A Black sprinter at a school in Maryland is drawing comparisons to a young LeBron James because of his capacity to set world records and the fact that, at 15 years old, he has already won a national title.
Quincy Wilson, who just completed his freshman year at Bullis School in Potomac, was described as a major talent by Joe Lee, Bullis’ track and field coach, according to NBC 10 Philadelphia.
“I hate to put these comparisons out there because I don’t want to put pressure on him,” Lee declared, “but it’s like seeing LeBron James very early.”
In the preliminaries of the 4×400 at the Penn Relays on April 27, Wilson ran his split in 45.06 seconds, helping Bullis School’s boys team to the quickest time of the day — 3:14.12 — and advancing them to the finals, according to USA Today High School Sports. Wilson, who ran as the anchor, reportedly gained 10-15 meters and posted one of the fastest times in competition history.
NBC reported that Wilson will run in the USA Track & Field Under 20 Outdoor Championships later this week in Eugene, Oregon. He already holds indoor world records for his age group in the 300s, 400s, 500s and 600s.
In Oregon, he’ll compete against the top young runners in the nation, most of whom are high school seniors and college athletes. The finals are Saturday.
Lee said that Wilson has a good chance of setting another world record based on his qualification times. However, even if he finishes well enough to make the national squad, the international championships’ minimum age is 16, so he would not be able to compete.
Still, the coach said, even getting there is a significant victory. His star athlete at Bullis School seems to agree.
“I don’t think there’s such thing as a peak,” Wilson contended, NBC reported, “if you keep working as hard as you can.”
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