American track stars Michael Cherry and Michael Norman will be chasing medals in the men’s 400-meter final to be aired live Thursday in NBC’s primetime coverage.
Cherry is a two-time world championship medalist and Norman is among the top three in the world.
But the stacked field includes Steven Gardiner of the Bahamas, a country that has never won men’s gold in an individual Olympic track event. The reigning world champion is the favorite.
Although reigning Olympic champion Wayde van Niekerk is out, there’s another former winner in the field — Kirani James of Grenada, who won at the 2012 London Games.
The sleeper is Anthony Jose Zambrano, who could become the first Colombian man to win a track and field medal at the Olympics.
And, there’s a little history to consider: The Americans have never gone three straight Olympics without winning gold in the 400. Team USA failed to win in 2012 and ’16.
“I’m just waiting to have a breakthrough and hopefully that breakthrough is on Thursday,” Norman said.
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