Quincy Hall is a legitimate gold medal contender for the United States in the 400-meter track event at the Olympics. The 26-year-old American sprinter advanced to the semifinals with ease on Sunday.
However, his choice of undergarment is downright diabolical.
Hall, the current world leader in the 400M, wears loose boxer shorts under his track suit. Think about that for a second.
Team USA, through Nike, received some backlash over its track and field outfits on the women’s side. They’re rather skimpy, but that is intentional to maximize performance. The men’s suits are far less revealing but equally as tight. Again, that’s on purpose.
Most of the competitors, on both sides, would choose to wear a pair of compression shorts or skin-tight undergarment like briefs under their suit. It is more comfortable that way, objectively speaking.
Hall is not “most of the competitors.”
The 6-foot-2 400M specialist wears normal boxer shorts. They bunch up under the (mostly) skin-tight suit and bulge out instead of sticking to his body. Anyone who has ever worn loose shorts under a pair of figure-hugging clothing knows just how uncomfortable that can be!
Just not for Quincy Hall. He rocks his “country boy big draws” with pride.
And clearly it isn’t causing any issues. Hall won his first race in Paris with ease while out for a casual jog.
This is one of those things that— if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Hall has been running with loose boxer shorts for years and it got him to the Olympics. Though one would have to wonder how much better he would feel if he switched out his undergarment in favor of compression shorts.
Having loose cotton shorts pulling every which way under the track suit simply cannot be more comfortable than something that would hold everything together in one place….