Meet Quincy Wilson, the 16-year-old making his Olympic debut for Team USA track

SAINT-DENIS, France —  It was about a month ago that Quincy Wilson qualified for the 2024 Summer Games, the skinny teenager holding his own against grown men in 400 meters at the U.S. Olympic track trials.

“I’m just running for my life,” he said. “At 16 years old, I’m like ecstatic right now.”

On Friday, he became an Olympian, joining the American squad for a preliminary round of the 4x400-meter relay.

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Wilson posted on social media Thursday: “Tune in Friday morning @ 5:05 a.m. est.”

He became the youngest athlete to ever compete for the U.S. in track and field and was part of a relay team that placed third in its heat, automatically advancing with a time of 2:59.15.

Wilson had the slowest split of the relay group, but that wasn’t unexpected for an inexperienced sprinter.

The U.S. has the option to replace Wilson in the finals with a more experienced sprinter, a common practice that allows the veterans to keep fresh legs for other races. Wilson will, however, still receive a medal even if he’s replaced for the final if the team reaches the podium.

Though not the youngest member of the entire American delegation in France — the honor goes to gymnast Hezly Rivera — Wilson is close.

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As a member of the Class of 2026 at the Bullis School in Maryland — a prep school for the U.S. Naval Academy, where his father played football — he ran under 45 seconds three times at the trials, breaking a 42-year-old record for his age group. His sixth-place finish in those finals put him in position to be named to the Olympic team.

Now, when he goes home, maybe he can accomplish another milestone: Learning how to drive.

“I can’t take the classes because you have to take three weeks,” he said earlier this summer. “So I don’t know when I’m going to get my driver’s license.”