Quincy Wilson gets a humbling taste of the Olympics — but it's just the beginning

SAINT-DENIS, France — For the first time since the spotlight began shining on the phenom from Bullis School in Maryland, Quincy Wilson wasn’t smiling. The infectious charm that made him so beloved these last couple of months was replaced with a stern countenance.

Wilson ran the first leg for the U.S. in the first round of the men’s 4×400 relay in Friday’s early session. Responsible for setting the tone, he ran his lap in 47.27 seconds — seventh-best in the eight-man field. And the kid was not happy about it.

Three weeks ago, after becoming a sensation at the U.S. Olympic trials, Wilson set a new personal best, running the 400 meters in 44.20 seconds at the Holloway Pro Classic in Gainesville, Fla. He wasn’t close to that at Stade de France.

“It was amazing,” Wilson said, his million-watt smile noticeably absent. “Was out there with a great team who was on my side through the whole thing. I wasn’t 100 percent myself, but a team came out here and did it for me.”

When asked about the context of not being 100 percent himself, he politely declined to answer. No excuses.

But he doesn’t need one. Wilson might be the only one disappointed.

The Americans recovered and qualified for the final round. No harm was done. The U.S. can still repeat as champions in the final on Saturday.

Wilson, in all likelihood, will be replaced for the final round. That was surely always the plan since the United States has elite options in the single-lap discipline.

Quincy Hall just won the gold medal in the men’s 400 meters. If he’s healthy and has the legs, he’s a virtual lock. Same with Rai Benjamin, who goes for gold in the men’s 400-meter hurdles in Friday night’s finale. Benjamin is a relay legend who has an Olympic gold (Tokyo) and two World Championship golds in the 4×400 relay.

“Tomorrow is going to be better,” relay teammate Vernon Norwood said. “I guarantee you.”

Wilson’s significance was so much less about his time and so much more about his presence. He made history becoming the youngest male to appear in an Olympics for America.

Norwood said he got so caught up in the moment, watching this 16-year-old make Olympic history, he had to snap himself back into focus for the handoff.

“I’m super proud of him, to come out here and show his grit for us, for the United States,” Norwood said. He added, “It’s wonderful. I told him before we walked out. I said, ‘Hey, embrace it. You belong here. This is a privilege. Nobody in this world will get this opportunity, so make the most of it.’”

What’s more, these Paris Games have seen USA Track and Field re-established its dominance, and Wilson is one of the marquee prospects for the nation’s bright future in the sport.

Clearly, he was put on this relay team for that reality. The coaches chose to build up Wilson, getting him some valuable experience ahead of Los Angeles 2028, instead of rewarding another runner whose best days are behind him. Wilson is being groomed to be a successful Olympian.

“Absolutely!” women’s hurdler Masai Russell — who also attended Bullis and is close with Wilson — said when asked if she was proud of him. “When he was super sad that he didn’t make the (4×400 mixed) relay I was like, ‘You know, you’re 16. People would die to be in your shoes. … Some people who run track their whole life never made the team. … And I’m glad that he got the opportunity to run just so he could get the feel of this atmosphere. Because it’s pretty intense. So I know when he comes back, it’ll be a completely different story.”

Wilson wasn’t trying to hear any of that in the immediacy of 47.27.

And perhaps that’s the best thing to come out of his Olympic debut. The young fella wasn’t appeased by merely being here. If he needed any more motivation, he got it by being humbled on the Olympic stage.

“He’s a competitor,” Russell said. “Men are just competitive in general. But he is super competitive. Like we were playing (air) hockey together, and I was like, ‘Oh. … He don’t play no games.’ … I lost by, like, five.”

You just know Wilson — with his entire family in the crowd and his whole world in Maryland watching — had designs on doing something special in his first-ever Olympic appearance. He’s been watching everyone else compete, make history, waiting for a chance to do so himself. He seems to do so every time he steps on the track. He’s already set three under-18 records this season.

But for the first time since the larger sports world learned the name Quincy Wilson, he looked like a 16-year-old on the track running against grown men.

He shot out of the blocks in Lane 4 and held his ground through the first 200 meters. But it looked as if he went too hard, perhaps governed by the adrenaline and excitement of a debut on the biggest stage of his life.

The youngster started to die out on the second turn and was struggling down the backstretch. The strength and experience he still needs was evident as he was sixth heading into the final stretch. Fatigue had his form out of whack as Poland’s 20-year-old Maksymilian Szwed passed Wilson easily. The only runner with a worse time in the heat was Renny Quow of Trinidad and Tobago.

Making matters worse, Botswana made a switch and put Letsile Tebogo, the new 200-meter champion, in the first leg. He ran blazing fast, smoking the field to give his nation the lead and speeding up the pace in the process.

Wilson gave it all he had, though. Exhausted, and no doubt embarrassed, he nearly came to a complete stop before handing off the baton.

Fortunately for the U.S., Wilson had some grown men behind him. And a crowd pulling for him.

“They got me around the track today,” he said. “My grit and determination got me around the track. I knew I had a great three legs behind me, and I knew it wasn’t just myself today. If it was just myself, we’d be in last place.”

Norwood immediately made up ground with a monster second leg, gradually getting faster and getting America up with the rest of the pack. His 43.54 seconds was the fastest of any leg in the first round, edging out Great Britain’s star quarter-miler, Matthew Hudson-Smith, who ran 43.87. They were the only two under 44 seconds.

Then Bryce Deadmon took the baton from Norwood and surged America two spots to fourth after the first turn. Deadmon posted the fastest third leg and got the U.S. on the heels of third place. Anchor Christopher Bailey still had work to do.

With America back in the mix, and Botswana way out front, Bailey was patient at first. Then with about 150 meters remaining, he turned it on and passed up Japan to secure the No. 3 spot and America’s automatic qualifier in the final round.

“That was the plan,” Norwood said. “We put him out front. We didn’t want to give him too much responsibility. So it was my job to pick up as much as I can.”

Wilson’s best hope to stick for the final was to do something special. His frustration from not coming close to it was visceral. His Olympic debut about two to three seconds too long and yet over so fast.

Someday, he’ll benefit from the lessons he learned at Stade de France on Friday. He’ll see this experience as integral to the Olympian he becomes. He might even come away with a medal, as preliminary runners are also rewarded, not just the four in the final.

But in the moment, Wilson looked much more angry than appreciative. What’s inside him, which got him to this grand stage, won’t allow him to so easily set aside his performance. Which explains why he feels like a lock to be back on this stage again.

“It’s just going to be motivation for me,” Wilson said, “to give my team a better chance than what they had today.”

GO DEEPER

For Quincy Wilson, teenage track prodigy, everything’s different now — Olympics or not

(Top photo of Quincy Wilson running in Friday’s 4×400-meter relay: Christian Petersen / Getty Images)