EUGENE, Ore. – When Quincy Wilson’s name was read over the loudspeakers before the 400-meter semifinals on Sunday night, the capacity crowd at Hayward Field erupted in applause.
“Quincy! Quincy!” a fan shouted from the stands.
“I looked around when they did that and saw Vernon (Norwood) behind me and Bryce Deadmon. That kind of excited them,” Wilson joked. “So I thought, ‘I don’t know, you might want to calm down.’”
Wilson, a 16-year-old at Bullis School outside Washington, D.C., did the unthinkable a day earlier: He broke a 42-year-old record for the fastest 400-meter time by an under-18 runner in history.
And Sunday, he overcame it.
Not only did Wilson finish third in his heat in 44.59, surpassing the world record he had just set, but he also earned a coveted spot in Monday’s final (9:59 p.m. ET/6:59 p.m. PT).
If he earns a spot in the top three, he will become the youngest athlete to make the United States men’s Olympic track and field team. Regardless of the result, he could go to the 2024 Paris Games if selected for the 4×400 relay team.
“I’ve never been happier in my life when it comes to the track,” Wilson said after the race. “I have been working towards this moment. That record I broke two days ago, it’s been 42 years without anyone 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.”
Wilson, who just 19 days ago finished his sophomore year of high school, is competing with some of the fastest runners in the world. Norwood is 32, twice Wilson’s age. Michael Norman, 26, finished fifth at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Norman called Wilson’s performances “spectacular.”
“A 16-year-old is coming here competing like a true competitor,” Norman said. “He’s not letting the moment get too big. He’s living in the moment and competing, so it’s great to see young talent like him stepping up, pushing us to run a little faster and pushing us out of our comfort zone. He has a bright future ahead of him as long as he stays strong and focused.”
Wilson could have disappeared in that semi-final. By the final turn he was in fifth place with a lot of ground to make up on the straight. The 5-foot-11, 140-pound Wilson said “the race plan went out the window” at that point and he had to dig deep.
“Stay calm,” he told himself at that moment. “I didn’t go the way I wanted, but as my coach said, the race starts at 300. Going from fifth to third means a lot. If you look at me, I’m not that strong, so it’s 100% heart inside.”
Norman, who competed in the U.S. Olympic Trials at age 18, said the odds were not in Wilson’s favor on Monday because of fatigue from running three races in three days. Although he never says never.
“He is 16 years old. I remember (at 18) doing three 200-meter races and getting beat in the final,” Norman said. “I was so tired. But kids are different now. Anything is possible. He could definitely sneak into a relay spot, for sure. It’s all in his hands.”
This story originally appeared on NBCNews.com read the full story
