“I did what people said was the impossible… I’m the youngest US male track athlete to receive a gold medal at the Olympics!” wrote 16-year-old phenom Quincy Wilson. Wilson was part of the Olympic record-setting men’s 4x400m team that brought home gold from Paris. While Wilson didn’t run in the finals, he made his Olympic debut in the heats. Now, the high school track and field prodigy is taking time off.

This means the U18 400m individual world record holder won’t be competing in the ongoing five-day event in Lima. After giving his all to qualify for the Olympics, Wilson won a historic gold medal in his debut Summer Games. Instead of competing in the World Athletics U20 Championships, the Bullis High student is choosing to take a step back from competition.

Instead, Quincy Wilson is busy relaxing after winning Olympic gold. The teen has posted images of himself spending time with retired NFL star Ryan Clark and meeting rap icon Jay-Z. The sprinting star also earned the honor of throwing the opening pitch for the Baltimore Orioles at Camden Yards. However, simply winning an Olympic gold had to overcome a slump to regain his confidence.

Quincy Wilson helped Team USA’s 400m relay team secure gold, but his debut wasn’t quite a dream. Even though he had improved his world record just weeks before the Olympics, the pressure of competing on the grandest stage affected him during the heats. As a first-time Olympian, Wilson fumbled at the start, making him the last sprinter to hand off the baton.

If it wasn’t for the heroic efforts of Norwood, Bryce Deadmon and Chris Bailey, Team USA may not have recovered from Wilson’s underwhelming 47.27-second opening leg. However, no one was harsher on Wilson than the athlete himself. To say the Bullis School athlete, who holds the age group 400m world record at 44.20-second, was disappointed would be an understatement.

How his teammates helped Quincy Wilson rediscover his confidence

“I knew I had a great three legs behind me. I knew it wasn’t just myself because by myself we would be in last place.” Wilson said during the post-race press conference. The athlete seemed gutted and inconsolable after his performance. However, unlike many who criticized the younger on the internet, his teammates came to the rescue.

“I told him when I was 16 I wasn’t thinking about the Olympics. I was probably somewhere eating some ice cream.” said 100m hurdles gold medalist Masai Russell. 32-year-old Vernon Norwood also had his teammate’s back. “Don’t even worry about that stuff. You’re about to walk away with an Olympic gold medal at 16 years old.” he told Quincy Wilson.

Norwood told the U18 record holder that the 400m relay was not about an individual effort, and he needn’t be so hard on himself. Even the official social media handle of Team USA came in clutch, posting “The future is bright,” to honor Wilson’s debut. So, instead of continuing to push himself, the wonder kid has taken a step back before he races toward his bright future.

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