UPDATED: Norwood, USA men's 4x400 win gold, set record
Team USA has won the Olympic gold medal in the men's 4x400 relay.
The Americans, including Morgan City High grad Vermon Norwood, won with an Olympic record time of 2:54.43.
The silver medal goes to Botswana, whch finished in 2:54.53. Great Britain finished in 2:55.83 to take the bronze.
Saturday's victory marked the fourth Olympic medal for Norwood. He was a member of the USA 4x400 mixed relay team that won the silver medal last week. He was on the Tokyo games 4x400 men's team that won gold and the 4x400 mixed relay team that won bronze, both in 2021.
The favored USA team finished third in its qualifying heat Friday, when 16-year-old phenom Quincy Wilson ran a subpar 47-second split in the opening leg. Norwood ran a 43.54 split for the second leg to keep the Americans in contention.
For Saturday's final, Rai Benjamin replaced Wilson and ran the anchor leg following Christopher Bailey, Norwood and Bryce Deadmon.
FRIDAY QUALIFYING
Morgan City's Vernon Norwood and his men's 4x400 meter relay teammates finished third in Friday's preliminary heat and qualified for Saturday's Olympic final in Paris..
The USA team of Norwood, Quincy Wilson, Bryce Deadmon and Christopher Bailey finished in 2:59.15.
The team from Botswana was first in 2:57.56. Great Britain was second with a 2:58.88.
The finals will be at 2 p.m. Saturday. Team USA is the defending Olympic 4x400 champion.
Norwood was a member of the USA 4x400 team that won the gold medal in Tokyo in 2021. He was also a member of the mixed 4x400 relay team that won a silver medal last week.
In Friday's men's 4x400, Wilson, the 16-year-old from Maryland who became the youngest-ever male US Olympian, had a rough first leg, posting a 47.27 split.
Norwood, 32, got the team back on track in the second leg with a split of 43.54..
MIXED 4x400 RELAY
A blazing final 10 meters by Femke Bol lifted the Netherlands to the gold medal over Team USA in Saturday's 4x400 meters mixed relay at the Paris Olympics.
The USA Team, including Morgan City High grad Vernon Norwood, won the silver medal after setting a world record in Friday's first round.
Bol entered the anchor leg of Saturday's race in fourth place but caught USA anchor Kaylyn Brown just before the tape.
The Netherlands team finished with a time of 3:07.43.
Norwood and teammates Shamier Little, Bryce Deadmon and Brown finished with a 3:07.74.
Norwood was a member of the 4x400 mixed relay team that won the bronze medal at the Tokyo games in 2021.
FRDAY STORY
Morgan City High grad Vernon Norwood was part of the U.S. 4x400 mixed relay team that set a world record Friday in a preliminary heat at the Olympic Games in Parish.
The team broke its own world record, set last year in Budapest, with a Friday first-place time of 3:07.41.
Norwood ran the opening leg, followed by Shamier Little, Bryce Deadmon and Kaylyn Brown.