45.76 seconds. That is what Quincy Wilson clocked at the 2024 New Balance Indoor Nationals in Boston in June to claim the U.S. high school record. The time would have been good enough for fourth place at the 2024 World Athletics Indoor Championships – at the senior level. It caught the eyes of even 100m Olympic champion Noah Lyles. “He is HIM!” Noah commented on a video of that race. That ‘Him’ has shown his magic again, and this time it outshined Noah as well.

Despite being the Olympic champion, Noah is not defined merely by his accolades on the tracks. As he puts it, he does not want to be an athlete who just comes, runs, and goes away. So with his quirky fashion sense and pre-race antics, he has tried to turn more eyes to the track and field. However, all that could not earn him a place on a coveted list just released. On the other hand, Quincy had found a mention as one of the rising stars of the sport.

Sports Illustrated has just released its Power List 2024, where it featured the 50 most influential figures and forces in sports. While rising stars like Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese sit prominently on the list, Noah’s gold medal shine was enough to fetch him a spot. But, even without his driver’s license, Quincy Wilson entered an additional list by Sports Illustrated, titled “These Teen Titans Are 2024’s Rising Sports Stars.” Do you know why is it a special achievement?

None of the teens projected on the list are from the track and field. In fact, to date, no active track and field athlete has made it to the list. Last year Allyson Felix was included in it under the ‘Icons and Leaders’ subcategory. But she was retired then. So, from that perspective, Quincy is the first individual active track and field athlete to earn a mention here. One more snub is there, which might also look glaring.

Olympic 100m silver Medalist Sha’Carri Richardson has also not received a spot on this. But there is a consolation for Sha’Carri. She has been mentioned as a part of LSU under the head “LSU Tigers Talent”. This also features Vikings’ Justin Jefferson, Bengals wideout Ja’Marr Chase, and his quarterback, Joe Burrow. “At the Paris Games, Sha’Carri Richardson won silver in the 100 meters and anchored the U.S. team that won gold in the women’s 4×100 relay,” it noted. While such heavyweights are left out, one might wonder what led Quincy to make it to the list.

Quincy’s rise in the track and field realm has been blazing. But the tipping point came at the US Olympic track and field trials in June. He made quite an impact by shattering one under-18 world record after another within a mere three days. And guess what? This is a feat that remained unbroken for 42 years. Darrell Robinson had it till this year since 1982, running 44.69 seconds.

Quincy started with a time of 44.66 in round 1. In the semifinals, he bettered it with a remarkable 44.59. Evidently, the youngster was overwhelmed. “I’ve been working for this moment. Forty-two years… that record stood for 42 years! It means a lot to me to be able to break it. I’ve been staying longer after practices and coming in before practices… I’m just excited for myself.”

Although he could not make it to the team as an individual athlete since he secured a sixth place in the finals, he went on to make it to the relay pool for the Paris Olympics. But the teenager knew no stopping. He kept on making a case for himself for a spot on the relay team. And how? Of course, with one more record-breaking run.

On July 19, in the men’s 400 meters at the Holloway Pro Classic, Wilson ran a 44.20 to reset the U18 men’s 400m world record and broke his own U.S. high school record to win the race at the American Track League event in Gainesville, Florida. The Bullis School student beat 2023 national champion Bryce Deadmon, who crossed the finish line at 44.23 to grab the second spot.

Riding on all these, he made his historic debut in the Paris Olympics on August 9, in the first round of the 4x400m relay, to become the youngest ever Team USA male to compete in an Olympic track and field event. He was 16 years and 210 days old on the event day, breaking the previous record by Arthur Newton (17 years 165 days).

Wilson raced the opening round of the men’s 4x400m relay at the Stade de France. Talking about his ‘dream-come-true’ moment, Quincy later said, “I didn’t run my best, but I knew I had a great team on my hands. I wasn’t nervous, I was 100% myself.” Well, the question of pre-race jitters was not even there. After all, Quincy has been nimble-footed from a very tender age, as early as 10 months!

With early flairs of talent, Quincy Wilson is set for a long-run

Wilson’s mother Monique fondly remembers those early days. “It was a lot of energy, jumping and running around at a very young age. And [real] running, like he wanted to be all over the place. I could tell that he was going to be something,” Monique had said about his son last month. So channel that energy Monique, a soccer player herself, turned to sports. But that was not track and field.

She enrolled a three-year-old Wilson in a local soccer league, where he was evidently quicker and more agile than even the older children. By 7 years old, in the chase games in school, Quincy would catch his classmates in no time. This also did not skip the eyes of Monique. She approached the Fort Meade Highsteppers, a youth track-and-field team on the Maryland military base. The move paid off immensely.

The next year, 8-year-old Quincy secured fourth place in the 400m in his age category at the AAU Junior Olympics, the largest youth sports tournament in America. He points it out as a turning point in his career. “I think that was my motivation for my next year. And the next year when I was able to come back to the Junior Olympics, I was able to win a [400m] national championship.” Quincy defended the title on five of the six next occasions, barring only the COVID season. Interestingly, Quincy also had a soft spot for football during his school days.

He played middle school football, where his speed understandably used to give him an advantage over wide receiver and safety. But then, he had to make the tough call of choosing track and field. The reason was simple. “I loved football just as much as track, but I felt I was succeeding more in track. I felt I grew more with track when I started working extremely hard at it,” Quincy said. How hard? Bullis track and field coach Joe Lee has something to share.

“He dedicates everything he has, at every opportunity. He doesn’t waste reps. He’s very focused on his goals and doesn’t allow himself to set limits or expectations on what he can and cannot do,” Lee said. He revealed one more interesting fact about Quincy. “He’s got long arms and legs [in proportion to his torso]. That’s one of his superpowers, so to speak, but he really gives us everything with the talent that he’s been blessed with and doesn’t see it as a deficit at all,” the coach said. For context, Quincy is 5’9″ against the average male sprinter height of 6’2″. With all that Quincy has not only surprised spectators, but his parents as well.

His parents had 2028 LA in mind for Quincy’s Olympic debut. He came out faster there also! And this early Olympic launchpad is surely going to give him an edge in the days to come. “I know I have multiple world championships, multiple Olympics to go to, so it’s one of many. I will keep looking up, keeping out here like Sydney McLaughlin. So I will come back and get better for next year. This is just but a start,” Quincy said about that. We wait to see where this beginning takes him in the coming days.