The 400 meter dash at the World Championships had a very unexpected outcome. It’s likely because Michael Norman wasn’t there and Fred Kerley has since moved on from the event. Even Stephen Gardiner who was the former world leader, got injured on the way to the final. Most of the athletes who made the podium are relatively unknown. However, when you take a closer look it was Quincy Hall who won the bronze medal in the 400 meter dash. He is a man who never even ran that event at the NCAA Outdoor championships in college! He was very talented at the college level, but that was in the 400 hurdles! The truth is that Quincy Hall was always way more talented than anyone gave him credit for. He has always been a champion at every level he has ever competed at. Now that he has found his event, there is no reason to believe he doesn’t have a shot at becoming the next Olympic champion in the 400 meter dash.

How good is Quincy Hall?

Quincy Hall could be considered a track athlete with an identity crisis. He was so good at two events that conflict with each other, he has struggled to choose one to focus on. At the high school level he was a three sport athlete at Raytown South in Missouri. Coincidentally the same high school that also produced Olympic sprinter Maurice Mitchell. There he dominated the 400 meter dash and the 300 hurdles at the state level, winning two state championships in the open 400.

However he didn’t run Division 1 immediately thereafter. Instead he began his college track career at the junior college level, at the College of the Sequoias in California. California is one of the only states that competes independently for its junior college sports. That means you can’t win an NJCAA championship when you attend one of their schools. The only title you can get is a California Community College State Championship. So Quincy dominated the state of California, running fast enough to win the double in the 400 hurdles and the open 400 both as a freshman and as a sophomore. But he ran the fastest time in both events for all junior college athletes around the nation. If there was any doubt about Quincy’s abilities after that season, he went on to win the USA Junior championship in the 400 hurdles in 2017.

After that Quincy Hall committed to run in the SEC conference in division 1. He chose the University of South Carolina to do it which is not historically one of the more successful programs. Quincy dominated the SEC immediately winning the indoor 400 in 2019 and going 4th at the NCAA indoor meet. Then he won the 400 again outdoors for the conference as well. But at the NCAAs he went back to his other event, to run the 400 hurdles. He then shocked the track world winning the 400 hurdles at the NCAA outdoor championships in the only time he ever got a chance to run at it. The year 2020 was a shortened track season for everyone including Quincy, so he never repeated.

Quincy Hall is one of USATF’s best kept secrets

Since that time Quincy Hall has run professionally. He started off primarily as a 400 hurdler. Which makes sense given his history. He just hasn’t proven to be good enough. He got hurt and didn’t finish his race at the Olympic Trials, and at the USA Championships he got fifth in 2022. 2023 is the first year he seemed to take the 400 seriously and that is when he went third at the USAs in that event, qualifying to race the entire world. So when he crossed the line as the fastest American in the world championships, it makes sense that he was exceeding expectations.

The truth is that Quincy Hall was a track and field prodigy in two events, that don’t go well together as a pro. He dominated them both, at the high school, junior college, and NCAA level. But running with the pros is an entirely different challenge. He had to make a choice, one that was no doubt hard for him. Quincy Hall is now one of the best 400 meter runners in the world. He is a champion and everyone who has ever raced against him knows that. The 2023 World Championship should serve as a warning shot. Now that Quincy knows what he needs to do in order to be a champion at the World level, his track record suggests he is likely to do it.

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