Quincy D. Watts (born June 19, 1970) is an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

former

athlete An athlete (also sportsman or sportswoman) is a person who competes in one or more sports that involve physical strength, speed, or endurance. Athletes may be professionals or amateurs. Most professional athletes have particularly well-devel ...

, and two time gold medallist at the

1992 Summer Olympics The 1992 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1992, ca, Jocs Olímpics d'estiu de 1992), officially known as the Games of the XXV Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XXV Olimpiada, ca, Jocs de la XXV Olimpíada) and commonly known as ...

Career

Born in

Detroit, Michigan Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at ...

, Quincy Watts attended the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in C ...

(USC) where he excelled as a general athlete and a wide receiver on the college

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

team. He took up track at Sutter Middle School and later went to

Taft High School Taft School or Taft High School may refer to: * Taft School in Watertown, Connecticut, founded by Horace Dutton Taft, William Howard Taft's brother Schools named after William Howard Taft: * William Howard Taft High School (Los Angeles) * Willi ...

Woodland Hills, California Woodland Hills is a neighborhood bordering the Santa Monica Mountains in the San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles, California. Geography Woodland Hills is in the southwestern region of the San Fernando Valley, which is located east of Ca ...

, a neighborhood in Los Angeles. In 1987, he ran a 10.36s

100 m 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

, which stands as the

Los Angeles city section The CIF Los Angeles City Section (CIF-LA) is the governing body of high school athletics for public schools in the city of Los Angeles and some surrounding communities. All of these schools were once associated with the Los Angeles Unified Schoo ...

record, and at the time was the second fastest in CIF history, behind only Henry Thomas' 10.25 in 1985. That same year he repeated as the

200 meters The 200 metres, or 200-meter dash, is a sprint running event. On an outdoor 400 metre racetrack, the race begins on the curve and ends on the home straight, so a combination of techniques is needed to successfully run the race. A slightl ...

Champion at the CIF California State Championships in

Sacramento ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...

. Watts began as a short sprinter, specializing for

and

200 m The 200 metres, or 200-meter dash, is a sprint running event. On an outdoor 400 metre racetrack, the race begins on the curve and ends on the home straight, so a combination of techniques is needed to successfully run the race. A slightl ...

, but the USC coach

Jim Bush James Stanley Bush (September 15, 1926 – July 10, 2017) was a National Track and Field Hall of Fame track and field coach. He was known primarily for his coaching tenure at the University of California, Los Angeles from 1964 to 1984. Dur ...

, convinced him to run

400 m The 400 metres, or 400-meter dash, is a sprint event in track and field competitions. It has been featured in the athletics programme at the Summer Olympics since 1896 for men and since 1964 for women. On a standard outdoor running track, it is o ...

, where he found his success. In 1992, by far his most successful year, he won the

gold medal A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have bee ...

in the Olympic 400 m. He twice broke Lee Evans'

Olympic record Olympic records are the best performances in a specific event in that event's history in either the Summer Olympic Games or the Winter Olympic Games, including: * Archery (list) * Alpine skiing (records recognized only by FIS) * Athletics (list) ...

of 43.86, (set at altitude during the 1968 games in Mexico), clocking 43.71 in his semi-final, before going on to record 43.50 in the final. He was a member of the 4 × 400 m

relay A relay Electromechanical relay schematic showing a control coil, four pairs of normally open and one pair of normally closed contacts An automotive-style miniature relay with the dust cover taken off A relay is an electrically operated switch ...

team, running the second leg in 43.10, which smashed the then-

world record A world record is usually the best global and most important performance that is ever recorded and officially verified in a specific skill, sport, or other kind of activity. The book ''Guinness World Records'' and other world records organization ...

in a time of 2:55.74. At the

World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

in 1991, Watts won a silver medal in 4x400 relay, which he turned to gold in the following championships in 1993 running the second leg on the team that took almost a second and a half off the then-

World Record A world record is usually the best global and most important performance that is ever recorded and officially verified in a specific skill, sport, or other kind of activity. The book ''Guinness World Records'' and other world records organization ...

he had been a part of the year before. That race time still stands as the World Record. In the 1993 Individual 400m Final, where Watts was expecting to challenge the time of his relay teammates Michael Johnson and

Butch Reynolds Harry Lee Reynolds Jr. (born June 8, 1964), commonly known as Butch Reynolds, is an American former track and field athlete who competed in the 400 meter dash. He held the world record for the event for 11 years with his personal best time of 4 ...

, his custom built

Nike Nike often refers to: * Nike (mythology), a Greek goddess who personifies victory * Nike, Inc., a major American producer of athletic shoes, apparel, and sports equipment Nike may also refer to: People * Nike (name), a surname and feminine give ...

shoe disintegrated as he was coming off the final turn. Continuing to run, he still managed fourth place. Since this incident, poor Nike shoe quality has been referred to as "doing the Quincy Watts" in track circles. It has also affected Nike's concern for quality control. In 1994 and 1995, he failed to break 45

second The second (symbol: s) is the unit of time in the International System of Units (SI), historically defined as of a day – this factor derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes and finally to 60 seconds ...

s and in 1996 finished a disappointing seventh in the US Olympic trials in a time of 45.64. Overshadowed by Michael Johnson, he retired in 1997 and was hired as the head coach to Taft High School. After his tenure at Taft, he worked as an assistant track coach at

Harvard-Westlake School Harvard-Westlake School is an independent, co-educational university preparatory day school consisting of two campuses located in Los Angeles, California, with approximately 1,600 students enrolled in grades seven through twelve. Its two predec ...

. Watts is currently an assistant coach for both Men's and Women's sprints at the University of Southern California and trains a number of professional athletes such as

Willie McGinest William Lee McGinest Jr. (born December 11, 1971) is a former American football linebacker who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 15 seasons, primarily with the New England Patriots. He played college football at USC and was select ...

and

Curtis Conway Curtis Lamont Conway Sr (born January 13, 1971) is a former American football wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the Chicago Bears in the first round of the 1993 NFL Draft out of the University of Southern Ca ...

, who was a high school competitor of Watts. Watts currently holds the position of head coach at USC.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Watts, Quincy 1970 births Living people American male sprinters American football wide receivers USC Trojans football players Athletes (track and field) at the 1991 Pan American Games Athletes (track and field) at the 1992 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists for the United States in track and field University of Southern California alumni USC Trojans track and field coaches World Athletics Championships medalists Track and field athletes from California Track and field athletes from Detroit Medalists at the 1992 Summer Olympics Pan American Games medalists in athletics (track and field) Pan American Games silver medalists for the United States World Athletics record holders (relay) Goodwill Games medalists in athletics William Howard Taft Charter High School alumni World Athletics Championships winners Competitors at the 1994 Goodwill Games Medalists at the 1991 Pan American Games