Quincy Watts

01 / The Detroit story

The Detroit story

Quincy Watts was born in Detroit but grew up in Los Angeles, where he took up track at Sutter Middle School and starred at Taft High School in Woodland Hills. At the University of Southern California he was both a sprinter and a wide receiver on the football team. At the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona he won the 400 meters in an Olympic-record 43.50 seconds, then ran on the U.S. 4 × 400 meters relay team that set a world record to win a second gold medal. Later overshadowed by Michael Johnson, he retired in 1997 and became a coach, first at his old high school and later at USC, where he has worked with many of the country's top sprinters. His connection to Detroit is his birth; his athletic career was built in California.

Highlights

1. Olympic champion in the 400 meters, Barcelona 1992
2. Olympic gold in the 4 × 400 meters relay, 1992, in world-record time
3. Ran 43.50 seconds, an Olympic record at the time
4. Later a sprint coach at USC