Team USA’s Quincy Hall steals 400m gold in Paris

In an exhilarating 400m final on Wednesday, Team USA’s Quincy Hall took the gold medal from Great Britain’s Matthew Hudson-Smith, putting on a massive burst of speed to take the win by four hundredths of a second.

Hudson-Smith seemed to be bound for glory, with a clear lead on his competitors coming into the home stretch. With 100m to go, coming from fourth, Hall left a burst of speed for the last 40m of the race, gritting his teeth to close the huge gap between him and the leader. The American crossed first in a personal best of 43.40 to edge out the Brit, who earned silver and set a European record of 43.44. Together, the pair clocked the fourth and fifth fastest times in history. Muzala Samukonga of Zambia took bronze in 43.74, a PB and national record.

Hall’s spectacular finish makes his run just one of the countless impressive performances seen by the Americans at the Stade de France. Shortly after Hall, Team USA’s Kenneth Rooks had the race of his life to take silver in the men’s 3,000m steeplechase. On Tuesday, their teammates Noah Lyles, Gabby Thomas and Cole Hocker all took home gold in their respective 100m, 200m and 1500m races.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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This marks the first time five men have broken the 44-second barrier in the same race at a 400m Olympic final. The top four finishers went under the winning time from the Tokyo Olympic final in 2021 (43.85), and all four set a national record. The defending bronze medallist, Kirani James of the Bahamas, ran three tenths of a second faster in Paris than he did in Tokyo, but was forced to settle for fifth place on Wednesday in Paris.

Athletics events at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games are taking place from Aug. 1-11. Today’s coverage is brought to you by Canadian Running and PUMA Canada. Follow us on Twitter on Instagram for all things Team Canada and up-to-date exclusive news and content.