Quincy Hall Is Latest American to Earn Come-From-Behind Gold, Winning Olympic 400m in 43.40

PARIS – This is getting ridiculous.

First, Noah Lyles surged from last to first over the final 60 meters to claim the men’s 100 on Sunday night. Two days later, Cole Hocker unleashed a beast of a kick in the home straight to win an upset gold in the 1500 meters. And here we were, on Wednesday night in the Stade de France coming off the last turn in the men’s 400 meters, with American Quincy Hall in position to launch an unlikely comeback in an Olympic final. Surely it could not happen again.

We use the term “in position” loosely here. For most sprinters, fourth place and five meters back of the gold means goodbye, try again in four years. Not Hall. He calls himself a dog. That means no quitting, no matter how big the deficit.

“Can’t outrun a dog,” Hall said. “A dog will chase you forever.”

Hall had a lot of chasing to do. Trinidad & Tobago’s Jereem Richards (20.46) and Great Britain’s Matthew Hudson-Smith (20.62) ran the hell out of the first 200 meters. And while Richards would eventually falter in the home straight, Hudson-Smith, who led off the turn, held on brilliantly. Just like his countryman Josh Kerr last night, Hudson-Smith would run one of the fastest times in history. And just like Kerr, he would find himself outkicked at the death by an American who ran even faster. Yes, it had happened again.

It is tempting to say Hall wanted it more. His running form, with its furrowed brow, gnashed, golden-grilled teeth, bobbing head, and torso lurching from side to side, is the picture of grit.

It would also be inaccurate. This is the Olympic final. Everyone wants it. Hall won because, on this night, he was the better athlete. Indeed, there have been fewer better performances – or races – in the history of the event. Hall’s time of 43.40 is the fifth-fastest 400m ever run and the best by an American since Michael Johnson’s 43.18 in Seville in 1999, a time that stood as the world record for nearly 17 years. Hudson-Smith’s 43.44 is tied for the #6 performance ever and ranks, by some margin, as the fastest non-winning time ever. 

Heck, Zambian bronze medalist Muzala Samukonga’s 43.74 was the fastest third-place time ever. No race before had ever seen four men under 44 seconds. This one had five. 

“I just lost to the better man on the day and honestly I can’t complain,” said Hudson-Smith. “I did everything, left it all on the table. I’ve been saying all year, if you’re going to win, you’ve gotta take it from me, and that’s exactly what he did.”

Those were Hudson-Smith’s thoughts an hour after the race. But in the immediate aftermath, he only had one. As he looked up at the scoreboard and saw 43.44 in the time column but 2 in the place column, he screamed: FUCK! Then he composed himself, slapped hands with Hall, and congratulated the new Olympic champion.

Results

From Missouri to California junior college to South Carolina to Olympic champion

Like last night’s gold medalist Hocker, Hall has long been known for his kick. And like Hocker, it was there when he needed it tonight, even at a faster pace than he had ever run. Though Hall was the Worlds bronze medalist last year, his personal best at the start of 2024, 44.37, was nearly a full second slower than he ran tonight. Until he ran 43.80 in Monaco on July 12, he had never broken 44 seconds. In Paris, he did it on back-to-back days: 43.95 in Tuesday’s semis, then 43.40 tonight in the final.

“We do a lot of hard practices,” Hall said. “And we focus on coming home at the end of each practice. So that was nothing more than just me trying to go hard. Just harder than what I’m used to doing.”

When asked about the source of his kick, Hall credited the cross country he ran as a youth – no, seriously – for helping develop strength. Hall, 26, is something of a nomad. He said he dealt with a lot of “doubters and distractions” growing up and endured the death of two brothers. At Raytown South High School south of Kansas City, his best event was the 400 but he ran the 110 and 300 hurdles as well. He worked two jobs to pay his way through the College of the Sequoias, a community college in Visalia, Calif., where in 2018 he quadrupled in the 400, 400 hurdles, 4×400, and 4×100 at the California state juco championships, winning all but the 4×100 (his team placed second). 

That stint garnered the eye of the coaches at South Carolina, where he won the 2019 NCAA title in the 400 hurdles, the event he specialized in until last year. But after analyzing his gait, Wilson and his coach Curtis Allen — who also coached him at Sequoias – felt he was more suited for the 400. It didn’t hurt that the 400 was in a recession at the world level compared to the 400 hurdles, which has never been stronger. In 2022, the winning time at the World Championships (44.29) was above 44 seconds for the first time since 2011. In 2023, it happened again (44.22).

That recession is now over. If an Olympic final like that cannot kickstart this event, nothing can.

Just one problem. Hall may not be sticking around much longer.

“Sooner or later, we’re going to move to a different event,” Hall said. “I won’t say it now, but we’ll move to a different event and try to go make chaos over there.”

A history lesson: the last global 400m gold medalist to abandon the event, 2022 world champ Michael Norman, came back to the 400 just one year later after a failed experiment in the 100. So don’t be too eager to leave just yet, Quincy. The 400 needs you and your beautiful chaos.

Talk about the race on our world-famous messageboard:

• Quincy Hall comes from NOWHERE to win gold – 43.44. Take that Brits.
• 400m Final. Nice job Hall, what happened Norman…
• Michael Norman DFL!
• Are Michael Norman and Wayde Van Niekerk done?