At 16 years old, Quincy Wilson is running against adults nearly twice his age at the Olympic trials. But the massive age and experience gap doesn’t seem to faze him.
Wilson broke his own under-18 world 400-meter record in the semifinal on Sunday by crossing the line in a personal-best time of 44.59 seconds, after he set the record by winning his heat in 44.66 on Friday 21 June.
“It means a lot to me because it means my hard work has been paying off,” Wilson said after breaking his own record that he previously set on Friday. “I’m just excited for myself.”
Wilson, a student of Bullis School in Maryland, finished behind Bryce Deadmon (44.44) and Vernon Norwood (44.50), but his time was good enough to advance to the final. Wilson also earned the admiration of his competitors.
“It’s spectacular. A 16-year-old coming out here, competing like a true competitor, not letting the moment get too big but living in the moment,” said Olympic gold medalist Michael Norman, who also advanced to the final. “It’s great to see young talents like him elevate and push us to run a little faster and take us out of our comfort zone. I think he has a bright future.”
Wilson sounded confident in his interview after the final semifinal heat was complete and his spot in the final secure.
“Today I just came out here, gave everything I had. I knew the last 100 was going to be hard,” Wilson told NBC. “I’m competing with them. I’m just thankful to be in this moment.”
“I’m just running for my life out there. The race plan went out the window. (Monday) I have a lot of things I can do to improve myself,” Wilson said. “I’m in the world’s biggest final coming up (Monday). At 16 years old, I’m ecstatic right now. …It’s one of the happiest days of my life.”
Wilson is coached at Bullis by Joe Lee, a former youth pastor who’s been at the Potomac, Maryland, private school for 11 years. Before Wilson, Lee coached Wilson’s cousin, Shaniya Hall, a sprinter who starred at college track powerhouse Oregon for the last four years, where she helped the Ducks to two Pac-12 relay championships.
SOURCE: usatoday.com