Norwood qualifies for world championships

Just two weeks after being crowned the NCAA’s 400-meter champion to cap his collegiate career, LSU alum Vernon Norwood returned to the same Hayward Field track and punched his ticket to Beijing with Team USA with a bronze-medal-winning performance in the event Saturday at the USA Outdoor Track & Field Championships.
One of his country’s rising stars in the men’s 400 meters, Norwood made sure his 2015 season would extend well into the summer as he will compete on the international stage for a second time.
Last summer, Norwood represented the United States at the North American, Central American & Caribbean Under-23 Championships in Kamploos, British Columbia, Canada, where he scored the bronze medal in the 400-meter dash along with a gold medal in the 4x400-meter relay.
He will soon return to the international stage with his debut at the IAAF World Championships in Athletics that will be held later this summer from Aug. 22-30 at “The Bird’s Nest” National Stadium in Beijing, China, the site of the 2008 Olympic Games.
After matching his NCAA-title-winning time of 45.10 for second place in his semifinal heat Friday afternoon, Norwood put together his third-fastest race of the season in the final as he crossed the finish line in 44.80, trailing only U.S. Champion David Verburg’s winning 44.63 and reigning World Champion LaShawn Merritt’s silver-medal-winning run of 44.66.
It quickly turned into a three-man race to the finish line on the backstretch as Norwood joined Verburg and Merritt in separating from the field at the 200-meter mark and racing around the final curve.
Since Merritt already had secured a bye into the World Championships as the defending 400-meter champion, Bryshon Nellum also earned a spot on Team USA as the fourth-place finisher with his run of 45.18.
Norwood will step onto the plane for Beijing as a medal contender in his World Championships debut as he will not only line up in the 400-meter dash but also join Merritt, Verburg and Nellum as part of his country’s 4x400-meter relay team that is sure to line up as a gold-medal favorite. The United States is the reigning World Champion in the men’s 4x400-meter relay.
LSU’s sprint star is the sixth-fastest 400-meter sprinter worldwide for the 2015 outdoor season as his seasonal-best and personal-best time of 44.44 certainly will position him for a spot in the final in Beijing.
Saturday’s performance continues a historic season for the Bowerman Award semifinalist after Norwood became the 14th sprinter in collegiate history to sweep NCAA Indoor and NCAA Outdoor titles in the 400 meters while also anchoring the Tigers to their fourth national championship in the 4x400-meter relay in school history.
Norwood’s senior season also has been highlighted by four All-SEC honors as the SEC Indoor Bronze Medalist and SEC Outdoor Silver Medalist in both the 400 meters and 4x400-meter relay. He ended his career as one of the Tigers’ most decorated sprinters as a four-time NCAA Champion, eight-time All-American and eight-time All-SEC performer in two seasons at LSU.