Joe Biden meets Quincy Wilson, Masai Russell and other Olympians and Paralympians, lauds the athletes for "representing the best of America"

By Animesh Pandey

Modified Oct 01, 2024 06:19 GMT

President Joe Biden invited the US Olympic Team and the US Paralympic team to the White House after their successful campaigns at the quadrennial event. He met several champions like sprinter Quincy Wilson, hurdler Masai Russell, and swimmers Torri Huske, Katharine Berkoff, and Paige Madden, to name a few.

Biden lauded the Olympians and the Paralympians for their efforts at the Paris Olympics and the Paris Paralympics respectively. In his address at the South Lawn, he spoke,

“Thank you for representing the very best of America. They see you and they begin to believe in themselves.”

Biden also added that he and his staff were watching and keeping up with Team USA's performances at the Olympics and the Paralympics while proceeding with their regular schedule. In his words,

"In fairness, I had the TV on in the Oval Office, as well.”

Biden also acknowledged the contributions of those Olympians who served in the country's armed forces and called for more support for the nation's athletes.

“We need to do more to support all of our Team USA athletes," he further added.

Joe Biden also joked that even though he wasn't permitted to attend the Paris Olympics, nobody could stop him from attending the Los Angeles Olympics.

“I won’t be president, they can’t stop me from going there then," he said.

Biden's support was acknowledged by most of the athletes, including Quincy Wilson, who uploaded a selfie with the President, captioning his Instagram post as,

"Thanks @joebiden and @flotus"

Screengrab of Quincy Wilson's photos at the White House [Image Source : Quincy Wilson's Instagram]

The very next photo in the slide showed the 16-year-old flexing his Olympic gold medal in front of the White House. Quincy Wilson made it to the men's 4x400m relay team at the Paris Olympics and ran the opening leg in the heats of the race. As a result, he became one of the youngest Olympic gold medalists for Team USA.

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Quincy Wilson's appearances in major events after the Paris Olympics

Quincy Wilson at the game between Chicago Cubs and Washington Nationals [Image for Representational Purposes] [Image Source: Getty]

Quincy Wilson became the youngest male athlete to make his debut at the Paris Olympics. He broke the Under-18 World record for the men's 400m twice at the U.S. Olympic trials and made his way into the team to represent the USA in the men's 4x400m relay event.

After contributing to the gold medal performance, Quincy Wilson returned to the USA with his head held high. On September 1, He got the honor of throwing the first pitch at the baseball game between the Washington Nationals and the Chicago Cubs and threw the pitch to the Nationals' catcher Drew Millas at Nationals Park.

Apart from that, the 16-year-old sprinter was also invited to the recent NFL game between the Baltimore Ravens and the Buffalo Bills. A school-level football player, Quincy Wilson attended the practice session and showcased his Paris Olympics gold medal. The Baltimore Ravens also acknowledged this by posting a photo on their Instagram account, with the caption,

"Hometown Legends"

He was further invited to the game between the Ravens and the Bills, alongside Olympic champion hurdler Masai Russell, and LSU basketball player Angel Reese, who represents the Chicago Sky in the WNBA. Interestingly, Russell and Wilson have one common factor apart from the Olympic gold medal: both have been students of Bullis School in Maryland, and both honed their athletic skills under the tutelage of the school's track and field coach Joe Lee.