"Got to relook at everything differently"- 17-year-old Quincy Wilson opens up about season opener loss after Olympic Gold medal victory 

17-year-old Quincy Wilson recently opened up about his second place finish at the VA Showcase 2025. The American athlete explained that the loss provided a valuable learning experience, prompting him to reflect on multiple aspects of his performance.

Andrew Salvadon, who dominated the line-up to set a new U.S. High School National record in the 500m, defeated Wilson with a formidable lead in the first Indoor race of the year. The second-place finish drew considerable criticism for the young athlete on social media, with fans questioning his training regimen following his gold medal win at the Paris Olympics.

Wilson spoke about the aftermath of the loss during his appearance on the 'Beyond the Records' podcast with Noah Lyles, Grant Holloway and Rai Benjamin. The 17-year-old explained how the loss has prompted him to make several changes as he prepares for the rest of the 2025 season.

"The loss that I had a couple of weeks ago, I got to relook at everything differently. Just like, now it's time to change a lot of things around because there's always this person that's hungrier. You think that you are hungry but you never know what can happen. So, it's just. It was real blessing for me. The loss wasn't needed, I feel like the lessons that I learned was what I needed. I think I needed the lessons because they can't alwys be high, you can't always be high," he said.

Furthermore, he shared that one of the most valuable lessons that he learned from the loss was that an athlete's life will always have ups and downs.

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Quincy Wilson on dealing with a loss early in the season

Quincy Wilson wins the men's 400m at the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix - Source: Getty

Quincy Wilson discussed dealing with his season-opening loss. The American athlete revealed how many expected him to dominate the race and how the news of his defeat went viral.

Wilson, who faced significant scrutiny from fans on the internet, explained that in a competitive sport like track, it's crucial to give your best effort every time, regardless of the competition.

"I've won this gold medal, I've won a lot of things, won every national championship that I've been in, things like that, but last weekend I ran my first track meet and I lost. Everybody had me planned out to win, everybody had everything out and I was supposed to win. I got beat, the dude that beat me broke the national record and things like that, went over the internet," he said.

Furthermore, he hoped to apply his learnings as he shifts focus to the remaining races of the 2025 track season.