Records are meant to be broken. And for 17-year-old Quincy Wilson, it’s mostly been a cakewalk. In January 2025, though, a somewhat heartbreaking picture presented itself. Wilson was all set to break Will Summer’s 500-meter national high school record (1:01.25 set during a 2022 meet at Virginia Beach) at the 2025 VA Showcase. However, as the race reached its conclusion, Andrew Salvodon had done the unexpected with a time of 1:00.49. Wilson, on the other hand, finished second (1:02.49)…

Notably, this is not the first time that Wilson has fallen short. At the 2024 edition of the VA Showcase, the track athlete had clocked in 1:01:27—making him a national hero, and the most expected face to achieve the groundbreaking feat. Yet, as he stood at the finish line while Salvodon recorded the tenth-fastest time in world indoor history, the only emotion on Wilson’s face was that of professionalism and sportsmanship.

Even during a conversation later, the teenager had stated with the utmost grace, “So basically, like I said, I won this gold medal, I’ve won a lot of things, won every national championship that I’ve been in and things like that, but last weekend I ran my first track meet and I lost. Everybody had me planned out to win, everybody had everything set out, and I was supposed to win. I got beat. The dude that beat me broke the national record. Things like that went over the internet, thousands, millions of views like that…”

“But at the end of the day, the guy that came out there and beat me, he said it doesn’t matter who steps on the track, who steps on against him, he’s going to give them their best effort. That’s how it is.” Exuding confidence in his abilities, Quincy further stated, “I lost the first half, and I came back the next day, and me and my team came back and broke the national record in the Sprint Medley. So just going out there and being as a team we will get the dub.”

It’s clear that the Bullis School athlete is far from giving up. But at the young age of 17, is he somehow overexerting himself? Well, if you ask US track and field legend Justin Gatlin, he’s going to extend to you and Quincy a very distinct warning…

On Tidal League’s Ready Set Go podcast aired January 29, Rodney Green asked Gatlin what he thought of Wilson’s loss. Green said, “Do I think Quincy will rebound from this? Yes, I do. I do think he’ll rebound from this. But I think it’s a wake-up call to let him know that, ‘You ain’t going to cruise through these high school ranks no more. You got a target on your back, homeboy.’ I think he knows [that]. Him and his coach and his team…they’ll definitely be ready for what’s next. But I think what’s next for him [is] he’s going to run a pro race and [the 2025 Milrose Games]. What do you think about that, or even what do you think about his race and then him going to a pro race?” 

While congratulating Salvodon for his “amazing” feat, Gatlin responded, “Do I feel like Quincy’s in any kind of danger? No. This is what track and field is about. You’re going to win some, you’re going to lose some. At the end of the day, it was a 500-meter [race], probably early in his season when he was getting ready. And you realize, at the end of the day, he has a schedule that is really, really unique, because he’s walking that line between elite high school athlete, and he’s also tangling with professional athletes. So he has to go and compete at two levels basically, almost simultaneously…That’s the only thing I’m concerned about.”

“Because, in our sport, it’s almost like you’re burning the candle at two ends. You’re going to have a high school season, and then you’re going to jump into the professional realm, and have a professional season. Now, mind you, he had an amazing, fairy tale-Cinderella story last year where it just kept snowballing into success after success after success, and he ran faster and faster along the way. But it’s also a gamble as you go into the next year and try to do the same thing again. And then the next year you try to do the same thing again. Like, are you going to burn yourself out? Mind you, him and his coach may have a master plan that we know nothing about because this is the era of hybrid athletes. [But] my only concern is [if] he’s pacing himself.”

Having said that, the reality is Quincy Wilson himself doesn’t appear that riled or concerned at all…

Quincy Wilson issues warning to his rivals

Quincy Wilson is not looking bothered by his loss against Andrew Salvodon. Despite losing out on a golden opportunity to break Will Sumner’s record at the 2025 VA Showcase, Wilson is now looking ahead to fresh challenges. And mind you, the Olympic gold medalist has issued some stern warnings to his rivals. 

Wilson joined FloTrack with Colin Abrams and Jake Odey-Jordan to shed light on his plans. “Well, for me tomorrow, my goal is just to better myself,” said Wilson. He further added, “I haven’t been training for too long, so my goal is just to improve. We have had a long season, so I’m just trying to be better than I was last year.”

And that was not all. The 17-year-old track phenom also revealed his goal of running even faster in the upcoming days. Now with his fellow competitors giving him a hard time as well, Quincy Wilson knows that he needs to push his limits significantly to rise and shine. And the young Olympian is not shying away from taking up the challenge.

“Like you said, bettering myself from last year is the national record, so if that’s in the cards, I have a lot of great competition. I think they’ll push me to where I want to be and to limits I have never reached before,” said Wilson.

Thus, with things looking quite rosy for Quincy Wilson, it now remains to be seen how well things pan out for the 17-year-old as 2025 unfolds further.