Norman first gained international attention as a high school senior after he defeated reigning USA championJustin Gatlin in a semi-final heat of the 200 meters at the2016 Olympic Trials.[12] He eventually placed fifth in the final and did not qualify for the Olympic team. However, he secured two gold medals at theWorld Junior Championships later that summer, highlighted by a championship record of 20.17 in the 200 meters.[11]
A four-timeNCAA champion, Norman set or helped setcollegiate records in every NCAA final he ran in 2018. This includes his world best time in the indoor 400 meters and an unofficial world record in the indoor4 × 400 meter relay when he anchored theUSC Trojans to a winning time of 3:00.77.[13]
On June 6, 2015, Norman had arguably one of the most impressive one-day performances by a high school athlete. TheVista Murrieta High School junior started his day at the 2015CIF California State Meet by completely separating from the field on the first leg of the4 × 100 meter relay, a performance that PrepCalTrack editor Rich Gonzalez described as "jaw-dropping."[20] In his second event of the day, Norman ran 45.19 seconds in the400 meters, a time that ranked #6 all-time for U.S. high school athletes and tied theNFHS record.[22] Norman came back to win his second individual state title in the200 meters with a time of 20.30 seconds, a time that also ranked #6 all-time for U.S. high school athletes.[23] Just one hour later, Norman was back on the track with his team for the4 × 400 meter relay and produced yet another memorable performance by splitting roughly 44.9 seconds on the anchor leg to bringVista Murrieta from 7th place to 3rd place in the event.[24] 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.[25] Also worth noting is that, including the preliminary rounds from the previous day, Norman ran 7 races within 28 hours at theCIF California State Meet and still produced some of the top marks in the history of high school athletics.
On June 13, 2015, Norman competed in theAdidas Dream 100 meters at theAdidas Grand Prix atIcahn Stadium. With this being his first competitive race in the100 meters, Norman shocked some of the most talented U.S. high school 100 meter runners by winning the race in 10.36 seconds (-0.5 m/s).[26] On June 27, 2015, Norman set a California state record in the200 meters at the2015 USA Junior Outdoor Track and Field Championships atHayward Field by running 20.24 seconds, and in doing so equaled the #5 all-time mark for U.S. high school athletes in the event.[27] This race also ranked Norman #8 all-time on the U.S.junior (under-20) list and #10 all-time on the world junior list. Norman's placement in this race qualified him to compete at the 2015Pan American Junior Athletics Championships, but he decided to forgo his spot on the United States team to avoid extending his competitive season by another month. Norman's times from the 2015 season in both the 200 meters and400 meters made him eligible to compete at the2016 United States Olympic Trials.[28]
On June 30, 2015, Norman was named theGatorade Player of the Year for his achievements in track and field. He is only the 28th non-senior to win theGatorade Player of the Year award in the 30-year history of the program across all sports and the first male sprinter to win the honor as a non-senior.[29]
On March 10, 2018, Norman competed at theNCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships and ran an American and collegiate record in the400 meters with a world best time of 44.52 seconds.[30] Later that day he, along with the rest of theUSC Trojans4 × 400 meter relay team, broke the American and collegiate record in a world best time of 3:00.77.[31] Both of the 400 meters and 4 × 400 meter relay performances were faster than the official world records, but they were not ratified due to various technical reasons, including teammateRai Benjamin having not been cleared by theIAAF to represent the United States yet.[32][33] On June 8, 2018, Norman ran a2018 world leading time in the 400 meters with a time of 43.61 seconds at theNCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships. This time ranked him as the sixth fastest 400 meter runner in history.
To cap off his collegiate career, Norman was named winner ofThe Bowerman for the 2018 track and field season.[34] He was the firstUSC Trojan to win the award. His teammate and best friend,Rai Benjamin was also one of the three finalists.
Michael Norman made his pro debut on June 30, 2018 at the2018 IAAF Diamond League in Paris, winning the (non-scoring) 200 m in a personal best time of 19.84 s, ahead of his USC teammateRai Benjamin who finished second in 19.99 s.[35][36]
On July 20, 2020 while competing in the 100 m sprint at the AP Ranch High Performance Invite #2 Track Meet he ran a 9.86s his firstsub-10 100 m sprint. With this performance, Michael Norman became the second athlete, after400 mWorld Record holderWayde van Niekerk, to join the "Sub 10s, 20s, 44s club for the 100 m, 200 m & 400 m sprints".[37]Fred Kerley joined the club in 2021.
Norman's 2022 outdoor season was undoubtedly his best to date. In addition to winning his second U.S. Track and Field Championship 400 m title, he won theKamila Skolimowska Memorial andPrefontaine Classic at 400m - his seventh and eighth Diamond League wins. At the2022 World Athletics Championships, he won gold in the 400 m in a time of 44.29 and followed up his victory with a relay medal in 4 × 400 m relay.[38]
In 2023, Norman left his longtime coach Quincy Watts and undertook an unsuccessful pivot to the 100 m under coach John Smith. He was eliminated in the first round of theUSA Outdoor Track and Field Championships in the event and ended his season shortly after.[39] Norman returned to Watts and the 400 m in November 2023 in anticipation of the 2024 Olympic Games.
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