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U.S. runner Quincy Wilson, 16, shows off gold medal, jokes about having to go back to high school soon

On3 imageby:Andrew Graham•08/10/24•

AndrewEdGraham

Olympics: Athletics-Morning Session
Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

It’s been a wild summer for United States track and field olympian Quincy Wilson. On top of being the youngest runner for the U.S. in Olympic history, Wilson earned gold for running in the early rounds of the 4×400 relay, as the unit won gold.

And Wilson, being just 16 years old, is going to be back to usual teenage life in a few weeks time. That means a return to high school — though hopefully he can circumvent the back-to-school shopping.

Plus, he had some good humor about it, probably easier with a gold medal around his neck.

“Dang, I really got school in 2 and a half weeks,” Wilson said on social media with a selfie of him and his medal.

The United States won gold in the 4×400 meter relay behind a team of Chris Bailey, Vernon Norwood, Bryce Deadmon and Rai Benjamin. Because Wilson ran in one of the qualifying heats for the final, he was also eligible to earn the gold.

Wilson attends the Bullis School, and is considered one of, if not the top high school-aged runners in the country and the world.

Wilson wasn’t the only funny gold medal selfie of the day

Tyrese Haliburton made his debut as a player on the United States Olympic men’s basketball team this summer. But his contribution when the games started rolling in Paris was mostly from the bench.

Such is the harsh reality of playing on a team that features arguably the best basketball lineup on Earth when assembled. Even still, the young guard managed to revel in being part of the accomplishment and have some good humor about it all.

“When you ain’t do nun on the group project and still get an A,” Haliburton said on social media with a gold medal emoji. Accompanying the post is a picture of him with his new medal.

There was plenty of chatter around the usage of various players under head coach Steve Kerr, namely Haliburton and Jayson Tatum rarely seeing the floor as 10 other players often platooned in and out.

But for all the criticism and noise, it seems Haliburton, at least, isn’t too worked up about his time in Paris. And with a generation of American basketball stars aging out of the picture for the 2028 games, it’s a safe bet Haliburton will be far more than just a bench reserve as the United States seeks a sixth-straight gold medal in Los Angeles in four year.