Norwood is in Beijing, ready to compete in world track championships

Ex-LSU track and field standout Vernon Norwood of Morgan City is looking for success now and momentum for 2016 when he begins competition in the IAAF World Championships Saturday night.
Norwood said he hopes to advance to the finals of the 400-meter run, secure a gold medal as a member of Team USA’s 4x400-meter relay and ride the wave of success into the 2016 season where he will be confident and motivated enough to be a member of Team USA in the 2016 Olympics in Rio De Janeiro.
In the 400-meter dash, Norwood will face a field that, just among the top time and the No. 17 seeded time, is separated by a mere second.
Isaac Makwala of Botswana has the top time at 43.72, while Kirani James has the top American time at 43.95.
Norwood is ranked No. 10 at 44.41, a time he ran this spring during his senior season at LSU.
“It’s just tough as anyone would put it,” Norwood said of the 400-meter field. “They got a lot of great guys that’s running … sub-45 seconds. Same as 4x4, it’s going to be tough.”
The United States has the top time at 2:58.43 in the 4x400-meter relay, but the Bahamas is right behind at 2:58.91.
Norwood said the winners in the events would be decided by who carries out the best race plan, who wants to win it the most and who is feeling the best.
The 400-meter field features 50 competitors from 30 countries.
The 4x400-meter-relay features teams from 16 countries.
Both the 400-meter run and the 4x400-meter relay will be run at the site of the 2008 Olympics in Beijing.
Norwood left the United States for training camp in Tokyo, Japan, Aug. 12, where he spent a week before arriving in Beijing a few days ago.
“Training’s been really intense,” Norwood said. “I’ve been doing a lot of high quality stuff. There’s not much I can do at this point of my season (as) far as base training, so I’ve just been doing high quality stuff to keep my body more fresh and more fit for the round.”
However, Norwood said training has been good, and he feels good.
“I’ll see how much … in shape I am when I go into the first round,” he said.
Norwood is in a time zone 13 hours ahead of Baton Rouge. While he will begin competition Sunday morning in the 400-meter run, back home that will be 10:10 p.m. Saturday.
The semifinals of the men’s 400-meter run will be held at 7:05 a.m. CST Monday, while the finals are set for 8:25 a.m. Wednesday.
Norwood is in a field of six competitors eligible to participate in the men’s 4x400-meter relay for Team USA. Norwood said the quartet that will run has not been announced.
Heats in the event will be held Aug. 28 at 10:20 p.m., CST, while the 4x400-meter-relay finals will commence at 7:25 a.m., CST, Aug. 30.
Norwood advanced to the world championships after placing third in the 400-meter run at the USA Outdoor Track & Field Championships in Eugene, Oregon, in late June.
Norwood, the 2015 NCAA Indoor and Outdoor champion in the event, clocked in at 44.8 in the U.S. championships.

This story was written by Geoff Stoute of The Daily Review staff. Reach him at gstoute@daily-review.com