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Quincy Wilson, Gout Gout, and many other young performers delivered remarkable performances on the track in the 2024 season. The rise and success of these youngsters suggests that the track will see some great performances in the coming years.
With the 2024 season having concluded, we will look at five upcoming track athletes to watch out for.
#5 JaMeesia Ford (USA)
JaMeesia Ford is one of the rising track athletes in the circuit. The 19-year-old achieved her personal best performance in the 200m with 22.08s, which placed her second behind Paris Olympian McKenzie Long at the 2024 NCAA Outdoor Championships.
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During the 2024 indoor season, Ford claimed the top spot with a 22.34s run at the NCAA Indoor Championships. Besides this, she helped the South Carolina team to win the women’s 4x400m relay in the Final 3.
#4 Christian Miller (USA)
Christian Miller held the world-leading mark in 2024 for over a month after clocking 9.93s at the Pure Athletics Spring Invitational. At the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials, Miller narrowly missed a spot on the USA’s 100m squad, finishing fifth with a time of 9.98 seconds. Despite not making the Olympic team, his performance was impressive, making the 18-year-old a prospect to watch.
#3 Tia Clayton (Jamaica)
The year 2024 was a season to remember for Jamaican athlete Tia Clayton as she made her Olympic debut in Paris. Clayton impressed in the 100m event, being the only Jamaican athlete to reach the finals after icon Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce withdrew in the semifinals.
Although the two-time U20 relay world champion clocked an impressive 10.89s in the semifinals, she couldn’t maintain her momentum into the final, finishing just short of a medal with a time of 11.04s. She was also the youngest runner in the finals.
#2 Gout Gout (Australia)
Gout Gout emerged as one of the most impressive runners of 2024, drawing comparisons to the legendary Usain Bolt following his record-breaking performance at the Australian All Schools Athletics Championships.
The Australian teenager shattered the 56-year-old senior national 200m record, previously set by Peter Norman in 1968, with a time of 20.04s. Notably, this was also faster than Bolt’s best time at age 16, which stood at 20.13s.
#1 Quincy Wilson (USA)
At the age of 16, Quincy Wilson etched his name in history by becoming the youngest male track and field gold medalist in the history of the Olympics. Wilson contributed to the men’s 4x400m relay team's gold medal victory by running in the preliminaries.
He secured a place in the USA’s track and field team through his remarkable perforamces at the Olympic trials, where he clocked 44.66s in the heats, 44.59s in the semis, and 44.94s in the finals. On December 28, Wilson ran the second-fastest high school 600m time, at 1:17.19, at the U.S. Marine Corps Holiday Classic, adding to his impressive list of achievements.
