Quincy Hall Explains Mental Trait That Made Him Stun Matthew Hudson-Smith to Clich 400m Olympic Gold

Quincy Hall pipped Matthew Hudson-Smith on the line in the men's 400m. Image || Courtesy

Quincy Hall Explains Mental Trait That Made Him Stun Matthew Hudson-Smith to Clich 400m Olympic Gold

Mark Kinyanjui 19:29 - 28.05.2025

Quincy Hall has explained his dramatic 400m final victory at the Paris Olympic games after he managed to upstage Matthew Hudson-Smith with a few meters left to clich gold.

Reigning 400 meter Olympic champion Quincy Hall has explained the trait that allowed him to bounce back from a losing position to clinch gold at the Paris Games last August.

With a dramatic comeback over the final 100 meters Team USA’s Quincy Hall ran down the field to win gold in the men's 400m, clocking a time 43.40. Matthew Hudson-Smith of Great Britain earned silver with 43.44, and Muzala Samukonga of Zambia earned bronze with 43.74.

Hall’s sprint is the fourth-fastest all-time in the event and the third fastest by an American.

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He became the first American to win the 400-meter Olympic gold since LaShawn Merritt at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. His win reestablishes Team USA dominance in the event as Americans won gold in the men’s 400-meters in every Olympics from 1984-2008.

Speaking on Flo Track in a recent interview, Hall reflected on the moment, considering many had written him off with with 100 meters to go considering he executed the final curve very poorly.

Quincy Hall: I Come Back at the End

Quincy Hall Explains Mental Trait That Made Him Stun Matthew Hudson-Smith to Clich 400m Olympic Gold

The crazy part is the type of training I do. Every race you see, I come back at the end.,” Hall said

Unlike traditional 400m specialists who bolt from the blocks, Hall admitted he thrives in the latter half of races, leaning on strength honed through sessions more suited to middle-distance events.

“I’m really not a starter,” he admits. “I’m more of an 800, more of a 1500 type runner. So I have a lot of strength coming back toward the end of the race.”

It was that very strategy that earned him Olympic gold. In a final where others burst through the opening 100 meters, clocking 20.4s and 20.6s splits, he kept his cool.

“I just stayed me,” he says. “I felt like I did what I do in practice and brought it to the track—and that’s what got me the Olympic gold medal.”

Hall’s  approach to competition is as grounded as it is focused. Lane assignments? Noise? Pressure? None of it fazes him.

“I’m a hard worker,” he declared. “From the track to my animals and just everything in life, I work hard. The only thing I can control is me. I can’t control lane seven, lane six—whatever lane I’m in, I can only control that lane.”

Hall Explains Love For Horses

That tenacity didn’t begin with sprinting—it was instilled long before, on his late Uncle Tony’s 100-acre ranch.

“We used to go out there,” he recalls. “In order for us to eat, we had to go fishing or cut grass.”

Uncle Tony recognized the boy’s determination and rewarded it—by giving him a silver dapple horse named Star.

“When he saw I was dedicated to keep working, he gave me a horse,” he says. “Ever since then, I just loved horses.”

Though college meant putting that love on hold, it didn’t take long for him to circle back once he turned professional.

“As soon as I went pro, I went to get my horses and stuff back,” he shares. “I grew up around horses and just hard work. I love a good horse.”

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