'I can't go back and be disappointed': Quincy Wilson falls short in 400m finals but Paris remains possible

Sixteen-year-old track and field star Quincy Wilson beat the 45-second mark in the 400-meter race for the third run in a row during these Olympic Trials, but his time of 44.94 wasn’t quite fast enough to etch himself in the history books by qualifying for the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Wilson finished in sixth place, ending a run in which he wowed the world by breaking a 42-year-old record twice.

“I can’t go back and be disappointed. At the end of the day, I’m 16 running grown-man times,” he said to reporters after the race.

Wilson, an incoming junior at Bullis School in Potomac, Maryland, ran times of 44.84 and 44.59 in the preliminary round and semifinals prior to the run on Monday evening.

“I can’t be disappointed. I’m 16 years old running…grown man times.”

Quincy Wilson still in high spirits after finishing 6th at the U.S. Olympic Trials 400m final. Could get the call for the 4x400m relay pool. pic.twitter.com/Qh2Nwsm2B1

— Chris Chavez (@ChrisChavez) June 25, 2024

Quincy Hall, 25, won the 400m with a time of 44.17 seconds. Michael Norman, 26, placed second at 44.41 seconds and Chris Bailey, 24, finished third at 44.42 seconds, according to the Register Guard.

Despite falling shy in the 400m, Wilson still has a chance to become the youngest American man ever to compete in a track and field event in the Olympics. USA Track & Field can choose two more runners for the 4×400 relay team, according to the Washington Post, and with his performances both in the Trials and runs at his high school, Wilson has proven his talent.

The current mark has been in place for 124 years, when, in 1900, 17-year-and-166-day athlete Arthur Newton ran the 2,500-meter steeplechase, per the WaPo.