As Paris Olympians are being named daily at Hayward Field during the 2024 U.S. Olympic Track & Field Trials, Quincy Wilson has been catching eyes—and rightly so. At just 16 years of age, this Maryland native has been blazing the men’s 400 meters, running against men significantly older than him. In his three races at Eugene, he clocked under 45 seconds three times: 44.86 (heats), 44.59 (semi-final), and then an impressive 44.94 (final).

Not only that, Wilson broke the U18 record with a stunning 44.86 on Day 1 and then promptly shattered his own record in the semi-finals. These times even obliterated a high school record that had stood unbroken for 42 years. Quincy was set to make history by eyeing the spot in the Paris Olympics heading into the finals on June 24, 2024. However, in the men’s 400m finals, Quincy finished strong, landing in sixth place with a time of 44.94 seconds. While he narrowly missed qualifying for Paris in the individual 400m, Quincy’s Olympic dream is far from over.

Quincy Wilson hopes for Paris Olympics glory despite the finals’ setback

Quincy Wilson clocked an impressive 44.94 in the finals, landing in sixth place but missing out on qualifying for the 400m in Paris, with only the top 3 heading to the Olympics. However, he has his sights set on the 4×400 relay team, and there’s a lot of buzz around whether he’ll make the cut. In fact, he took to Instagram after the finals, teasing his followers by walking around with a medal around his neck. He wrote, “We’ll wait until the 30th to know if I made the relay pool.”

Following the race, he even told FloTrack, “All I know is I gave it everything I had, and I can’t be disappointed. At the end of the day, I’m 16 running grown man times.” He also joked that he would wait to eat ice cream just yet, as “you never know with USATF.” He mentioned that the selection process is unpredictable, saying they could pick someone from the 100, 200, or 800 meters, and joked that they could even take a long jumper. While track and field fans await the big announcement on June 30th, let’s break down the qualification process.

How can Quincy Wilson race in the relays at the Paris Olympics?

To qualify for the Paris Olympics in individual events, athletes must place in the top three at the U.S. Olympic Trials and meet the Olympic qualifying standard within the window from July 1, 2023, to June 30, 2024. For the men’s 400 meters, this means running under 45.00 seconds. If someone finishes in the top three but doesn’t hit the standard, they can still qualify based on their world ranking. For relay events like the 4×400 meters, the process is a bit different.

When it comes to picking the relay team members, three of the five athletes must have competed in the corresponding individual event at the trials. The other two spots can be chosen by the USA Track & Field (USATF) committee, headed by men’s relay coach Mike Marsh and a selection panel. They’ll consider performance, experience, and special situations.

Quincy Wilson could still make it to Paris, given that the U.S. can bring up to seven men’s 400-meter runners to Paris: the three who qualified for the individual event, two for the men’s 4×400-meter relay, and two more for the mixed relay. In 2021, the top seven finishers in the 400 final at trials all made the relay pool. Despite finishing sixth in the men’s 400-meter finals at the U.S. Olympic Trials, given his talent and young age, he could be considered a real asset to Team USA. What are your thoughts on this? Could Quincy Wilson make it to the Paris Olympics for the relays? Share in the comments below!