Vernon Norwood joins the show fresh off a successful trip to the Paris Olympics, where he played a pivotal role in Team USA’s triumphs as one of the veterans and hypemen of the squad. Vernon was the second leg of the American men’s 4×400-meter relay team to their third consecutive Olympic gold, clocking an astonishing split of 43.30 seconds on his leg.

This was just one day after he blazed through the heats with a 43.54 split, showcasing his consistency and brilliance under pressure.

Vernon’s efforts didn’t just earn Team USA the gold—they also set an Olympic record with a time of 2:54.43.

And let’s not forget, earlier in the meet, Vernon was part of the mixed 4×400 relay team that shattered both the World and Olympic records with a time of 3:07.41 in the heats. They went on to take silver in the final behind The Netherlands.

Vernon is a legend for these Games not just for his speed and demeanor on the track but his ability to deliver when it matters most.

The following excerpt has been edited lightly for clarity. You can listen to the full interview with Vernon Norwood on the CITIUS MAG Podcast – available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your shows.

CITIUS MAG: The behind-the-scenes at the U.S. training center looked unreal each night. What felt different? From social media, it looked like this team was so united. What felt different about this year’s team?

Vernon Norwood: Throughout the entire Olympics, we were just getting everybody together, watching and supporting each other. I think it carried on a long way where everybody was just feeding off each other. We started out with the mixed (4x400m relay) and got the world record on the first day. I think that kind of set the tone from the get-go. Rai (Benjamin) was my roommate, so it was me, Rai, Bryce Deadmon, Shelby (McEwen), Donald (Scott) and Michael Norman. We had a good apartment where it's like we guys are bringing some medals… Everybody was in there supporting everyone – even in other sports. We were watching volleyball, watching basketball, watching water polo, watching artistic swimming. We were watching sports that we had never even thought of…

It was dope to have that energy because it was very contagious. From Rai winning, Shelby getting silver, and Bryce where we were on the relays together. Everybody on the whole team was just really rooting for each other and wanted to do well.

CITIUS MAG: Was there someone who you became friends with that you didn't expect or that came as a surprise to you?

Vernon Norwood: Little Quincy (Wilson). We definitely developed more of a relationship, like big brother, little brother type of thing because he was there. We hung out a couple of times in the first couple of days. Seeing him around was kind of cool, like, ‘Damn, look at this little kid out here in the village, he doesn’t know what’s going on but he’s enjoying his time.’ We still talk to this day… He’s one person that I got closer with. Just having him around, it was very fun to see.

CITIUS MAG: The first round of the men’s 4x400m had everyone’s heart rate going. There was a lot of excitement coming into this race because people saw that Quincy Wilson was the lead-off leg. Going into the race, was there any level of concern with where Quincy was at?

Vernon Norwood: I had zero concern. I was 110% confident that he was going to be able to go out there and compete, which he did. I think first leg was probably the best leg in that scenario for him because it could have been won either way. Either he ball out or fall out. There was a lot of stuff that went down that people don't know that happened. So I told him I’d go second to back him up a little bit, be a big brother and show him that he didn't have too much of a responsibility…

Like I said, he earned his spot to run out here. He ran phenomenal all year. It was just all about how can he hold up with all that he was going through at the time. I told him after the race, ‘You did your job. It doesn't matter about times here. It’s about place. This is a relay, there is no sole individual that has to do one job. We all have to do a job. You did your job, I did mine, Bryce did his, and Chris (Bailey) did his. We all did our job to qualify for the next round.’

I told him, ‘Don’t worry about this. I'm going to get you a gold medal. I promise you.’ I kept telling him, 'Don't worry about this, you're good.’ I think he was just a little bit disappointed in how he performed, but I'm like, ‘Don't even worry about that stuff. You're about to walk away with an Olympic gold medal at 16-years-old. There are people who would love to be in your position who are just not. Remember this, feed off this, and understand that this is only going to make you better because now you see how an international competition is.’

CITIUS MAG: You tweeted at Tebogo saying that you wanted him to give us one more 400m. What do you think he's capable of?

Vernon Norwood: Honestly, he's definitely capable of sub-44. I don't even want to limit his greatness. But he definitely could go sub-44. He has the tangibles to do it. He has the speed, he has the strength. He already ran 44.2 earlier this year. Me, just as a fan and as a competitor as well, I like to embrace people’s competitiveness and just embrace competition as well. So even though he’s coming for us in my event, I want to see it. I want (him) to either do it against me or other competitors in my event, I want to embrace that, whether it’s win, lose, or draw. I want to be able to see great performances and I know fans want to see that as well. So I tweeted at him and he liked it. But if I see him, I'm going to keep nagging him like, 'Come on man, hop in the 400m just to see what you can do again.’

CITIUS MAG: Noah made a lot of headlines with his appearance on Nightcap. One of the topics was about the 400m. He said that if he committed himself to training for it, he believes that he could break the world record, even if it takes a couple of years.

Vernon Norwood: At the end of the day, you're not training to be mediocre. You're training to be great. So him saying that, I don't expect anything less. That’s what we're all training to do. Break the world record, be great, win, and then dominate… At the end of the day, he’s just speaking greatness into himself. That’s like him saying, ‘I’m just training to run 10.0 or 10.1.’ No, you’re training to be great because you know you have to be great. So him saying that, I don't expect anything less.

Time Stamps:

• 5:09 - Reflecting on his experience at the Paris Olympics.
• 6:57 - What felt different about this year’s Team USA.
• 12:40 - His relationship with Quincy Wilson
• 14:19 - His goals heading into the Olympics.
• 17:17 - Addressing criticism on the mixed 4x400m relay.
• 20:19 - Thoughts on Quincy Wilson’s Olympic performance.
• 24:54 - What his ideal 4x400m relay team would have been.
• 27:44 - Thoughts on Letsile Tebogo and Team Botswana.
• 36:59 - Team USA’s 4x400m relay order + race strategy..
• 41:28 - Thoughts on Noah Lyles
• 46:58 - Plans for the remainder of the season.
• 48:50 - Rapid fire questions + answers.

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