Quincy Wilson eyes relay gold after becoming US’s youngest track athlete

Quincy Wilson had a day to remember as the 16-year-old became the youngest-ever U.S. Olympian in track and field. And while he admitted afterward that he wasn’t “100 percent myself,” he was excited to be part of a U.S. 4x400m relay team that is favored to take gold in Saturday’s final.

“It was an amazing moment,” said Wilson, whose stunning performances this year have taken him from a high school student in Chesapeake, Virginia, to these Games. “I had my family — mom, dad, sister, grandma, her sisters, a lot of family — in the stands. I wasn’t 100 percent myself, but my team came out here and did it for me.”

Wilson lost in the final 150 metres and finished his first leg in 47.27 seconds, almost three seconds off his personal best, before handing over the baton to teammate Vernon Norwood.

“I was in the moment, watching a 16-year-old go into the Olympics and make history,” said Norwood, who is twice Wilson’s age. “I was very proud of him. And I looked at him and thought, ‘Oh, come back and let me grab the stick and do it.’

Norwood followed suit, running a time of 43.54 to put them back in the race, before Bryce Deadmon and Chris Bailey led the US team to the finish in a time of 2:59.15, behind Botswana and Team GB.

“I’m super proud of him for showing his guts for us and putting us in a good position to go for gold,” Norwood added. “I told him before we got here, I said, ‘Hey, embrace it. You belong here. This is a privilege. No one else in this world gets this opportunity. So make the most of it.'”

Understandably, the experience hasn’t sunk in yet for Wilson. “It hasn’t, but when I get home I’ll probably take it all in. The goal was to be able to pass the baton around. It’ll just be motivation for me to come back.”

Meanwhile, the British men’s 4x400m team of Matt Hudson-Smith, Charlie Dobson, Sam Reardon and Toby Harries also believe they can take gold after finishing second in a time of 2:58.88.

“I’m really wired,” Hudson-Smith said. “I want to push to be a double Olympic medallist. We can win it. This team can do anything. We can get the British record, the European record, and if we dig deep, the world record. Anything is possible if you put your mind to it.”

The British women’s 4x400m team of Lina Nielsen, Jodie Williams, Hannah Kelly and Yemi Mary John are also optimistic of a medal after finishing second in the semi-final in 3:24.72.

“We have so much depth in Team GB that we want to bring in fresh legs for the final and hopefully get as many girls on the podium as possible,” said Nielsen.

Meanwhile, in the men’s 800 metres, Max Burgin put injuries and bad luck behind him by running a personal best of 1:43.50 and reaching the final in third place.

The 22-year-old was a teenage phenom, running 1:45 at 17, but has never been able to run a long training run or race due to a series of Achilles tendon and other problems.

But it was only two years ago that he was a favorite to enter the 2022 World Athletics Championships in Eugene before suffering a deep vein thrombosis on the plane. And he showed his talent by qualifying in a strong field. “I’m still over the moon,” he said. “I thought it would be difficult to make the final.”

However, Britain’s World Championship bronze medallists Ben Pattison and Elliot Giles are both out after finishing fourth and fifth in their semi-finals.