When Quincy Hall entered the last straightaway of the men's 400m final, he was in fourth place. Seconds later, he was an Olympic champion.
Just like fellow American Cole Hocker did in the men's 1500m final the day prior, Hall used a late charge to capture gold at the 2024 Paris Olympics on Wednesday.
In the final stretch of the sprint, Hall stormed past Trinidad and Tobago's Jereem Richards, Grenada's Kirani James and Great Britain's Matthew Hudson-Smith, crossing the finish line just ahead of Hudson-Smith with a personal-best time of 43.40 seconds.
The Kansas City, Missouri, native then celebrated his first Olympic medal with some snow angels on the Stade de France track.
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“I've got determination,” Hall said. "That’s what got me to that line. A lot of hurt, a lot of pain.”
Hudson-Smith, the reigning world silver medalist, finished in 43.44 seconds to earn Olympic silver, while Zambia's Muzala Samukonga rallied for a third-place finish in 43.74.
In his Olympic debut, Hall became the first American to win the 400m since the 2008 Beijing Olympics. And not only did Hall set a new personal best, but he also recorded the fourth-fastest time in race history. Hudson-Smith's time stands as the fifth-fastest ever.
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Team USA's Christopher Bailey and Michael Norman finished sixth and eighth, respectively, in the eight-man final.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
