Aug. 9 (UPI) -- Teen sprinting sensation Quincy Wilson clocked a 47.27-second first leg in his Olympics debut Friday, as USA's 4x400-meter men's relay team advanced to the Paris 2024 final in Saint Denis, France.
Wilson's time, which ranked seventh in the field, forced the Americans to stage a comeback to earn one of the qualifying spots for the final. With his run, Wilson became the youngest American male track and field athlete to compete for Team USA at an Olympics.
Wilson's 47.27 was well over the 44.59 time -- an under-18 world record -- he registered in June at the U.S. Olympic trials.
Vernon Norwood (43.54) and Bryce Deadmon (44.20) followed Wilson's uncharacteristically slower jaunt by posting the top times for their respective second and third legs Friday in Saint-Denis. Christopher Bailey, the anchor, cemented the Americans' spot in the final with a 44.14 final leg, the second-best time in the field.
"They got me around the track," Wilson told reporters. "My grit and determination got me around the track. I knew I had a great three legs behind me and I know it wasn't just myself.
"If it was just myself, we would be in last place."
The Americans' combined time of 2:59.15 was the third-best in the field. Botswana (2:57.76) registered the top time. Great Britain (2:58.88), Japan (2:59.48) and France (2:59.53) were among the other Top 5 qualifiers. Belgium, Zambia, Italy and South Africa also qualified for the final.
The men's 4x400-meter relay final will be held at 3 p.m. EDT Saturday at the Stade de France.
Americans won the event at eight of the last 10 editions of the Olympics, including in their last two appearances. Deadmon and Norwood were both part of the gold medal run at Tokyo 2020.
