Norwood to begin competition at U.S. Olympic Trials tonight

Morgan City High alum and former LSU track standout Vernon Norwood will take the next step in his track and field career as he begins action in the U.S. Olympic trials in the 400-meter run today at the University of Oregon’s Hayward Field.
Norwood, who runs professionally for New Balance, is one of 29 competitors that will be competing in the 400-meter dash.
Norwood will run in the first of five heats today, beginning at 7:15 p.m. (CDT). The top 16 runners — the top two in each heat and the next six fastest — will advance to two semifinal heats.
Semifinal heats will be run Saturday, beginning at 3:46 p.m., while the finals will be held Sunday at 6:48 p.m. (CDT)
The finals will be broadcast on NBCSN and streamed at http://stream.nbcolympics.com/track-and-field-trials-day-3-finals.
Norwood comes into the trials with the seventh-best mark, having run a 45 flat. LaShawn Merritt has the top mark at 43.65.
The top three runners in the 400-meter dash who have achieved an Olympic-qualifying time will advance to the Olympics.
While Norwood was disqualified for a lane violation during the preliminary rounds of the 400-meter run at IAAF Indoor World Championships, he anchored Team USA’s 4x400-meter relay to a gold medal. The quartet’s time of 3:02.45 was the third-fastest in history.
Additional reporting by www.runnersworld.com.