming a billionaire. She joined Forbes in April 2022 and is based in Colorado. Prior to joining Forbes, Bohannon covered local news and spent time at the Fort Collins Coloradoan and the Arizona Republic. She graduated with a degree in journalism from Creighton University and has an MA in investigative journalism from Arizona State. Follow Bohannon for continued coverage of pop culture, politics and updates on the war in Gaza.
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