Track and Field Prodigy Quincy Wilson’s Habit That Inspires People Revealed by Coach Joe Lee

Achieving Olympic gold at 16? Check. Back-to-back age-based records in the 400m? Yep, done that. Scoring a spot on the Olympic relay team despite not winning in the trials? Now that’s next-level. Quincy Wilson had one heck of a summer, racking up success from every angle. But wait, he’s not slowing down. Just as the new season kicked off, he smashed another record at the US Marine Corps Holiday Classic in the 600m event, officially becoming the second-fastest high schooler in the USA. That’s one major milestone in just a few months. At this rate, fame’s got no choice but to follow, right?

With all this quick success, you’d expect Quincy to be walking around like he’s untouchable—after all, he’s still a high schooler with a trophy case full of records and some sweet certificates from icons like LeBron James, Coach Prime, and Jay-Z. Why wouldn’t he treat himself like a star? But Quincy keeps it real. According to his coach, he’s still just the Bullis School (MD) junior he’s always been, no ego, no show-off vibes. Just a young phenom staying grounded, without any false cloak to wear.

In a conversation with NBC News, Quincy’s coach Joe Lee said, “I think the kids don’t just listen to him because of his success; they listen to him because of his humility and his character. That’s really important.” In the next moment, the coach claimed, “He’s not out there saying, ‘Hey, I know what I’m talking about because I ran against Quincy Hall, the Olympic gold medalist, and I have an Olympic gold.’ He doesn’t present himself that way.” That’s true.

The 16-year-old Chesapeake native squared off with Quincy Hall at the US Olympic track and field trials last year, but couldn’t quite snag a win. But let’s be real—how many 16-year-olds get the chance to go toe-to-toe with someone like Hall, who’s got Olympic and World Championship gold medals to his name? And if that wasn’t cool enough, Hall, ever the class act, had nothing but praise for the young buck.

As Quincy Hall watched Wilson’s rapid rise in the track world, he couldn’t help but notice the teenager’s talent. He even saw Wilson take the opening leg in the 4x400m prelims at the Paris Olympics, and his eyes didn’t lie. Hall knew he was looking at a future star. Before heading to the 4x400m relay final, Hall handed Wilson a massive compliment: “Quincy Wilson, he’s ready. He might be young, but age ain’t nothing for him.” Talk about a stamp of approval!

Here’s the kicker: Despite receiving flowers from a seasoned Olympic champ, Quincy Wilson didn’t let it go to his head. He didn’t strut around, flaunting his accolades or bragging about what he’d achieved. Nope. After wrapping up his Paris Olympics run, he slid right back into his high school routine, tackling homework like any regular student. Talk about a seamless shift from Olympic glory to high school grind.

Coach Lee swears that Wilson’s down-to-earth attitude is what helps him roll with these massive changes. And let’s just say, if you believe the coach, Quincy’s only going to keep soaring because of that humble mindset. And recently, he showed us exactly why.

Quincy Wilson gives the perfect example of humility in action

Many had n’t foreseen Quincy Wilson’s performance in the US Marine Corps. After all, it was his first solo race after the Paris Olympics. He was coming back without having had much practice. But on D-day, he showed why he is a force to be reckoned with. He took 1:17.19 seconds to finish the 600m event, claiming the top position. Subsequently, he defeated names like Colin Abrams, Jacob Martin, and Michael Stadler. Did Quincy have any idea how to topple such a high school wunderkind in the same race? 

Maybe yes. How? Again, Wilson didn’t display arrogance or spill high-spirited words to explain his reason for victory. Rather, he took his opponents’ names responsible for pushing him and making him land the success. In the post-event interview, Quincy said, “I knew that there were great runners coming into it. And so I knew that my teammates were going to push me to where I wanted to be. So without them in the race, I probably wouldn’t have ran that.” But a victory is always a victory and it can grow barriers between a victor and the failures. Would Quincy’s victory bring the same results in the future?

Once again, Quincy Wilson proved that humility is his superpower. When asked about his success, he didn’t boast or gloat. Instead, he simply said, “Those are my brothers, and we’re going to go to war any day. And today I was able to come on top, but I know at the end of the day, we have battles in practice just like this in the meets.” His coach calls that mindset Quincy’s success juice—the secret ingredient that keeps him grounded and always striving for more.