16-Year-Old Quincy Wilson, USA and Men’s Olympics 4x400m Athletics Qualifying Results

Mike Chiari@@mikechiariFeatured Columnist IVAugust 9, 2024

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Featuring 16-year-old Quincy Wilson, Team USA qualified for the finals of the men’s 4×400-meter relay by finishing third in their heat Friday at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.

The Americans had to come from behind to grab third place behind Botswana and Great Britain with a time of 2:59.15, but they still figure to be medal contenders since they posted a better time than any team in the second heat.

Here is a full rundown of results for the two heats with times listed in minutes and seconds, courtesy of the Olympics’ official website:

Heat 1

Botswana – 2:57.76 (Qualified)Great Britain – 2:58.88 (Qualified)United States – 2:59.15 (Qualified)Japan – 2:59.48 (Qualified)Zambia – 3:00.08 (Qualified)Germany – 3:00.29Poland – 3:01.21Trinidad & Tobago – 3:06.73Heat 2

France – 2:59.53 (Qualified)Belgium – 2:59.84 (Qualified)Italy – 3:00.26 (Qualified)India – 3:00.58Brazil – 3:00.95Spain – 3:01.60South Africa – 3:03.19 (Qualified by referee decision)Nigeria – DisqualifiedPer ESPN’s Coley Harvey, Wilson made history Friday by becoming the youngest American man to ever compete in track and field at the Olympics, surpassing previous record holder Arthur Newton, who was 17 when he ran in the steeplechase in 1904.

The American 4x400m relay team was made up of Wilson, Vernon Norwood, Bryce Deadmon and Christopher Bailey, and the latter three runners had to make up for a slow start by Wilson.

Running the opening leg, Wilson finished in 47.27 seconds, which had the Americans in seventh place out of eight teams at the first baton pass.

NBC Olympics & Paralympics @NBCOlympics16-year-old Quincy Wilson makes his Olympic debut and becomes the youngest male track & field athlete to compete for the United States at the Olympics. 🇺🇸 #ParisOlympics

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Norwood ran a blazing 43.54-second split to get Team USA back in it, and Bailey closed it out as the anchor, finishing in 44.14 seconds and seizing the third and final automatic qualifying spot in the heat.

According to Harvey, Wilson credited his teammates with picking up the slack for him, saying: “They got me around the track. My grit and determination got me around the track. I knew I had a great three legs behind me. I knew it wasn’t just myself [Friday], because if it was myself, we would be in last place.”

Team USA has won gold in the men’s 4x400m relay at two consecutive Olympics and four of the past five, but Botswana has to be considered the favorite entering the final.

Botswana took bronze in the event at the Tokyo Olympics three years ago, but this year’s team is even stronger due to the inclusion of Letsile Tebogo.

After finishing sixth in the 100-meter race, Tebogo shocked the world by winning gold in the 200m, beating out American Noah Lyles, who won the 100m. Tebogo became the first African man to ever win Olympic gold in the 200m.

Tebogo was a late addition to Botswana’s 4x400m relay team, and he is a huge reason why Botswana posted the best time in qualifying.

The second heat was significantly slower than the first heat, but a somewhat rare decision was made to advance a fourth team from that heat, meaning there will be nine teams in the final rather than eight.

South Africa did not qualify on time, but officials determined a Nigerian runner impeded one of their runners’ progress by entering their lane. As a result, Nigeria was disqualified and the referee moved South Africa into the final.

Wilson and the rest of Team USA will run for gold in the men’s 4×400-meter relay final, which is scheduled for Saturday at 3 p.m. ET.