Quincy Wilson had a day to remember as the 16-year-old became the United States’ youngest ever track and field Olympian. And while he admitted afterwards that he wasn’t “100% myself,” he was delighted to be part of a US 4x400m relay team that remain gold medal favourites in Saturday’s final.
“It was an amazing moment,” said Wilson, whose stunning performances this year have taken him from being a high schooler in Chesapeake, Virginia, to these Games. “I had my family – mom, dad, sister, grandma, her sisters and a lot of family – in the stands. I wasn’t 100% myself but my team came out here and did it for me.”
Wilson faded in the final 150m to finish his opening leg in 47.27sec, nearly three seconds below his personal best, before handing over to his teammate Vernon Norwood.
“I was in the moment, watching a 16-year-old running in the Olympics, making history,” said Norwood, who is twice Wilson’s age. “I was very proud of him. And I’m just looking at him and like, ‘Oh, snap back in and let me get the stick and get it going’.
Norwood did just that, running a 43.54 leg to put them back in contention before Bryce Deadmon and Chris Bailey brought the US team home in 2:59.15 behind Botswana and Team GB.
“I’m super proud of him to show his grit for us and put us in a good position to go for the gold,” added Norwood. “I told him before we got here, I said, ‘Hey, embrace it. You belong here. This is a privilege. Nobody in this world gets this opportunity. So make the most of it.’”
Understandably the experience has not yet sunk in for Wilson. “It hasn’t but probably when I get home. I’ll probably soak it all in then. The goal was to be able to get the baton around. It’s just going to be motivation for me to come back.”
Meanwhile Team GB’s men’s 4x400m team, featuring Matt Hudson-Smith, Charlie Dobson, Sam Reardon and Toby Harries, believe they can also take gold after coming second in 2:58.88.
“I’m genuinely wired,” said Hudson-Smith. “I want to push to be a double Olympic medallist. We can go win it. This team can do anything. We can get the British record, European record, and if we dig deep the world record. Anything is possible when you’ve got your mind on it.”
Britain’s women’s 4x400m team, featuring Lina Nielsen, Jodie Williams, Hannah Kelly and Yemi Mary John, are also optimistic of a medal after finishing second in semi-final in 3:24.72.
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“We’ve got such great depth in Team GB that we want to bring in fresh legs for the final and hopefully have as many girls on the podium,” said Nielsen.
Meanwhile in the men’s 800m Max Burgin put injuries and bad luck behind him by running a personal best of 1:43.50 to reach the final in third place.
The 22-year-old was a teenage phenomenon, running 1:45 at 17, but has never put a long run of training or races together due to a series of achilles and other issues.
But it is only two years since he arrived at the 2022 World Athletics Championships in Eugene as the favourite before suffering from deep-vein thrombosis on the plane. And he showed his talent to qualify in a stacked field. “I’m still over the moon,” he said. “I thought it might be hard to get to the final.”
However, Britain’s world championship bronze medallist Ben Pattison and Elliot Giles are both out after finishing fourth and five in their semi-finals.