Sweet 16: Quincy Wilson headed to Paris as youngest U.S. male track Olympian ever

EUGENE, Ore. — Quincy Wilson’s driver’s test will probably have to wait.

He may be a little too busy this summer to prepare for it.

Wilson, the 16-year-old phenom who captivated fans during the U.S. Olympic Track & Field Trials, will go to Paris as part of Team USA’s 4×400-meter relay pool, his coach confirmed to Yahoo Sports early Monday morning. Bullis School coach Joe Lee said he “received a call from the U.S. Olympic coaching staff sharing the news” once trials concluded on Sunday evening.

When USA Track & Field formally unveils its Olympic roster next week, Wilson will become the youngest male ever to make the U.S. Olympic Track & Field team. He’s about a year younger than middle-distance runner Jim Ryun, who competed in 1964 at 17 years, 137 days old.

Wilson earned his place in the relay pool by finishing sixth in last Monday’s 400 meters final, capping a jaw-dropping weekend where three straight times he ran one lap around Hayward Field in less than 45 seconds.

In his Olympic Trials debut, Wilson broke a 42-year-old under-18 world record when he won his men’s 400 heat in 44.66 seconds. That record lasted all of two days before Wilson lowered it again in the 400 semifinals, running a time of 44.59 seconds.

While the fairy-tale ending would have been Wilson cracking the top three in the 400 final, his time of 44.94 seconds was still impressive. He chased down three of the fastest 400-meter runners in America on the homestretch, not bad for a kid who just finished his sophomore year of high school.

The buzz surrounding Wilson reached a crescendo after those performances. Deion Sanders congratulated him on X. So did Michael Johnson. Magic Johnson invited Wilson to join him in a suite for a Washington Commanders game.

Now Wilson will get the experience of going to Paris too, preparing him for what could be a long career in track and field. Last September, at just 15 years old, Wilson landed an NIL deal with New Balance. In April, he signed with WME Sports, the same agency that represents Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone.