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PARIS — When track and field competitions at the Paris Olympics begin Friday morning, one of the biggest mysteries involves the youngest member of the U.S. team.
When will 16-year-old phenom Quincy Wilson make his Olympic debut on the Stade de France’s distinctive purple court?
The answer to that question remains elusive nearly a month after USA Track & Field confirmed Wilson would be part of its men’s relay group. A USATF spokesperson did not immediately return a message from Yahoo Sports on Friday. Asked if he knew when Wilson would race in Paris, his coach, Joe Lee, told Yahoo Sports, “Yet to be determined.”
On qualifying sheets posted on the Olympics’ official website, Wilson is listed as part of the American quartet that will run in the preliminaries of the 4×400-meter medley relay on Friday night, but her mother says that is incorrect. Monique Wilson wrote on Instagram on Thursday that relay coach Mike Marsh “notified Quincy that he will not run in the 4x400m medley relay.”
If so, the only races Wilson would be eligible to compete in would be the men’s 4×400-meter relay preliminaries on Aug. 9 or the finals on Aug. 10.
At 16, Wilson is the eighth-fastest man in the world in the 400 meters this year and the third-fastest American. He earned his spot in the U.S. relay pool earlier this summer when he ran sub-45 seconds three times in a row at the U.S. Olympic trials. Then, a few weeks later, he set a new personal best and lowered his under-18 world record to an impressive 44.20 seconds.
Wilson is already the youngest male athlete ever to make the U.S. Olympic track team. He is about a year younger than middle-distance runner Jim Ryun, who competed in 1964 at 17 years, 137 days.
So far, the teenager seems to be enjoying his Olympic experience. posing for photos with LeBron James, Steph Curry and others during last week’s opening ceremony.
Now Wilson can only hope for his chance to run for office.
