"I read two books, one of them was like 600 pages" - Quincy Wilson opens up on balancing academics after Paris Olympics

Quincy Wilson, the youngest male track and field gold medallist in Olympic history, is not leaving his educational curriculum far behind his career on the track.

Wilson, who surpassed the under-18 world record for 400m, is a junior at Bullis School in Potomac, Washington D.C. This record stood unbeaten for 42 years, and Quincy successfully was able to conquer it. The US 4x400m relay team competed in Paris Olympics 2024, and impressively bagged the gold. Quincy earned his gold for being a part of the qualifying heat.

In a recent interview with Citius Mag, one of the youngest athletes to sign a NIL deal with major sports brands, Wilson talked about his academic future and much more. Being the youngest athlete to compete at the Olympics, Wilson had far more on his plate after returning home. While touching upon his curriculum, he shared his thoughts via Citius Mag.

“Right after that, I had to come home, do my summer reading and read two books. One of them was like 600 pages and the other one was like 200 or 300 pages. So I read those books and had to [answer] some questions. My first trimester went really good.”

He further continued:

“I was on the highest honor roll you can get and got an ‘A’ average throughout the whole semester. I was really just maintaining where I left off before I went to the Olympics and just tried to focus on school work and maintaining track. School always comes first, so that's what I've really been focusing on.”

---

Quincy Wilson reiterates importance of studies while moving forward with his track career

Quincy Wilson 2024 U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Track & Field - Day 4 - Source: Getty

A rising track and field athlete, Quincy Wilson had a breakthrough in both indoor and outdoor events. He grabbed the New Balance Nationals indoor 400m title with 46.67 seconds in Boston. In June, he was the runner-up at the New Balance Nationals outdoor 400m.

However, while achieving skilled records in his career, Quincy Wilson also puts his focus on his studies, understanding its importance in the long haul. The 17-year-old olympic gold medallist still wants to compete at his High School while doing other vital activities for his academic future.

Wilson also shared via Citius Mag:

“For me, academics always come first. Nobody can ever take your academics away from you. I always stand by that. Also, it’s the last season for a lot of the seniors that I came into Bullis with. It's our last time to make memories and run 4x400s together.”

“Last year, we fell short of some of the things that we had our goals set on. This year, we're coming back more prepared and really have our eye on something that we want to accomplish. I want to go back and do it with my team and do it with a lot of my friends that I had since coming into the school.”

For now considering his academics, Quincy Wilson takes precalculus, anatomy, physiology, explorations in photography, and U.S. history. Engineering being one his favorite subject matter and he also aims to advance in this course.