In the first of the evening’s two finals on the track in Paris, Quincy Hall dug deep for an incredible run on the homestretch to earn a gold medal in the 400 meters.
Hall was among a trio of American runners to make the 400m final in Paris, joined by Chris Bailey and 2022 World Champion Michael Norman. Running in lane 8, Hall had Trinidad’s Jereem Richards to his right. As the gun went off, Richards got out fast and pressed through the first 200 meters, putting himself well ahead of the field, and being in lane 9, was setting everyone up for a big chase.
As they made the turn to the homestretch, Great Britain’s Matthew Hudson-Smith and Grenada’s Kirani James had caught up to Richards and began to pass him in the final 100 meters. Hall was in fourth position and giving everything he had to catch up for a spot on the podium. Absolutely gritting his teeth and putting every ounce of effort into each step, he began to run down those ahead of him. He would pass Richards and James nearly simultaneously, and as Hudson-Smith faded toward the finish, Hall leaned forward to break the proverbial tape in a new personal best time of 43.40 seconds.
WATCH: Quincy Hall DIGS DEEP in comeback win to take 400m gold medal, via YouTube
When it was all said and done, Quincy’s lean bested Hudson-Smith by four hundredths of a second, and Zambia’s Muzala Samukonga earned the bronze medal with a 43.74-second national record. Richards, who set the pace early, also finished with a national record for Trinidad and Tobago of 43.78 seconds. Kirani James finished in fifth place with an impressed 43.87-second performance. That’s right, five men ran under 44 seconds in the same race.
