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

track and field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes Competition#Sports, athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a ru ...

athlete who specializes in the 400 meters. 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, Florida, Palm Beach, which is situated on a barrier island across the Lake Worth Lag ...

. He graduated from Suncoast Community High School in

Riviera Beach, Florida Riviera Beach is a city in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States, which was incorporated on September 29, 1922. Due to the location of its eastern boundary, it is also the easternmost municipality in the Miami metropolitan area. In the 2020 ...

, where he ran the 100 meters, 200 meters and 400 meters 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, also known as prep football, is gridiron football played by High school (North America), high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular high school sports, interscholastic sports in both c ...

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 university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preem ...

in Gainesville, Florida, and was a member of coach Mike Holloway's Florida Gators track and field team in

National Collegiate Athletic Association The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

(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 a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central United States, South Central and Southeastern United States. Its 16 members in ...

(SEC) outdoor champion. He won the senior open 400 meters event at the 2011 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships 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 joint sixth fastest comp ...

and world champion Greg Nixon.

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 4 × 400 relay at the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012, were 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 city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. 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 Bahamians are people originating or having roots from The Commonwealth of The Bahamas. One can also become a Bahamian by acquiring citizenship. History Culture Olympic Games World Championships in Athletics List * Sidney Poitier, fi ...

2013 World Championships

Tony McQuay finished second in the 400 meters at the 2013

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

Moscow, Russia Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

with a personal best time of 44.40 seconds. He was also part of the US 4 × 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 and field, track event in which teams consist of four runners who each complete 400 metres or one lap, totaling 1600 meters. It is traditionally the final event of ...

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

Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...

. 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 400 m 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 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 Sportspeople from Palm Beach County, 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 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 sportsmen NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships winners NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships winners 21st-century American sportsmen