In the men’s 400-meter final, Quincy Hall was in fourth place going into the final straightaway. He was the Olympic champion in a matter of seconds.
Hall utilized a late surge to win gold in the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris on Wednesday, much like fellow American Cole Hocker did in the men’s 1500m final the day before.
Hall broke away from the field in the last meters of the sprint, finishing narrowly ahead of Matthew Hudson-Smith of Great Britain, Kirani James of Grenada, and Jereem Richards of Trinidad and Tobago. Hall’s timing of 43.40 seconds was a personal best.
The native of Kansas City, Missouri, then made some snow angels on the Stade de France track to celebrate winning his first Olympic medal.
“I’ve got determination,” Hall stated. “That’s what got me to that line. A lot of hurt, a lot of pain.”
Read Also: Injury Can’t Stop GB’s Brown from Winning Bronze in Skateboarding
The current world silver medallist, Hudson-Smith, earned Olympic silver with a time of 43.44 seconds, while Muzala Samukonga of Zambia came back to finish third with a time of 43.74.
Hall became the first American to win the 400 meters in an Olympic competition since the Beijing Olympics in 2008. In addition to setting a new personal record, Hall also established the fourth-fastest time in the history of the race. The time set by Hudson-Smith is the fifth-fastest ever.
In the eight-man final, Christopher Bailey and Michael Norman of Team USA came in sixth and eighth, respectively.
