Quincy Hall’s brother Milton could not believe his luck when he saw his brother win gold in the closing stages of the 400-meter final in Paris.
In an interview shortly after the event on Wednesday night, Milton expressed his pride in Quincy, along with his friends and family, who hoped the American sprinter could hear their barks all the way from the Halls’ home in the Kansas City, MO, area.
Milton said he was wearing a Royals baseball cap Fox 4NewsKC: ‘Oh man, this is amazing man! This is 18 years in the making dog, you don’t understand. [Mom] Mrs. Iecia and Quincy Hall have been through everything that goes into making men.
I keep saying, “Oh man”… God is good. [Quincy] did it for his best friend, Brandon. He did it for his husband, Rasheed. He did it for his uncle Tony. He did it for everybody man.
“This is a blessing dog. Right? God… Quincy I love your dog!”
Quincy Hall’s brother Milton described the American sprinter’s victory in the 400m final in Paris as a ‘blessing’
Hall won the race by 0.04 seconds, while Britain’s Matthew Hudson-Smith finished second in Paris
Hall overtook three more runners in the 400m final to give his country another thrilling victory at the Stade de France.
He finished in 43.40 seconds, beating Britain’s Matthew Hudson-Smith by 0.04 seconds. They are now the fourth and fifth fastest men in history over the distance.
“That was crazy, man. There’s a reason I got all these coaches here, man. Because they all had a hand in this man,” Milton said of his brother’s comeback victory.
‘The emotions you feel when you see that… hey, when [Quincy] dropped that neck, he said “Go to work.” He said “Go home son” for a reason. He said “I’m that dog” for a reason.
“We’re barking in the background for a reason. That’s that dog, come on now,” Milton continued before barking again, looking emotional.
‘2024 Olympic champion Quincy Hall. Born in Kansas City, Missouri. […] I wish I could go there and see that. Point the cameras at someone else.’
Hall’s final effort came the night after American Cole Hocker had turned his sport on its head by winning a memorable men’s 1500 metres against the favourites.
Add to that Noah Lyles, whose only lead in his thrilling 100-meter race on Sunday came as he crossed the finish line, and it’s clear the U.S. is set to succeed on the track at this Olympics.
Hall had a slow start but made a late comeback to take the lead over Hudson-Smith (far right)
“I have determination,” Hall said. “That’s what got me to that line. A lot of pain, a lot of sadness.”
The victory came about an hour after Lyles advanced to the 200m final despite finishing second to Letsile Tebogo in his semifinal. Lyles will race for the gold medal on Thursday.
Things were looking bleak for Hall, a 26-year-old star player at South Carolina and dog breeder, as the eight sprinters approached the final turn.
He was about 5 metres behind Hudson-Smith and 2012 champion Kirani James, both on his left, and as they rounded the bend Hall made up ground on Jareem Richards on his outside. It looked like a good battle for bronze.
Pumping his arms low and wide and nodding his head, Hall passed them all, then thrust his chest out to beat the Briton. Hall fell to the ground, scissoring his arms and legs back and forth — snow angels in 80-degree weather on the bright purple track.
“I just wanted to keep doing what my coach told me to do, just keep riding, keep driving and come home,” Hall said.
Hall, a 26-year-old who shone at South Carolina, also breeds dogs in his time away from the track
Hall took a moment to enjoy his victory by lying down on the track after his last win in the 400 meters
In that chaos, Zambian Samukonga got lost. He also came out of nowhere and became third.
Hall is the first American since LaShawn Merritt in 2008 to win gold in the one-lap race that had dominated the country for decades. He joins the ranks of champions the United States has produced in the most tactical sprint on the circuit program, including Michael Johnson, Jeremy Wariner and Lee Evans.
“I knew these guys were going to try to win their race,” he said.
It turned out he wasn’t.
The new champion’s reaction as he crossed the finish line: ‘I just won. It’s over. For the next four years I can say I’m an Olympic champion.’