The Olympics are coming fast, and while we all have our preferred sports and events to watch, one thing’s for certain.
This year’s gonna be different.
And one of the reasons is Quincy Wilson. Just 16 years old, Quincy now has the record for the youngest male athlete ever to join the U.S. team for an Olympics.
After qualifying for Team USA’s relay pool in the 400 meters, Quincy was expectantly elated. But aside from insane times and shocking maturity, there’s something else few people realize about young Mr. Wilson.
His Olympic dream was almost completely derailed just earlier this season…
As any athlete can tell you, training isn’t always fun. In fact, it can be completely draining, oftentimes more so mentally than physically. For a top athlete of Quincy’s ability, the stakes get even higher. So it’s no wonder, given Quincy’s untapped potential and unstoppable approach, that he pushed himself to the max.
For many athletes, riding that thin line between ‘fit’ and injured can be a dangerous game. Unfortunately, Quincy learned this lesson the hard way.
“He lost a full week of training and didn’t know if our season was over,” said Coach Joe Lee, Wilson’s coach, when interviewed at the recent Olympic trials in Eugene, Oregon.
Whether Wilson’s week-long bout with a stomach virus was caused by a weakened immune system due to intense training, or just bad luck at a bad time, we may never know. What we do know is that Wilson described the hospitalization, and his frantic return to get back in shape, as one of “the hardest workouts I’ve ever had.”
At the same time, Wilson was also facing another mental challenge…
Around the same time as Wilson’s health struggle, his beloved sister was also dealing with an even more serious health scare. Involved in a terrible accident, Quincy’s sister suffered a fractured hip and separated quad, and her own athletic dreams were upended.
For Quincy, who stresses family and God over all else, this was not easy to deal with. The young Olympian even admitted that the stress may have made him sick, but he nonetheless went out to run in her honor, winning a 400m in a blazing 45.17 time.
“I ran for my sister, but the next day, I’m in the hospital,” Wilson recalled.
But like with anything and everywhere, the young star persevered, beating all expectations and whipping himself into shape. He would show up to the Olympic Trials brimming with confidence. And for good reason.
Just a boy among men, the small but powerful Wilson would go on to break the world record for athletes under age 18. He did it in consecutive rounds, a 44.66 to start the first round, and a 44.59 in the semi-finals.
The rest, as they say, is history.
Now, with Quincy setting his sights on Paris and getting in even better shape before the Games, it’s no wonder this kid is so loved. Many of his fellow competitors, some twice his age, have taken to the young prodigy with almost fatherlike guidance.
But Quincy isn’t the only one learning from those around him. Many people, despite their age or background, are learning from Quincy.
Quincy Wilson’s story is a powerful reminder that amazing things come in unexpected packages. While seeing the diminutive 16-year-old run against much larger men is sometimes comical, the jokes stop where Quincy’s performances begin.
Nobody’s laughing anymore.
In fact, from online comments to in-person journalists, everyone seems to be giving the kid his flowers. Oftentimes, it’s his maturity and poise that people notice first. Quincy – a straight-A student – is also very humble. For somebody who is rewriting the record books and can do so much more, it’s refreshing to see such humility.
But for Quincy, it’s nothing special. It’s just part of who he is.
“All I’m doing is heart,” Wilson says of his historic rise.
Because in the end, that’s what it’s all about. Quincy Wilson’s story is not restricted to running or even athletic performance. It’s a story about the human heart and the human spirit. It’s a story of persevering, taking nothing for granted, and making the most of your God-given gifts.
Even so, what we’re witnessing with Wilson is incredible. Frankly, it’s not supposed to be happening. Sixteen-year-olds don’t run like that. They don’t train like that. They’re not supposed to be able to handle pressure against the best athletes in the world like that.
What we’re seeing with Quincy Wilson defies all odds. Just don’t tell him that…
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