South Carolina Gamecocks track star wins gold medal at Olympics in epic comeback

The South Carolina Gamecocks have a number of athletes competing in the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, France. Several of them already have finished their Olympic competitions, while others are still in Europe fighting for medals.

On Wednesday, South Carolina track and field alum Quincy Hall delivered USC its first gold medal of the year with a victory in the 400-meter sprint that came in epic fashion.

Hall fell behind early in the race, but as the runners rounded the final bend, the former Gamecock kicked it into high gear and finished one of the most remarkable comebacks in recent Olympics history.

After being nearly two full body lengths behind the leaders, Hall came flying back from 4th place in lane 8 to pass Grenada's Kirani James, Great Britain's Matthew Hudson-Smith, and Trinidad's Jereem Richards over the final 100 meters of the race and win with a time of 43.40 seconds. Hudson-Smith won the silver medal for Great Britain (43.44 seconds), and Zambia's Muzala Samukonga wound up with the bronze (43.74 seconds).

Hall's remarkable 43.40 time is the 5th-fastest time in the history of the race, and it was a personal best for him. Team USA had not produced a gold medalist in the 400-meter since 2008 when Lashawn Merritt won the gold in Beijing, China.

Hall, who was a national champion at the University of South Carolina in the 400-meter hurdles, gave up hurdling in recent years to focus on open sprinting, and the move paid off in a big way at the 2024 Summer Olympics.

Fellow South Carolina Gamecocks A'ja Wilson (Team USA women's basketball) and Julia Vincent (Team South Africa diving) are still competing for medals. Wilson and Team USA are the favorite to win the gold medal and are currently leading Team Nigeria with a semifinal berth on the line.