It’s the “Year of Quincy Wilson.”
The internet is buzzing about American track and field sprinter Quincy Wilson after his international debut at the Paris 2024 Olympics.
Reddit threads, YouTubers, and sports writers are debating online if the high school junior from Maryland should go pro after graduation. Quincy, who attends Bullis School, was the leadoff leg for Team USA in the 4×400-meter relay. His resume is riddled with records spanning across 2022-2024 indoor and outdoor seasons, including securing fifth AAU Junior Olympic Games title; achieving the under-18 World Record Holder in the 400m; nearly broke national high school record in the boys’ invitational 500m at the VA Showcase; fastest ever recorded time in the 400m at the Penn Relays — and he’s just getting started with “so many goals ahead that I want to achieve,” he said.
Born in New London, Connecticut, Quincy’s dad, Roy Wilson, retired from the Navy a few years ago. Quincy recalls the lengthy military separations when his father was deployed on submarines.
“My dad was away a lot of the time growing up so it would just be my mom, my sister and I doing a lot of things,” Quincy said, adding he stepped up as “the man of the house when my dad was away.”
The now-16-year-old began track at the age of 7, and his household is no stranger to sports. Roy Wilson played football at the Naval Academy, and his older sister Kadence runs track at James Madison University, according to reporting by PEOPLE. Monique Wilson, Quincy’s mom, has her own accolades as a former collegiate athlete in basketball and soccer. She told Military Families Magazine that she recognized her son’s next-level talents by middle school, leading the family to relocate from Virginia to Maryland so Quincy could attend a school with a better athletics program.
Competing at the Paris Olympics was not part of the 2024 plan, he says, because he was focused on Nationals in June.
“Me and my coach never thought it would come this year … but then the level and the notch went up; the bar was raised higher,” he said. “Once the time started dropping, we realized it was our time to shine.”
And shine he did, which is evident as midshipmen from the Naval Academy swarmed him during our photo shoot. They asked to take selfies and shared what an inspiration he is to them. Texts spread quickly across the campus that the gold medalist was on site, and instructors allowed their classrooms to empty. Quincy has become a household name, not just across the military and Maryland but the United States as a whole. He says life has been changing so fast since Paris.
“It’s crazy to witness but at the same time you never think this would be happening at 16.”
Quincy said when it was time for him to compete in the 4×400-meter relay, his sole goal was to “give my teammate the stick and give him the best that I can.” The rest of the relay team consisted of Vernon Norwood (one of Quincy’s role models), Bryce Deadmon, and Chris Bailey.
But his “ah-ha moment” came watching the men’s 100m finals. “I was watching Noah Lyles, and I was like, ‘I can’t believe this is happening right now.’”
Other athletes might feel overwhelmed by such high-pressure situations, but Quincy said it is his reliance on faith that gets him through what has become a whirlwind chapter.
“Giving all my praise to the Lord and knowing that he has me, and he always has my back regardless of what happens,” he says, “and I know that things happen for a reason … there’s always a lesson to it regardless of if it goes the way you want it to or not.”
Since returning from overseas, Quincy is back to long bus rides to and from high school and training but not before traveling around the country for a number of engagements, like meeting Jay-Z at Fanatics Fest and college visits.
As the trajectory of his life changed in a matter of a few months, Quincy shared that he is keeping his mind leveled and focused on pushing forward to achieve “so many goals.”
“The bar and the level that I have to bring to myself and my teammates is higher,” he added about taking lessons learned from the pro athletes he’s met and sharing them with his high school team.
For others chasing their own version of an Olympics-sized goal, the young phenomenon says to “never set limits on yourself.”
“There’s always going to be one or a lot of people that will set limits on you; never put limits on yourself because then you won’t know what you’re capable of doing.”
Follow Quincy Wilson on Instagram for career highlights.
