If there’s one former NBA star who will watch out for the new generation, it’s Magic Johnson. The NBA legend and new NFL team owner is keeping an eye on Team USA at the ongoing World Athletics Championships. The Olympic Gold Medalist has immense pride and commendation for the track athletes representing the USA in Budapest. And he is making his acknowledgement of their talent known.

One of the young athletes who earned praise from Magic is Quincy Hall. The runner competed in the 400 metres final yesterday and set a career-best record at the event which impressed the NBA champion.

Magic Johnson hails Team USA’s Quincy Hall

Quincy Hall is the rising star of US athletics. At 25 years old, he’s setting career highs and moving to the International stage. After setting a personal best time of 44.41s at the 2023 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championship in Oregon, he was selected for the 2023 World Athletics Championships in Budapest.

In his first World Championships appearance, he qualified for the 400-metre final, which was a thrilling race. He finished the race strongly at 44.37, setting a new personal best record. Sadly, it felt a tad short of the Gold. Hall won the bronze for the USA, still a proud achievement for the team. He’s being lauded back home by everyone, including the Los Angeles Lakers icon.

The 5x NBA champion is celebrating every USA representative at the World Athletics Championships. He was quick to go on Twitter to congratulate Quincy Hall for his personal record and bronze medal on his global debut. “Congratulations to @QuincyHall400 for running a new personal record and claiming the Bronze medal in your first World Athletics Championship!” he tweeted.

To illustrate what a big achievement it is by Hall, Jamaica’s Antonio Watson finished in 44.22 seconds to take Gold. Briton Matthew Hudson-Smith, last year’s bronze medalist, finished at 44.26 to win Silver this year.

Magic Johnson applauds World Championship participants

Quincy Hall is not the only USA athlete earning praise from the NBA legend. Anna Hall, who previously won bronze in previous World Championship appearances, was aiming for Gold. She, too, fell behind another Briton, Katarina Johnson-Thompson, to win the heptathlon title.

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She’s, nonetheless, risen to the top 5 female heptathlon athletes of all time. No small feat and a tremendous display of growth. Magic Johnson applauded her effort stating, “I have a lot of respect for [Anna Hall].” She responded to his tweet directly with a “thank you.” 

Even the 4×400 relay team didn’t escape Johnson’s attention. They won Gold for the USA but the finish was chaotic and contentious. Johnson didn’t allow the controversy to minimize the team effort displayed to win first place.

He congratulated Justin Robinson, Rosey Effiong, Matthew Boling, and Alexis Holmes for their two simultaneous achievements – winning Gold and setting a new world record at 3:08:80. That was overshadowed by the final Netherlands runner’s stumble.

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All in all, Team USA is making a phenomenal display at the World Athletics Championships. They’re locked for a hero’s welcome when they return from Budapest.