Milliseconds – that’s what stood between 16-year-old Quincy Wilson and a spot in Team USA’s Paris contingent. Unfortunately, a 44.94s finish was 0.77 seconds too slow as Wilson finished 6th at the Track & Field Trials. on June 24th. However, the prodigy’s monumental performance against significantly experienced competitors won over fans, and many hoped to see him make the relay pool.

Although Quincy Wilson fell just shy of becoming the youngest male US track Olympian, he held out hope. “We’ll wait until the 30th to know if I made the relay pool,” wrote on Instagram. Well, the wait is over. The sprinter’s coach, Joe Lee, announced that he indeed made it to the relay pool and will head to Paris. It looks like the 16-year-old track and field sensation will get a chance to shine on the biggest stage in the world.

However to truly grasp the significance of the announcement we must revisit Quincy Wilson’s awe-inspiring performance at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon. First, let’s take a look at just how close the finals turned out to be. Quincy Hall won the race at 44:17s, and Michael Norman took second with 44:41s. Chris Bailey literally finished a hair’s length behind Norman with 44:42s.

Vernon Norwood clocked in at 44.47s, and Bryce Deadmon took fifth with 44.61s on the clock. Besides losing out on a direct qualification for a few milliseconds, the 5’9, 140lb youngster won over fans. He put in the herculean effort to clock in three sub-45-second runs at the Trails. Quincy Wilson even broke a 42-year-old U-18 record in the semis with his 44.59s sprint. However, it wasn’t just the 16-year-old’s performance that earned him a spot in the replay pool, it’s also because of the caliber of competition he faced.

Quincy Wilson persevered against the odds

“I’ve never been this happy a day in my life when it comes to track,” the talented track star said after his semifinal race. As if that wasn’t impressive enough, a closer look at his competition may add to the awe-inspiring nature of the 16-year-old talent. 25-year-old Quincy Hall won gold at the 2023 World Championship in the 4×400 m relay.

Meanwhile, 26-year-old Michael Norman finished fifth at the Tokyo Olympics. Fourth-place finisher Vernon Norwood is exactly twice the age of Quincy Wilson, at 32. So, although the 2024 Track & Field Trials wasn’t an international event, the 16-year-old boy from Maryland heading to Paris proved his mettle against some of the fastest sprinters in the world. Putting everything into perspective makes it clear why Quincy Wilson made it to the relay pool.