Quincy Wilson Shows Off New Milestone After Doubts Raised Against His Driving Skills

Quincy Wilson made headlines last year when he stood alongside stars like Noah Lyles, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, Gabby Thomas, and Sha’Carri Richardson, announcing his arrival on the big stage for the Paris Olympics. At Hayward Field, University of Oregon, Wilson blazed through the 400m in 44.66 seconds for the Olympic trials, breaking Darrell Robinson’s 1982 U18 world record, which he set at the National Sports Festival in Indianapolis, Indiana. Then, the very next day, in the semis, he shattered his own mark with 44.59, sealing his Olympic final spot. And he didn’t stop there. Wilson powered his team to gold in the 4×400m relay, becoming the youngest ever to achieve such a feat. And now, he’s hit another milestone, but this time, it’s not on the track.

Citius Mag just posted a day ago, breaking the news on their Instagram handle that “Olympic gold medalist Quincy Wilson passes his driver’s test, gets his license.” And this came as a turning point for Wilson, as back in June, after his appearance on the Parker Valby Show for Citius Mag, there were serious doubts related to his driving skills. Wondering why? Let’s walk back a little, then.

When Valby pointed out that parking is the hardest part of driving, Wilson, with a smirk, stated, “No, because I’ve been driving around and, like, with my parents and stuff. I’m cool with parking.” Valby then asked whether he knew how to park a car properly. And it seemed that this triggered something inside Wilson. He added, “Yeah. I’m a risk taker. Like, I was just like, cars are right here.” And then he kept sharing some inside moments with his mom.

“I said, ‘Mom, I’m doing it.’ She says, ‘Quincy, don’t do—’ She put her eyes over her head, backed into that thing right in the middle.” And that’s when the doubt started looming in as Valby mentioned that “for the parking, you have to go forward.” You know the confidence Wilson showed after that?

“I can go forward and backward. I can go sideways, curve, whatever. I can go up the street, go back down the hill, go back up, park on the side of the road, and put my brake on. I can do it all.” But despite this long explanation, Valby still wasn’t confident in his driving skills. And so came her next question: “Do you know where your emergency brake is?”

That’s when the Olympian unleashed the lore of the dead pedal on her, clearly catching her off guard. “I do know where my emergency brake is. It’s on the— It’s on—you got—you got the dead pedal. You got—you got the regular pedal on the accelerator. And then the dead pedal… That’s where you rest your foot… Didn’t know that, did you?” He certainly gave Valby a lesson about driving and the dead pedal, and how important that one is for parking.

Valby was completely thrown off by his words, having no idea about the dead pedal. Wilson laughed and told her to look it up. And about the driving license, he was certainly confident. “No. Manifest. I’m passing my test. You told me I got to manifest. So, I’m passing my test for sure.” And well, he has. The 17-year-old athlete can now officially drive! But it’s not all good news for Quincy Wilson this year…

He faced a setback at the USATF Championships, removing himself from the Tokyo World Championships.

Quincy Wilson’s USATF setback brought comments from Justin Gatlin

After last year’s breakout season, expectations were sky-high for Quincy Wilson—and he didn’t disappoint, at least early on. The teenage sensation clocked a blistering 44.10 seconds at the Ed Murphey Classic, an Under-18 world best that cemented his status among the fastest U20 athletes on the planet. But when it mattered most, the magic faded.

At the USATF Championships, Wilson managed 45.39 seconds in the men’s 400m heats, finishing 4th in Heat 2—a result that fell short of a finals berth.

Talking about his performance, Justin Gatlin stated, “While you looking for yours, all I can say is sentiment got in my way, man. You know what I mean? I love seeing the dynamic of Quincy Wilson, and also love seeing him interact with Vernon Norwood. So, I was like, man, it’ll be great… But when you do these kind of predictions, which I hate doing… it’s just the fact of you got to go teeter towards people you know that either can get the job done or you’re familiar with.” He confessed after being proved wrong about Wilson’s performance.

Gatlin’s hesitation wasn’t about doubting Wilson’s talent; it stemmed from the delicate balance between sentiment and strategy. “That’s why I picked it,” he admitted. “I knew better. But here I am, man. About to be standing at the 400-meter line.”

Well, the athlete will now be looking to spend the rest of the year perfecting his skill.