Running faster in a headband - Michael Norman
Michael Norman was born on December 3, 1997, in San Diego, California, United States. He was the second son born to an American father and a Japanese mother. Michel Norman became the world junior champion in both the 200 meters and 100 meters in 2016 and held the world's best time in the indoor 400 meters relay at 44.52 seconds.
As a high school junior, Norman broke the NFHS record in the 400 meters with a time of 45.19 seconds at the 2015 CIF California State Meet held at Buchanan High School on June 6, 2015. Norman holds the fastest time for 400 meters by a U.S. high school athlete., along with Aldrich Bailey who also ran 45.19 seconds in Lubbock, Texas on April 28, 2012.
With time Norman had arguably become one of the best and most impressive high school athletes. He started his career at the 2015 CIF California State Meet participating in 4x100 metre relay, a performance that PrepCalTrack editor Rich Gonzales described as "jaw-droping". Later on, he participated in the 400 metres clocking 45.19 seconds, time that ranked #6 all-time for U.S. high school athletes and tied the NFHS record. Norman came back to win his second individual state title in the 200 meters with a time of 20.30 seconds, a time that also ranked #6 meters all-time for U.S. high school athletes. Just one hour later, Norman was back on track with his team for the 4x400 meter relay and produced yet another memorable performance by splitting roughly 44.9 seconds on the anchor leg to bring Vista Murrieta from 7th place to 3rd place in the event. With a total contribution of 21.5 points out of the 37 points scored, Norman led his school to its first-ever state title in any sport. Also worth noting is that, including the preliminary rounds from the previous day, Norman ran seven races within 28 hours at the CIF California State Meet and still produced some of the top marks in the history of high school athletics.
Norman then competed in the Adidas Dream 100 meters at the Adidas Grand Pix at Ichan Stadium on June 13, 2015. Later on, Norman breaks many records and created new ones. On June 30, 2015, Norman was named Gatorade Player of the Year for his achievements in track and filed. He is only the 28th non-senior to win the Gatorade Player of the Year award in the 30-year history of the program across all sports and the first male sprinter to win the honour as a non-senior.
Michael Norman completed his college education from the University of Southern California in May 2019. During his college time, he competed at the NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field Championship and ran an American and collegiate record in the 400 meters with a world best time of 44.52 seconds. He participated in many 4x400 in NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field Championship and broke the record.
Because of his top-notch performance in the college level, Norman was named winner of The Bowerman for the 2018 track and field season. He was the first USC Trojan to win the award.
Michael Norman made his pro debut on June 30, 2018, at the 2018 IAAF Diamond League in Paris winning the 200 meters in a personal best time of 19.84 s. Michael is one of the athletes who wear the headband. Moreover, Michael Norman is confident, hard-working and believes in himself.
