First-time Olympian and former Vista Murrieta standout, Michael Norman, a medal contender, is competing in the 400m track and field finals of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Summer Games. Valley News/File photo
MURRIETA (CNS) - Michael Norman, who was raised in Murrieta, won an Olympic gold medal today, running the second leg on the U.S. 4x400 men's relay team at Olympic Stadium in Tokyo.
The U.S. was in second, four-tenths of a second behind Botswana, after Michael Cherry ran the opening leg in 44.2 seconds. The U.S. moved into first, 0.38 of a second ahead of Botswana, after Norman ran his leg in 44.0.
On the third leg, Bryce Deadmon ran a 44.01 split for the U.S. to give it a lead of 0.76 of a second over the Netherlands, which passed Botswana to move into second. Rai Benjamin ran the final leg in 43.4 seconds to give the U.S. the victory in 2:55.70, the fourth-fastest time in history.
The Netherlands was second in 2:57.18, .09 ahead of third-place Botswana.
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