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<p>Junior Tony McQuay runs in the 400m at the SEC Outdoor Championships on May 13. He won with a time of 45.48.</p>

Junior Tony McQuay runs in the 400m at the SEC Outdoor Championships on May 13. He won with a time of 45.48.

By now, Tony McQuay has told the story many times.

In June 2011, McQuay competed in the U.S.A. Championships where in the preliminary round for the 400m, he finished with a time of 45.25.

He won that round to advance to semifinals. There he had to race against Jeremy Wariner, who won the gold medal in the 2004 Olympics and the silver medal in the 2008 Olympics.

“I had to sleep with that all night,” McQuay said. “I was like, ‘Man I have to race the second fastest man ever to run the 400.’ And I thought, ‘Man he won the Olympics, so he’s probably going to blow me out of the water, and I’m going to embarrass myself.’”

But he didn’t embarrass himself.

“We raced, and I beat him. I ran [44.68], which was my [personal record] at that time, and I was excited about it,” McQuay said. “But I could see he was kind of upset. So then I had something else to worry about because I’m thinking, ‘Well, he isn’t going to let me beat him in front of all these people the next day when it comes to the finals.’”

Although he was only one race away from becoming the U.S. Champion in the 400m, McQuay didn’t always have the love he does now for track.

***

Speed was not something McQuay struggled with.

“Ever since I was growing up with my friends, I’ve always been the fastest kid on the block. It was a gift,” McQuay said.

In the sixth grade, McQuay was juggling football, band and track. Because of his involvement in so many activities, his grades began to slip and he had to give up one.

“My dad didn’t want me to quit the band because my band director was in band with him,” McQuay said. “So I quit football and stuck with band and track.”

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Although he gave up football in middle school, McQuay started playing again in high school, and this time, he wanted to get away from track. However, when football season ended, his coach encouraged him to do track.

McQuay did, but not without a fight.

“I was hard-headed at one point,” McQuay said. “I would just say, ‘Coach, I don’t need to go to track practice all the time; I’m with the football team.”

His love for football may have been greater, but McQuay knew he’d have problems playing the sport past high school.

Despite the initial resistance, McQuay credits the support from those close to him, especially his mom ,who was a former track coach, for sticking with track.

And his mom, Lynda McQuay, couldn’t have been happier about his choice.

“I was extremely, extremely happy,” she said. “Football was Tony’s heart. I just supported him in whatever he chose, but I was glad he chose track at a collegiate level over football.”

***

McQuay had another problem with track — injuries.

His freshman year of high school was derailed due to a tailbone injury he suffered during football practice. His sophomore year was also cut short.

McQuay was stretching when a teammate stepped on his calf and slashed it open with his spikes.

During his junior year in high school, McQuay was healthy up until regionals, where a bad start hurt his hamstrings.

McQuay finally enjoyed a healthy season as a senior.

“He ran very well at the state meet his senior year, and we noticed him then,” coach Mike Holloway said.

In college, his hamstrings caused more problems. The worst instance came during the 2011 NCAA Indoor Championships.

“I heard a coach from Texas A&M yelling at his athlete, ‘Go now, you need to beat him to straight,’” McQuay said. “I saw him come up on my inside, and he tried to go around me. I guess I reacted to it too suddenly, and I felt it grab on me. I didn’t back off of it, I just ran through it.”

McQuay won that race to advance to the 400m finals. Despite the pain, he competed the next day and placed seventh, which earned UF two team points. McQuay spent a majority of the following outdoor season rehabbing from his injury.

“I actually had to train harder because that injury set me back from where I needed to be,” McQuay said. “Being in so much pain, it was difficult for me to come out here every day.”

***

As the Gators start competition in the NCAA Outdoor Championships, a healthy McQuay will be looking for his first NCAA 400m title in the outdoor season to go along with his indoor 400m title that he won earlier this year.

“He’s a fierce competitor,” Holloway said. “He’s a team leader, but in a quiet way. He’s had a phenomenal career.”

The junior sprinter will then go on to compete in the Olympic trials at the end of the month in hopes of competing once again for the U.S. For McQuay, competing against the world’s best in London this summer is a shared dream.

“My mom always talks about the Olympics,” McQuay said. “Ever since I got to college, I kind of backed away from my love of football and started thinking more about the Olympics.

“So, at this point, it would be a dream come true to actually go to the Olympics and win.”

But no matter what happens at the Olympic trials, his mom will still be thrilled with his performance.

“I don’t have any words to express how proud I am of Tony,” Lynda McQuay said. “Tony just gives so much of himself, and he inspires a lot of his teammates.”

***

When it came time to run in the 400m finals at the 2011 U.S.A. Championships, McQuay had the same nervous feeling that he felt before the semifinals.

“I had so much pressure on me because I knew Jeremy (Wariner) was coming back and wanting to beat me,” he said.

McQuay recalls guys like Calvin Smith getting out to a good lead, and the other runners passing him on the second curve. But McQuay trusted his coaching.

“I remember my coach told me, ‘If anybody tries to come up on your inside (on the curve), don’t tighten up, just relax they’ll come back to you,’” McQuay said.

Once he got around the curve and hit the 80-meter mark, McQuay took off down the homestretch and passed Wariner.

“The crowd was going crazy, and I was like, ‘Oh, my God, I’m winning. I’m winning, I’m winning, I’m winning, I’m winning, I’m winning,” McQuay said. “At that point, I just wanted to hurry up and get to the finish line. It was just so exciting.”

If I could relive that moment, I would relive it every day. It was the best feeling ever.”

Contact Katie Agostin at kagostin@alligator.org.

Junior Tony McQuay runs in the 400m at the SEC Outdoor Championships on May 13. He won with a time of 45.48.

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