In addition to becoming the youngest male Olympian in U.S. track and field, 16-year-old Quincy Wilson will take home a gold medal from the 2024 Olympics, despite not competing in the men’s 4×400 relay final in Paris on Saturday.
Wilson, a rising junior at the Bullis School in Potomac, watched from the stands as his teammates brought home the gold – the third consecutive Olympic gold medal for the U.S. team in the 4×400-meter relay.
Wilson won the medal by running the opening leg for the U.S. team on the first lap of the race. When he passed the baton, the team was in seventh place. His teammates – Vernon Norwood, Bryce Deadmon and Chris Bailey – caught up and finished in third place, putting the team in the relay finals.
With his performance, Wilson made history as he became the youngest man to compete for the United States at the Olympics. Wilson took the title ahead of Arthur Newton, a 17-year-old who ran the steeplechase in 1900, according to The Washington Post.
According to ESPN, Wilson said he wasn’t himself on Friday but would use the race as motivation.
“They got me on the track,” Wilson said of his teammates, according to ESPN. “My grit and determination got me on the track.”
In June, Wilson missed his lead by tenths of a second at the U.S. track and field trials in Eugene, Oregon, to become the youngest male competitor to compete as an individual on the U.S. Olympic track and field team.
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