Quincy Wilson will keep his Olympic gold medal in Maryland. The teenager, who became the youngest American male track Olympian ever when he competed in the 2024 Paris Olympics, committed to Maryland on Monday.
Wilson chose Maryland over finalists South Carolina, USC, Texas A&M and UCLA, the school said.
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As a 16 year old, the Gaithersburg, Md., native won gold in Paris as part of the U.S. 4×400-meter relay team, as he led off the men’s 4x400m in the preliminary heats (heat runners were given medals if they did not run in the final itself). Wilson also holds the under-18 world record in the 400 meters.
Now 17, Wilson is a senior at the Bullis School and is one of the sport’s brightest rising stars — he was named the 2024 USA Track & Field Youth Athlete of the Year
“Quincy is a generational athlete who has the upside to continue to thrive at the top of our sport,” Maryland coach Andrew Valmon said in a school statement. “His support system here at Maryland, in his home state, is unmatched. I am excited to get to work on this next phase of his journey.”
Valmon, a former Olympian himself, co-owns the 4×400 world record (set at the 1993 World Championships) and won Olympic gold in both 1988 (Seoul) and 1992 (Barcelona). He also served as the head coach for the U.S. track and field team at the 2012 London Olympics.
Wilson’s personal best in the 400 meters (44.10 seconds) is a U.S. high school record, the under-18 world record, and the second-fastest ever run by an under-20 athlete. In February 2024, he ran the second-fastest high school boys’ indoor 600 meters ever (1:17.36).
At the U.S. Olympic Trials in June 2024, he broke the under-18 world mark in both the preliminaries (44.66) and semifinals (44.59), before finishing sixth in the final — a performance that secured his spot on Team USA for Paris.
In September 2023, Wilson signed a name, image and likeness deal with New Balance at 15 years old, making him one of the youngest American athletes ever to sign such an NIL contract.