"Athletics isn’t guaranteed"- Olympic Champion Quincy Wilson exposes harsh reality of the sport as he weighs in on the importance of education

Paris Olympics gold medalist Quincy Wilson weighed in on the importance of balancing an athletic career with his education. Wilson is currently a junior at Bullis School, a private college preparatory school for the US Naval Academy in Potomac in suburban Washington D.C.

He competed in the men's 4x400 relay team that bagged a gold medal in the Paris Olympics. Wilson is making strides both on and off the track, excelling in school with an impressive4.0 GPA.

The 16-year-old is currently enrolled in English III, precalculus, anatomy and physiology, U.S. history, and explorations in photography, but it's engineering that stands out to him. The youngest male track and field Olympic gold medalist plans to major in engineering while taking an advanced, hands-on course certified by the University of Texas-Austin.

In an interview with NBC, Wilson reflected on the uncertainty of a career in athletics, while acknowledging that his education and knowledge are permanent and cannot be taken away.

“Athletics isn’t guaranteed. I could walk out of this room right now and something goes wrong” he said. "But the one thing that nobody can ever take away from me is my brains and my knowledge. Track isn’t going to be there forever. Regardless of how successful your career goes, you need to have some type of education and degree so that you can excel in this world."

"I didn’t come out there to watch" - Quincy Wilson on competing in the Paris Games despite a hamstring injury

Quincy Wilson of the United States during the 2024 Paris Olympics (Image Source: Getty)

Although Quincy Wilson did not compete in the final round of the Paris Olympics, he ran the first leg of the preliminary round, clocking a split time of 47.27 seconds.

The teenager's performances came despite suffering a hamstring injury immediately after being named in the squad for the sporting event. Reflecting on his resilient performance, Wilson said that he trained his whole life for the Olympics.

“I didn’t come out there for nothing. I didn’t come out there to watch,” he said. “I’ve been training all my life for this, so I was just like, ‘Why not step on the track and give it all you got? You never know if you can have this opportunity again.’”

Currently enrolled as a junior, Wilson is poised to turn pro ahead of the 2028 LA Games.