Quincy Wilson became the youngest Olympian in U.S. history on Friday when the 16-year-old led off the men's 4x400 team at the Paris Olympics. 

But the Americans ultimately needed to overcome a shaky start, clawing back over the second leg behind the 32-year-old Vernon Norwood, who ran a 43.60 leg to enter the U.S. men back in the mix.

Bryce Deadmon, 27, and Chris Bailey, 24, finished things off, pushing the team into a qualifying position with a third-place finish and a time of 2:59.15.

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"Went with a great team," Wilson said afterward in the mixed zone, "had it on my side through the whole thing. You know, I wasn't 100-percent myself, but my team came out here and did it for me." 

Wilson split 47.30 over the first leg, while Norwood went 43.60, Deadmon ran 44.20 and Bailey closed off the Americans' run in 44.05. 

The Americans claimed the third-best time across the heats on Friday, trailing Botswana's 2:57.76 and Great Britain's 2:58.88. France, Nigeria and Belgium moved on from the second section. 

"I was like in the moment because I'm watching a 16-year-old running in the Olympics and making history," Norwood said. "So I was very proud of him. I'm just looking at him like, "Oh, snap back in it, let me get the stick and get it going,' I'm super proud of him to come out here and show his grit for us the United States.

"I told him before we went out there," Norwood added. "I said, 'Embrace it. You belong here. This is the privilege. Nobody in this world get this opportunity, so make the most of it.'" 

Botswana, meanwhile, threw a curveball when it lined up the recently-minted 200 meter Olympic champion Letsile Tebogo in the opening leg. 

But the move ended up being a bit of brilliant strategy, as the squad used Tebogo's 44.40 open to win the heat in 2:57.27. 

Japan and Zambia also qualified in the first heat. 

Trinidad and Tobago, meanwhile, also used a high schooler in its lineup. Jadan Marchan, a recent high school graduate from Leonia High School in New Jersey, ran a 45.63 split as the Caribbean country finished in 3:06.73.

Wilson had some perspective upon making his debut on Friday. 

"It's going to be motivation for me to come back and give my team a better chance of what they had today," he said. 

When Are The Paris 2024 Olympic Games?

The Olympics begin on July 26 and end on August 11. The track and field events began on Aug. 1. 

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