By: Sophie Li

A rising junior from the Bullis School, Maryland, Quincy Wilson is not old enough for a driver’s license, but he’s making history at the Olympic Trials.

On Sunday, Wilson advanced to the men’s 400-meter finals with a time of 44.59 seconds, the fastest time ever by an athlete 18 or younger. He finished third. The previous day, Wilson ran a 44.66, beating a 42-year-old record by Darrell Robinson in 1982.

“I’ve never been this happy a day in my life when it came to track,” Wilson said to The Athletic. “I’ve been working for this moment. That record that I broke two days ago … that’s 42 years of nobody being able to break that record. And I broke it twice in two days.”

Wilson ran against Olympic gold medalist Michael Norman, and Olympic athlete Vernon Norwood, the latter being double his age.

Unfortunately, after coming in 6th on Monday, Wilson failed to qualify for the Olympics as an individual runner, finishing with a time of 44.94.

Despite the disappointment, Wilson delivered a memorable and historic performance.
“It’s spectacular. A 16-year-old coming out here, competing like a true competitor, not letting the moment get too big but living in the moment,” said Norman to USA Today. “It’s great to see young talents like him elevate and push us to run a little faster, and take us out of our comfort zone. I think he has a bright future.”

Wilson still has a chance to go to Paris, however. He may be selected to participate in the 4×400 meter relays, but nothing is certain.

“I don’t know. It’s a bunch of politics,” Wilson said. “Because they could take somebody from the 100, the 200, the 800, the mile — anything they want to take. They can take a long jumper, as much as I know. I’m just waiting.”