Tony McQuay (born April 16, 1990) is an American

track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping events ...

athlete who specializes in the

400 meters 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 on ...

. He is a member of the 2012 and 2016 United States Olympic teams, winning a silver medal in the relay in 2012 and a gold in the same event in 2016. He is also a two time World Champion in this event.

Early years

McQuay was born in

West Palm Beach, Florida West Palm Beach is a city in and the county seat of Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. It is located immediately to the west of the adjacent Palm Beach, which is situated on a barrier island across the Lake Worth Lagoon. The populati ...

. He graduated from

Suncoast Community High School Suncoast Community High School (abbreviated SHS) is a public magnet high school (grades 9–12) in Riviera Beach, Florida. The school's campus was built in 1955 as Riviera Beach High School. It was desegregated in the 1960s and renamed in 1970. I ...

Riviera Beach, Florida Riviera Beach is a city in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States, which was incorporated September 29, 1922. Due to the location of its eastern boundary, it is also the easternmost municipality in the Miami metropolitan area, which was home to ...

, where he ran the

100 meters The 100 metres, or 100-meter dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, the dash is one of the most popular and prestigious events in the sport of athletics. It has been contest ...

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 ...

and

for the Suncoast Chargers track and field team. He won the FHSAA state championship in the 400 meters as a senior.GatorZone.com, Men's Track & Field, 2012 Roster
Tony McQuay
Retrieved June 25, 2012. He also played for the Suncoast Chargers

high school football High school football (french: football au lycée) is gridiron football played by high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both countries, but its popularity is declining, part ...

team, and was recognized as the team's most outstanding wide receiver, most improved defensive back, and best all-around player.

College career

McQuay attended the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida, traces its origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its ...

in Gainesville, Florida, and was a member of coach

Mike Holloway Michael Dwayne Holloway (born c. 1959) is an American college track and field coach. Holloway is the current head coach of the Florida Gators track and field and Gators cross country programs of the University of Florida. He is best known for ...

's Florida Gators track and field team in

National Collegiate Athletic Association The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

(NCAA) competition. In the 400 meters, McQuay was the 2011 NCAA indoor champion, 2012 NCAA indoor champion, the 2012 outdoor champion, and a two-time

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is an American college athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central and Southeastern United States. Its fourteen members include the flagship public universities of ...

(SEC) outdoor champion. He won the senior open 400 meters event at the

2011 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships The 2011 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships were held at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon. Organised by USA Track and Field, the four-day competition took place from June 23–26 and served as the national championships in track and field for ...

with a time of 44.68 seconds, edging Olympic gold medalist

Jeremy Wariner Jeremy Matthew Wariner (born January 31, 1984) is a retired American track athlete specializing in the 400 meters. He has won four Olympic medals (three gold, one silver) and six World Championships medals. He is the fourth fastest competitor in ...

and world champion

Greg Nixon Greg Nixon (born September 12, 1981) is an American sprinter who specialises in the 400 meters. His success has come mostly in the 400m and 4×400-meter relay, he is a 3x World Champion and a 2x USA Champion. His first major medal cam ...

2012 Olympics

McQuay finished second in the 400 meters at the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials in the 400 meters on June 24, 2012, qualifying him to run in the 400 meters and 4x400 relay at the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

London, England London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a major s ...

. He finished second in his heat at the London Olympics with a time of 45.48, qualifying him into the semi-finals where he was eliminated after placing fourth. In the 4 × 400 m, he ran the third leg of the race to help his team win silver behind the Bahamians.

2013 World Championships

Tony McQuay finished second in the 400 meters at the 2013

IAAF World Championships in Athletics The World Athletics Championships (until 2019 known as the World Championships in Athletics) are a biennial athletics competition organized by World Athletics (formerly IAAF, International Association of Athletics Federations). Alongside the Ol ...

Moscow, Russia Moscow ( , American English, US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia. The city stands on t ...

with a personal best time of 44.40 seconds. He was also part of the US 4 x 400 metres team that won gold there.

2015 World Championships

McQuay was part of the US team that won the gold medal at the 2015 World Championships in Beijing.

2016 Olympics

McQuay was a member of the U.S.

4 × 400 metres relay The 4 × 400 metres relay or long relay is an athletics track event in which teams consist of four runners who each complete 400 metres or one lap. It is traditionally the final event of a track meet. At top class events, th ...

team that qualified for the finals with the second fastest time (2:58,38), coming behind

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

. In the final, the United States became Olympic champions in a time of 2:57,30, with Jamaica second and Bahamas third. McQuay earned his second Olympic medal. McQuay's 400m race split was 43.5 as reported by announcer Ato Bolden.

2017 World Championships

The United States team including McQuay, finished in second at the 2017 World Championships.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McQuay, Tony 1990 births Living people African-American male track and field athletes American male sprinters Athletes (track and field) at the 2012 Summer Olympics Florida Gators men's track and field athletes People from Riviera Beach, Florida Olympic silver medalists for the United States in track and field Medalists at the 2012 Summer Olympics World Athletics Championships athletes for the United States World Athletics Championships medalists Sportspeople from the Miami metropolitan area Olympic gold medalists for the United States in track and field Athletes (track and field) at the 2016 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2016 Summer Olympics Track and field athletes from Florida USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships winners World Athletics Championships winners 21st-century African-American sportspeople