SAINT-DENIS, France — Quincy Hall’s kick feels like a battle against an invisible enemy. Against the pain of a grueling round. Against the will of his opponents. Against the floating bubble of uncertainty in which he is embedded.
But Hall wants that smoke. He lives for it. He strains, he slams, he pulls faces, not because he’s at his limit, but because his body is responding to his mindset. He’s been fighting his whole life. So when he came out of the final bend of the men’s 400 meters in fourth place and looked like he was in trouble, he knew the win was his. Because he’s always believed that he has the most fighting spirit in him.
“I’m not giving up, man,” Hall said. “I got grit. I grind. I got determination. Anything I can think of to get me to that edge, that’s what I’m thinking about. All that pain. All that hurt.”
NEVER doubt Quincy Hall. 😱
An epic comeback and winner of GOLD in the 400m! #Olympic Games in Paris
📺 NBC & Pauw photo.twitter.com/qQJqfxrH9n
— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) August 7, 2024
One by one, Kansas City’s best picked them off. First Kirani James of Grenada. Then Jereem Richards of Trinidad and Tobago, who jumped out early and led most of the way. And then, finally, he ripped past Matthew Hudson-Smith of Great Britain. The Olympic rookie looked anything but. They were fading. Hall was getting stronger.
He set a personal best of 43.40 seconds — the fourth fastest time ever — in a comeback to steal the gold. Because it had to be stolen.
Hall is proud of his kick. In the 400 meters, the last 50 meters are as much a matter of determination as speed. That is where Hall excels. On Wednesday, he ran the last 50 meters in 5.94 seconds, the best in the field.
Sure, he’s fast. He’s technically skilled. He’s talented. But most importantly, he’ll fight you for it. Hall ran the last 50 meters in 5.94 seconds, the fastest of anyone in the field. He ran the last 50 meters faster than he ran the first 50 meters (6.16 seconds). Compare that 0.22 seconds improvement to silver medalist Hudson-Smith, who ran the last 50 meters 0.24 seconds slower than his first 50 meters.
“That’s what I’m known for. I’m known for finishing,” Hall said. “If you don’t stay far enough away from me, I’m going to get you. Every time.
“As soon as they fired that gun,” he added, “I knew I had it. You can’t get far enough.”
Validation has been a long road for Hall, who showed promise after taking bronze at last year’s World Championships. He has been dominant at every level of his career, but has yet to get a chance to shine on the big stage.
It’s been 40 years since Alonzo Babers won the men’s 400 meters at the Los Angeles Summer Games, starting an insane seven-run streak of Team USA gold in a row.
But that streak ended after LaShawn Merritt’s victory in 2008. Those Beijing Games marked the second consecutive American victory in the 400 meters. Since then, the U.S. men have won one bronze medal — Merritt in 2016 — in the 400 meters.
The quarter mile is an American institution. One medal in 16 years is a disgrace to the name of the legendary Michael Johnson. It has been a long search for someone who can return the 400-meter glory to its rightful home.
Quincy Hall is about that life.
Before this gold medal, he was the definition of unnoticed. He’s battled injuries. He’s new to the Olympic stage. He doesn’t do much to draw attention to himself. He’d much rather “go fishing and ride my horse” or spend time taking care of the pit bulls that have his heart. That doesn’t draw attention. But know this: Hall is elite.
The men’s 400m looked wide open this year, especially as Jamaican Antonio Watson, the reigning world champion, was not in Paris.
Hudson-Smith is ranked No. 2 in the world and beat Hall at the 2023 World Championships. James is the first to win three Olympic medals in the 400m, including gold in 2012, and had the best time in the semi-finals. Zambia’s Muzala Samukonga set a national record in the semi-finals (and finished with a bronze medal). Even American Michael Norman looked very good in the run-up to the final. There were plenty of opportunities to play.
But Hall is a different breed. He started at the community college level. He races with a gold grill in his mouth. He wears long, loose boxers under his kit. No bush would bother him.
America needed a real one to come and get what was rightfully itss in a race that was begging for an American star. Hall seemed made for it.
“Oh, that’s where the grit comes from,” Hall said of his JUCO days at College of the Sequoias. “When you don’t have food. You have to get your own food. No cafeteria. No study hall. None of that. You learn how to be a dog yourself.”
Hall often practices alone.
In South Carolina, he did the 400-meter hurdles and the flat 400 meters. But after 2022, he dropped the hurdles and focused on the flat race. He said it was the best decision of his life. By harnessing his grind and focusing, he became the best in the world.
“A lot of work,” he said. “A lot of hot, hot practices, being out there by myself, having to talk to my coach on the phone. And he just tells me, ‘Keep going. Keep going.'”
That work continues. Hall is a lock on the 4×400 relay team, where he can still win a gold medal.
Last month, Noah Lyles cut Hall from his ideal 4×400 relay team — where Lyles had said he would run the second leg. He chose Rai Benjamin, the favorite in the 400-meter hurdles, as the anchor for this hypothetical relay team.
Hall responded by challenging Lyles to a race in the 400. He issued another challenge Wednesday, with the credibility of a gold medal behind it. Because Hall is always up for a fight.
“He’s the Olympic champion in the 100,” Hall said of Lyles. “He might be the Olympic champion in the 200. So maybe he can see me in the 400. The Olympic champion in the 400.”
Required reading
(Photo: Al Bello/Getty Images)
