UPDATED: Norwood edged out of Olympic 400 meters spot

Vernon Norwood’s hopes of competing in the 2024 Paris Olympics as an individual performer were ended Monday by 0.05 second.
But that doesn’t mean Paris isn’t in the Morgan City High grad’s future.
Norwood finished fourth in the men’s 400 meters final Monday at the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials in Eugene, Oregon, just out of the top three qualifying spots.
He’s a likely member of the relay pool, which for the 2020 Tokyo games consisted of seven quarter-milers. The qualification criteria for the pool haven’t been announced.
“Now I can do the mixed relay and the [4x400 meters relay] and have some fun with that,” Norwood told the letsrun.com website after Monday’s race.
Quincy Hall finished first in Monday’s final in 44.17 seconds, comfortably ahead of runner-up Michael Norman (44.41) and Chris Bailey (44.42). They won the top three spots and qualified for the open 400 meters.
Norwood was just behind Bailey at 44.47 seconds. He’d been back in the field most of the race and was in last place as the runner entered the final stretch.
“I was a little bit too reserved, trying to save for that last 50, 75 meters,” Norwood said.
Norwood won his preliminary heat Friday at Eugene without being pushed. He finished with a 45.50, a time bested by 15 other runners in the preliminaries.
In the semifinals, Norwood, 32, clocked a 44.50 to finish second behind Bryce Deadmon to earn a spot in the finals.
Paris would be a second chance for Norwood to bring home medals from an Olympics.
He was a member of the men’s 4x400 meters relay team that won the gold at Tokyo. He was also a member of the mixed 4x400 squad that won bronze.
The track at the Morgan City High stadium was named for Norwood after he brought home the medals.
He and his family moved to Morgan City after Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Encouraged at MCHS to run track, Norwood went on to LSU, where he won NCAA national championships in the indoor and outdoor 400 meters in 2015.Staff Report
Vernon Norwood’s hopes of competing in the 2024 Paris Olympics as an individual performer were ended Monday by 0.05 second.
But that doesn’t mean Paris isn’t in the Morgan City High grad’s future.
Norwood finished fourth in the men’s 400 meters final Monday at the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials in Eugene, Oregon, just out of the top three qualifying spots.
He’s a likely member of the relay pool, which for the 2020 Tokyo games consisted of seven quarter-milers. The qualification criteria for the pool haven’t been announced.
“Now I can do the mixed relay and the [4x400 meters relay] and have some fun with that,” Norwood told the letsrun.com website after Monday’s race.
Quincy Hall finished first in Monday’s final in 44.17 seconds, comfortably ahead of runner-up Michael Norman (44.41) and Chris Bailey (44.42). They won the top three spots and qualified for the open 400 meters.
Norwood was just behind Bailey at 44.47 seconds. He’d been back in the field most of the race and was in last place as the runner entered the final stretch.
“I was a little bit too reserved, trying to save for that last 50, 75 meters,” Norwood said.
Norwood won his preliminary heat Friday at Eugene without being pushed. He finished with a 45.50, a time bested by 15 other runners in the preliminaries.
In the semifinals, Norwood, 32, clocked a 44.50 to finish second behind Bryce Deadmon to earn a spot in the finals.
Paris would be a second chance for Norwood to bring home medals from an Olympics.
He was a member of the men’s 4x400 meters relay team that won the gold at Tokyo. He was also a member of the mixed 4x400 squad that won bronze.
The track at the Morgan City High stadium was named for Norwood after he brought home the medals.
He and his family moved to Morgan City after Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Encouraged at MCHS to run track, Norwood went on to LSU, where he won NCAA national championships in the indoor and outdoor 400 meters in 2015.