“I’m 16 Running Grown-Man Times”: Sha’Carri Richardson Has Company As Most Popular US Track & Field Olympian: Quincy Wilson Qualifies For 4×400 Relay At Paris Olympics

Quincy Wilson, the track phenom from Potomac, Maryland, and just a rising junior at Bullis High School, has accomplished something that no American man in track and field history ever has. He’s 16 years old, competing in his first Olympic Games. He’s definitely 1-of-1 and we are witnessing the beginning of a legendary journey.

Wilson ran a 44.94s at the U.S. Olympic Trials 400 meters final and finished sixth. It was enough to earn him a spot on the 2024 Paris Olympics 4x400m relay team, and an appointment with destiny.

Wilson becomes the youngest U.S. man to run the 4x400m at the Olympics since Ed Ablowich did it in 1932 at 19. With this accomplishment, will come newfound fame for the young barnburner.

Sha’Carri Richardson Overcomes Youthful Indiscretions

Sha’carri Richardson is entering her first Olympic Games after failing a drug test four years ago, while mourning the death of her mother and dealing with the pressures of being the next American Olympic superstar.

She’s corralled all of her youthful indiscretions and uncertainty and is a well-oiled, well-adjusted machine who is a heavy favorite to win the 100 meters in Paris.

Her experiences as a youth; the media attention and extreme criticism from social media voices and other TV talking heads, has made her an unwavering rock.

She was barely 20 years old and very few people cut her any slack. She had to tighten her inner circle and focus on her mental health and hyperfocus her extreme talents on achieving greatness.

The stumble she took in her first heat in attempting to qualify for the Olympics this past weekend, was nothing compared to the fall she took in failing to make the Olympics due to a failed marijuana test.

She shook that slow start off and dashed the field with dominance, speed and confidence.

Quincy Wilson Is Young, The Media Spotlight Will Be Huge: Can He Handle It?

Wilson is dealing with a similar pressure now. He might have come out of nowhere, but now he will be a household name in track and field and the subject of millions of social media posts and views. Win or lose in Paris, his life is changed forever.

The rising junior seems to have his head on straight and, from the look of things, he won’t fall victim to the same potential pitfalls that fame can bring a young person.

Wilson shattered 18u records at the Olympic Track & Field Trials in Oregon this weekend. On Sunday night, he ran the fastest time ever for an American under the age of 18 —breaking his own record set the night before. Wilson ran times of 44.84 and 44.59 in the preliminary round and semifinals prior to the run on Monday evening.

On Monday night, Wilson beat the 45-second mark in the 400-meter race for the third run in a row during these Olympic Trials, but his time of 44.94 wasn’t quite fast enough to qualify for the event in the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Wilson finished in sixth place, probably assuming that he wouldn’t be participating in the Olympics this summer.

“I can’t go back and be disappointed. At the end of the day, I’m 16 running grown-man times,” he said to reporters after the race.

Well, his times were good enough and the committee believes in his potential enough to earn him a spot in history.

Now that the Olympics has produced another overnight sensation, let’s find out some new things about the young phenom.

What You Don’t Know About Quincy Wilson

1. Wilson was raised in a nomadic military family, with a focus on sports and school as stable areas of concentration. His parents reportedly moved to Gaithersburg, Maryland, from Chesapeake, Virginia, so Wilson could attend Bullis, knowing the school’s reputation for nurturing athletes.

Naturally, Wilson’s parents were athletes in college. His mother, Monique, was a hoops and soccer star in high school and college. His pops, Roy, played football at the Naval Academy. His older sister, Kadence, was a Virginia state track champion and now runs for James Madison University.

The track genes run deep, and Wilson is also a straight-A student with a 3.9 GPA.

2. Bullis, a K-12 school, is known in part for producing impressive athletes. He transferred to Bullis, which was founded in Washington, D.C., in 1930 as a preparatory school for the Naval Academy before relocating to Potomac in the 1960s, because the school has a history of elite athletes in its alumni group, from the Miami Dolphins’ Cam Brown to Olympic kayaker Caroline Queen.

3. At 16, Wilson is among the youngest athletes to have an NIL deal with a major sportswear company, signing with New Balance, after winning the company’s own 400-meter race.

4. Wilson’s most recent 400-meter record this weekend would have put him at sixth place in the Tokyo 2021 rankings, behind Michael Norman (44.31) of Team USA and above Jamaica’s Christopher Taylor (44.89).

The Olympics always produce great stories that make themselves and turn unknowns into legends. It seems as if Wilson was born to take track and field to new heights and we will get our first glimpse of him at the highest levels in this summer’s Olympics.