"I never made a USA team doing 400m hurdles" - Quincy Hall weighs in on the decision that led him to maiden gold medal at Paris Olympics

Quincy Hall recently opened up about his decision to switch from the 400m hurdles to the 400m dash which earned him the gold medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics. This comes nearly a month after his heroics at the French capital.

Hall's performance at the 2024 Paris event was a remarkable turnaround in comparison to the Tokyo Olympics three years ago where he failed to qualify for the event. However, the Missouri native's decision to move on from hurdles in 2022 changed his career graph.

Soon after this switch, Hall produced impressive performances in prominent events such as the 2023 Prefontaine Classic and the 2023 Wanda Diamond League. He also won a bronze medal at the 2023 World Athletics Championships in Budapest.

Speaking about this decision in an interview with Olympics.com after his gold medal victory in Paris, Hall stated that the decision was crucial to him finding his specialization event. He also mentioned that he didn't qualify for the 400m hurdles Olympic team even after trying numerous times.

“I won’t say I could have been here doing 400m hurdles. Because I was trying for the last years, and I never made a USA team doing the 400m hurdles. So, me making the switch two years ago and me being a bronze medalist last year and now I’m Olympic champion. I guess I just found my niche,” Hall stated.

The 26-year-old clocked a run time of 43.40 seconds at the Paris quadrennial event to become the first United States track and field athlete to win the Olympic gold medal in the event since 2008.

Referencing the above, Quincy Hall also remarked in the interview that his run time of 43.40 seconds clocked during the finals in Stade de Paris was "nothing" compared to his efforts in training sessions. He said:

"I put myself through a ring of fire, so I’m beating myself up every day. So, going out there and running 43 seconds is nothing compared to what I do in practice."

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Quincy Hall eying further glory in the coming years

Quincy Hall during a LSU vs South Carolina game (Image via: Getty Images)

After finding success at the 2024 Paris Olympics, Quincy Hall is in no mood to step down as he eyes the 2025 World Championships in Tokyo and the 2028 home Olympics in Los Angeles.

Speaking to Olympics.com, Hall claimed that he aims to win in the above-mentioned events. He said:

"I’m not done running. I want to get a World Championships gold medal next year, and I want to get another Olympic gold medal in ’28"

Quincy Hall ended his 2024 track and field season after winning the gold medal at the Paris Olympics. Besides the gold medal in Paris, the 26-year-old also clinched two Diamond League victories this season in Stockholm and Monaco.