At the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials on Monday, 16-year-old Quincy Wilson of Bullis School, outside of Washington, D.C., placed sixth in the 400-meter final in a time of 44.94.
With a time of 44:17, Quincy Hall won first place. Chris Bailey (44:42) and Michael Norman (44:41) also secured spots on the team that was traveling to Paris.
Wilson will have the opportunity to compete for the United States in the 4×400 relay even though he was unable to qualify as an individual runner and is now the youngest male to do so in history.
The high school student had an amazing weekend despite the outcome, as he broke the 42-year-old world record for under-18 runners and then bested it.
“I’ve never been this happy a day in my life when it comes to track,” Wilson stated. “I’ve been working for this moment. That record I broke two days ago, that’s 42 years of nobody being able to break that record. I broke it twice in two days. It means a lot to me, because it means the hard work is paying off.”
“A 16-year-old is going out here competing like a true competitor,” Norman stated. “He’s not letting the moment get too big. He’s living in the moment and competing, so it’s great to see young talents like himself elevate, push us to run a little bit faster and take us out of our comfort zone. He has a bright future in front of him as long as he stays grounded and focused.”
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At five feet nine inches tall and 140 pounds, Wilson could have easily lost the lead in that semifinal. He added that “the race plan went out the window” at the last turn, when he was in fifth position and had a lot of ground to make up.
“Stay calm,” he urged to himself at that very moment. “I didn’t get out the way that I wanted to, but like my coach said, the race starts at 300. Coming up from fifth to third, it means a lot. If you look at me, I’m not as strong, so it’s 100% heart inside.”
