made history after becoming the youngest-ever male U.S. track and field athlete to be selected to compete in the Olympics at age 16.
Wilson shared the news via on June 30 after his performance at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials in Eugene, Oregon.
He placed sixth in the 400-meter final with a time of 44.94 seconds, which earned him a spot in the 4×400 relay pool for the . “We goin’ to the Olympics,” he captioned a photo of himself triumphantly raising his arms after a race.
Earlier that month, he broke the under-18 world record in the 400-meter race with a time of 44.66 seconds. Days later, he set a new personal and world record with a time of 44.
59 seconds. The record was previously held by for 42 years. “All I know is I gave everything that I had and then some,” Wilson said after the final, via .
“I can’t go back and be disappointed. At the end of the day, I’m 16 running grown-man times.” Keep reading to find out more about the Olympic athlete: Wilson’s parents, and , will be cheering him on as he prepares to go to the 2024 Paris Olympics.
The star athlete also has an older sister, , who at James Madison University. His cousin currently runs track at the University of Oregon. “Just amazing.
Just amazing,” his mom told of his record-breaking Olympic trials performance. “All his hard work, sweat and tears, all paid off for today and I can’t say any more that I’m just proud of him.” The athlete is coached by , who confirmed to that the runner is se.
