US mixed 4x400-meter relay team creates world record after easily winning heat at Paris Olympics

PARIS, FRANCE: A world record was broken on the opening day of the Olympic track and field competition in Paris. The mixed 4x400-meter relay team from the United States made history by easily winning their heat.

Vernon Norwood, Shamier Little, Bryce Deadmon, and Kaylyn Brown ran the race in 3:07.41, topping the previous record by 1.38 seconds, per Fox News.

Little and Brown handled the second and anchor legs, respectively, while the men, Norwood and Deadmon, ran the first and third. It took the second-place team almost three seconds to reach the finish line.

All four American athletes have ties to SEC universities

Justin Robinson, Rosey Effiong, Matthew Boling, and Alexis Holmes set the previous record at the world championships in Budapest last year.

All four of the runners have connections to SEC universities: the anchor, Brown, who is only 19 years old, attends Arkansas, while Little and Deadmon both attended Texas A&M. Norwood is an alumnus of Louisiana State University.

"I always knew we were going to run fast," said Little, the second-leg sprinter, according to ESPN. "And we talked about, it's gonna take a record to get a medal. But it took a record to win our prelim. So I was just excited."

Shamier Little snatched the lead and won the relay race

Shamier Little took the lead and pulled away from Vernon Norwood, who had started the relay by placing the team in third place. This created a lead that was so big that no other team could even begin to close it before the race was over. But Little nearly blew it when it came to securing the handoff from Norwood.

"I just thought I was locked in," Little said. "I had to realize I wasn't where I was supposed to be, re-locked in where I was supposed to be. I just know I took a little momentum into it so I can get it back, and that was kind of the push I needed."

When asked if she intended to accomplish all of that, Little responded cynically and laughed, saying, "Let's just say we did it like that."

Bryce Deadmon was a part of the gold medal-winning men's 4400-meter relay in Tokyo

Vernon Norwood participated in the Tokyo heats and won a gold medal with the complete seven-man squad.

Deadmon was a member of the men's 4400m relay team that won the gold medal in Tokyo, along with Michael Cherry, Michael Norman, and Rai Benjamin.

Little and Brown have made their Olympic debuts at the Paris 2024 Olympics.

The mixed team earned bronze in 2021, Norwood ran in that final, while Deadmon competed in the heats. There might be many more where it came from, as the new mark appeared in only the first heat of the competition.

The competition's finals are scheduled for Saturday afternoon, August 3. 

Internet elated after US mixed relay team creates history at Paris Olympics

Netizens heaped praise and congratulated the US mixed relay team athletes for winning gold and creating a new world record at the Paris Olympics.

One X user tweeted, "That was pretty impressive. Kudos to them." Another added, "Congratulations to the winners."

"Congratulations, hope you reach new heights!" wished one. One more person penned, "Congratulations what a feat."

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