U.S. 4×400 relay team advances in Quincy Wilson’s first Olympic race

SAINT-DENISE, France — After a valiant comeback, 16-year-old Quincy Wilson and the U.S. men’s 4×400-meter relay team will advance to the event’s finals on Saturday.

The Americans typically dominate the event, but it took a last-gasp sprint to finish third in the opening round at the Stade de France on Friday morning.

In the final 50 meters of the race, Chris Bailey exploded across the finish line to help the team secure one of the final berths.

Wilson made a disappointing Olympic debut by running a slow 47.27 seconds in the 400-meter dash, and the Americans were in seventh place when he handed the baton to second runner Vernon Norwood.

“They pushed me further down the track,” Wilson said of his teammates. “My grit and determination pushed me further down the track. I knew I had three great guys behind me. I knew it wasn’t just me (Friday) because if it was me, we would have been in last place.”

At the handover, there was a gap of nearly 3 seconds between Wilson and Botswana 200m champion Letsele Tobago, who came on as a substitute at the last minute.

“It’s going to motivate me,” Wilson said of his game.

The 32-year-old Norwood took the baton from Wilson, who was twice his age, and rushed into the first corner. Norwood was a 400-meter veteran that Wilson had admired for many years, and he knew exactly what he had to do to surpass his teammate.

“I was kind of emotional, to be honest, because I was watching a 16-year-old go to the Olympics and make history,” Norwood said. “So I was just so proud of him, and I just looked at him like, ‘Oh, come back and let me play.’”

Between Norwood’s run and Bryce Dedmon’s third run, the U.S. team moved up from seventh to fourth.

Then it fell to Bailey to close the gap and rush to third place and the automatic promotion position. Bailey said his task was simple.

“Go out there and go,” Bailey said. “Besides finishing the game and focusing on my abilities, the biggest thing I should focus on is knowing what I can do and what I can’t do.”

Bailey ran the time the United States needed in the final sprint, 44.14 seconds.

Wilson’s brilliance came at the U.S. trials in late June when he broke two world records for the under-18 400-meter dash, running the events in 44.66 and 44.59 seconds, respectively. Although he didn’t qualify for the Olympics in that event, his performance at the trials was good enough to get him on the relay team for the Summer Olympics.

Then, a week before the Opening Ceremony, Wilson got the Americans even more excited about him being part of the relay team when he ran a blistering 44.20 seconds in the 400 meters in Florida, a time that was even lower than the two under-18 world records he set at the U.S. trials.

“I told him before we went out there, take advantage of your opportunity,” Norwood said. “You belong here, it’s a privilege. No one else in the world gets an opportunity like this, so make the most of it.”

Wilson became the youngest American male to compete in an Olympic track and field event when he debuted Friday. Olympic historian Bill Malone said he surpassed steeplechase runner Arthur Newton, who competed in 1904 at age 17. Other young athletes to compete in the Summer Olympics include Jim Ryan, who was 17 when he first qualified for the Olympics in 1964, and Elion Knighton, who competed in his first Tokyo Games three years ago at age 17.

His parents came from a military family, and he decided to move to Maryland so that he could attend Bullis High School, which was known for cultivating outstanding athletes.

In the women’s 4×400 relay, the team of Quanera Hayes, Shamier Little, Aaliyah Butler and Kaylyn Brown won the race, beating Great Britain by more than 3 seconds.