EUGENE, Ore. — A fan favorite at Hayward Field has blossomed into a 16-year-old sensation: Quincy Wilson.
Competing against athletes nearly twice her age at the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials, Wilson drew cheers and attention from fans in the stadium and at home in Monday night's 400-meter final, with the top three finishers selected for the U.S. team that will compete in the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Wilson broke the under-18 world record in the 400 meters on Friday when he clocked 44.66 seconds in the first round, then improved it again Sunday in 44.59 seconds to advance to Monday's final, which will air on NBC and Peacock at 9:59 p.m. ET.
Wilson will be running from lane two.
“This means a lot to me because it means all my hard work has paid off,” Wilson said after reaching the finals. “I'm excited for myself.”
Wilson, who attends the Bliss School in Maryland, entered the 400 final with the fourth-fastest time in the prelims, behind Quincy Hall (44.42), Bryce Dedmon (44.44) and Vernon Norwood (44.50).
Not surprisingly, Wilson has earned praise from his competitors.
“It's incredible. For a 16-year-old to come here and compete like a true competitor, not over-estimate the moment and live in the moment,” said Olympic gold medalist Michael Norman, who also reached the final. “It's great to have young talent like him to push us, push us to go a little faster and take us out of our comfort zone. I think he has a bright future.”
Wilson said the first round of qualifying messed up his race plan and that his ability to qualify was all a matter of mind.
“I'm just running for my life,” Wilson said. “There's so much I can do to improve myself. The biggest final in the world is coming up. I'm 16 and I'm in the prime of my life. It's one of the happiest days of my life.”
The Olympic hopeful doesn't yet have a driver's license.
In some ways, Wilson is similar to his competitors, having signed with a major apparel company after signing a non-permanent contract with New Balance last September.
In other ways, he's very unusual. For example, he gets all A's because he's still going to school full time and juggling his training with it. It's also worth noting that he doesn't have a driver's license yet and doesn't know when he'll get one; he's trying to get onto the Olympic team and doesn't have the time to study or practice driving.
Wilson is coached at Bliss by Joe Lee, a former youth pastor who served for 11 years at the private school in Potomac, Md. Prior to Wilson, Lee coached Wilson's cousin, sprinter Shaniya Hall, who starred at college track and field powerhouse Oregon the past four years and helped the school win two Pac-12 relay championships.
After his ferocious play in Friday's opener, Wilson smiled when asked if he took it easy on the Heat at all.
“It's a different game,” he said. “I'm not in high school anymore and I'm running with the big names now, so I have to give it my all.”
He dismissed concerns about whether he would ever make a full recovery.
“I know my training and my coaching,” he said. “They get me in the right position.”
That goes for mentally as well: After his first race, when asked to rate his nervousness on a scale of 1 to 10, he flashed another megawatt smile and said, “Probably a two.”
“I'm just competing against bigger guys,” Wilson said, paying tribute to the size and brand of his rivals, “but to me, they're wearing cleats just like me and they work just as hard as me.”
He also made it clear that he wasn't just here to enjoy the experience: He wanted to win.
Will Wilson make the Olympic team?
Norman, who competed in his first trials at age 18, seemed a little skeptical that as a 16-year-old he could earn a spot on the Olympic team in the 400 meters.
When asked if he viewed Wilson as a favorite to win, Norman was blunt.
“It's tough,” he said. “There are guys out there fighting for prize money now. He's in the final. It's hard to say. It's probably the first time he's done three rounds. I remember doing three rounds in the 200m (at my first trials) and I was exhausted.”
But he wasn't ready to give up on Wilson entirely.
“Kids are different now, so it's definitely possible,” Norman said. “He could definitely slip into the relay spot.”
High school track and field phenoms rarely make it to the Olympic Trials, but it's not unheard of. In 2016, 16-year-old Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone qualified for the Rio Olympics by placing third in the 400m hurdles. She didn't make it to the Rio Olympics final. (McLaughlin-Levrone is considered a favorite to win the 400m hurdles later this week.) McLaughlin-Levrone was the youngest athlete to make the U.S. Olympic team in 36 years.
Elyon Knighton, one of the top 200 runners in the world, was selected for the Tokyo Games as a senior in high school and placed fourth in Japan. Knighton won a bronze medal at the 2022 World Championships. He is scheduled to compete in the 200 meters later this week.
If Wilson qualifies for the Paris Games, he will become the youngest male athlete in the history of the U.S. Olympic track and field team.
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