US Olympic Trials: Usain Bolt Is Slower Than 16-Year-Old Quincy Wilson in 400m U-18 World Record

“He came and conquered in silence, letting his success make all the noise.” 16-year-old track and field prodigy Quincy Wilson has pulled off a spectacle at the 2024 US Olympic Trials! Just days after his 45.13-second show at the New Balance Nationals Outdoors, he dropped his timing by nearly a second to achieve a 44.66s 400m record in Eugene today.

Beyond his personal progress, what makes this performance particularly stand out is that it surpasses the all-time great Usain Bolt’s U-18 timing. Let’s have at the numbers.

Quincy Wilson beats the ‘fastest man’ Bolt

As per the World Athletics, Bullis High School star Wilson is now at the top of the U-18 400m table with his recent world record at Hayward Field. The same page has Usain Bolt’s best junior timings enlisted at the 10th spot. Set by the legend back in 2003 at Kingston, clocking a 45.35, which was his U-18 best. Therefore, it is absolutely clear that Wilson is faster than Usain Bolt was at his age.

Interestingly, this isn’t the first time Wilson has bettered Bolt’s U-18 numbers. At the Florida Relays, he had won his qualification to the US Olympic Trials with a stunning 45.19 second 400m show. That too was faster than Bolt and another track and field luminary Kirani James.

Naturally, Quincy Wilson’s historic achievement caught the track and field community by surprise. Moreover, echoing their sentiment, even coach Joe Lee expressed that he was, “Still in shock” post the 2008-born’s incredible sprint. However, Wilson’s coach’s words indicated that this was no one-hit wonder. Instead, he suggested that it was an outcome of a methodically followed strategy.

Lee stated, “What you see today is not by chance, not by happenstance because he’s working on this every single day. He’s the type of kid who’s locked in. He wants to know the numbers…” The way Quincy has been refining his form indeed hints that he is striving towards a goal. But, after setting a world record and eclipsing legends on the board, what is he now aiming at? Well, perhaps the wunderkind is preparing to clinch a spot in the 4x400m US relay team for the Olympics.

Is Wilson eyeing the spot in the relay quartet?

Back in May, pulling another one of his classics, Wilson had sped past the finish line at the New Balance Indoors 2024 with a timing of 45.76 seconds, only to break it again in Florida. As expected, these on-the-trot wins caught popular attention. To the extent that 5x Olympic medalist Justin Gatlin had hailed his endeavor. He addressed the hype by stating, “I feel like we haven’t had this much excitement behind a young 400-meter runner since, well, at least in America, since LaShawn (Merritt), right?” Still, fans speculated if Quincy could stand a chance at the Team Trials. 

The popular opinion was that Quincy Wilson would have to run a “sub-45 timing“ at the Trials to stand a chance for Paris. Moreover, fans agreed that the USA track and field contingent was stacked, so the youngster probably doesn’t stand a chance. Some of them even cited examples of contemporaries like Michael Norman who had just clocked a 44.21s performance, thereby increasing the doubts around Quincy’s qualification. However, with his recent 44.66s stunner, Quincy has proved that he has a lot to offer on his palette.

Therefore, not just the individual 400m victory, it appears as though Wilson is brushing himself up to board the relay team. Only time will tell if Quincy Wilson will be able to achieve that feat. Nonetheless, if he does, the track and field community will see the newest master of multiple trades rise to the fore. What do you think about this budding athlete? Let us know below.