16-YEAR-OLD SENSATION SET TO MAKE U.S. OLYMPIC HISTORY
After recently turning heads at the U.S. Olympic trials, teenage sprinter Quincy Wilson is heading to the Paris Games, which start on July 26.
On Monday, Wilson's personal coach, Joe Lee, told The Washington Post the 16-year-old from Bullis School in Maryland will join Team USA's 4×400 relay pool. Wilson also confirmed the news on his Instagram on Sunday night.
Wilson is set to become the youngest American male track athlete to make the Olympics. Per Jeff Eisenberg of Yahoo Sports, he's roughly a year younger than middle-distance runner Jim Ryun, who competed in the 1964 Tokyo Olympics at 17 years, 137 days old.
Wilson broke an under-18 world record in the 400m at the trials. In the semifinals, he posted a time of 44.59 seconds after previously setting the record in the preliminary round (44.66).
Wilson failed to qualify for the Olympics in the 400m, finishing sixth in the finals. However, several stars advocated for him to make the team.
"I'm not worried about [Wilson] on the technical side of things," U.S. 400m hurdler and gold medalist Rai Benjamin recently said, via ESPN's Coley Harvey. "He's run multiple 4x4s, and he and his coach know how to keep it simple. He deserves it. The kid ran freaking well all weekend."
Wilson is still unsure which relays he will compete in, but he feels the team has already accepted him and looks forward to helping Team USA win gold.
"Now that I'm on the USA team, these guys are like my older brothers," Wilson told Harvey. "I don't want to let my older brothers down. And when you're running for a why and [know what] your why is ... you'll always run faster."
Don't be surprised if Wilson makes more trips to future Olympics. It's clear many believe he's a rising track star. According to Eisenberg, he signed an NIL deal with New Balance last September. He also joined WME Sports in April, the same agency that represents gold medalist Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone.
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