At the Paris Olympics, the US track and field team once again won gold medals with incredible late comebacks: first Noah Lyles in the 100 meters, then Cole Hocker in the 1500 meters, and now Quincy Hall in the 400 meters.
Coming into the final, Quincy Hall was in fourth place behind gold medal favorites Matthew Hudson-Smith of Great Britain, Jerem Richards of Trinidad and Tobago, and legendary Olympic champion Kirani James of Grenada. It would have been a great honor for Hall to win even a bronze medal. He fought hard at the World Championships in Budapest last year.But he gritted his teeth, endured the pain and made an incredible comeback, overtaking the other athletes to win the gold medal in the fastest time in history.
Hall set a staggering new personal best of 43.40 seconds, the fifth-fastest time ever in the 400 meters, bettered only by world record holders Wayde Van Niekerk, Michael Johnson and Butch Reynolds. Hudson-Smith’s silver medal winning time of 43.44 seconds was the fastest time ever for a non-winning finish. Meanwhile, Zambia’s Muzala Samukhonga ran a national record of 43.74 seconds to rally from fifth place to the bronze medal and earn his country its third Olympic medal. It was the second consecutive major championship in which Hudson-Smith had a golden chance to win gold only to lose at the finish line.
Jeremy Richards and Kirani James also broke 44 seconds but failed to win a medal, making this the first time in history that five different runners have broken 44 seconds in the 400 metres.
Hall is the first U.S. men’s 400m gold medalist since Rashawn Merritt led the U.S. to a dominating victory at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. He previously competed in the 400m hurdles, winning the 2019 NCAA Championships at the University of South Carolina. Hall had experience running flats and hurdles in college, but he missed the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 because he focused on hurdles. He also missed the World Championships the following year in Eugene. Hall decided to quit hurdling altogether in 2023, a decision that quickly paid off in the form of a World Championship bronze medal and an Olympic gold medal.
“I really love the 400m hurdles, but it’s not my forte.” Hall told FloTrack. After winning the Diamond League circuit in Monaco last month.
Hall may not have been the gold medal favorite, but his 2024 season couldn’t have worked out better for him to peak at the right time: He improved his time in eight straight races, from opening the Doha Diamond League in May (45.98 seconds) to winning the U.S. Trials in June (44.17 seconds) to winning the Monaco Diamond League in July (43.80 seconds). And now he’s become Olympic champion with an epic finish.
Anyone who has noticed that Hall’s running form isn’t the smoothest or cleanest they’ve ever seen, Hall himself is aware of it, doesn’t mind, and the results show that it works for him.
This is the last thing I’ll say about my running form. I don’t care about how I look, and I don’t care about running like everyone else. My running style is grit, detour, dig, and dog. I’m not trying to win any cuteness contests.
— Quincy Hall (@QuincyHall400) September 2, 2023
