RUNNING ALWAYS CAME NATURALLY FOR VERNON NORWOOD, BUT HE NEVER THOUGHT IT WOULD CATAPULT HIM TO THE NATIONAL STAGE. WITH OLYMPIC GOLD AND BRONZE MEDALS AROUND HIS NECK, THE GUY HAD A BIGGER PLAN FOR ME THAT I DIDN’T EVEN KNOW MYSELF. BUT I’M I’M EXTREMELY GRATEFUL. I AM EXTREMELY HUMBLED FOR IT. NORWOOD WAS BORN AND RAISED IN NEW ORLEANS. HIS FAMILY MOVED TO MORGAN CITY AFTER HURRICANE KATRINA, AND HE RECALLS A ROUGH CHILD HOOD. SINGLE MOM, THREE OTHER BROTHERS. SO THERE WASN’T REALLY MUCH AROUND. HE SAYS THE ONLY FINISH LINE HE WAS CROSSING WAS BEHIND BARS. I WAS ARRESTED MANY TIMES, OBVIOUSLY, I WASN’T THE WAY IN JUVENILE DETENTION CENTER ON A FAST TRACK TO A LIFE WITH NO PURPOSE OR MEANING. DRUGS. NOT GOING TO SCHOOL. STEALING THIS JUVENILE DELINQUENT THING FROM THE ROUND THAT I WAS ON MY WAY TO THE END OF IT WITH A HEAVY, PROBABLY IN JAIL OR PROBABLY DEAD. AND THAT BROKE HIS MOTHER’S HEART. SO HE DECIDED TO CHANNEL HIS ENERGY INTO SPORTS. SHE WAS GOING THROUGH A REALLY ROUGH TIME, YOU KNOW, GETTING WITH ME AND MY BROTHERS. AT FIRST, HE JOINED THE BASKETBALL AND TRACK TEAMS JUST FOR FUN. BUT HIS RARE TALENT CAUGHT THE EYE OF COACH DENNIS SHAVER OF LSU. WE KIND OF RECRUITED HIM, AND THEN HE WENT TO JUNIOR COLLEGE AND THEN WE RECRUITED HIM FROM JUNIOR COLLEGE TO COME TO LSU. AND THE REST, AS THEY SAY, IS HISTORY. AND THEN, OF COURSE, WHEN HE CAME HERE, HE WAS AN ALL-AMERICAN NCAA CHAMPION. AND THEN, YOU KNOW, HE STAYED HERE AND TRAINED. TRAINED TO WIN THREE GOLD MEDALS IN THE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS. A GOLD IN THE WORLD INDOOR CHAMPIONSHIPS, AND AN OLYMPIC GOLD MEDAL IN THE FOUR BY 400 METER RELAY. VERNON SAYS NOW HIS MOTHER CRIES TEARS OF JOY. EVERYWHERE WE GO, SHE’S SUPER PROUD OF ME. SHE LET EVERYBODY KNOW WHO I AM, WHO, WHO DOESN’T KNOW WHO I AM. SO I ALWAYS HAVE A MOMENT WITH ME. AND AS HE TRAINS FOR HIS NEXT BIG MOMENT, HE TOOK TIME TO GIVE ME THIS INTERVIEW BECAUSE IT PAINS HIM TO SEE SO MUCH CRIME COMMITTED BY TODAY’S YOUTH. HE WANTS TO TELL THEM TO RUN AWAY FROM TROUBLE AND TOWARD A GOAL TO BECOME A TRUE CHAMPION IN LIFE. I CAME FROM THE SAME PLACE YOU CAME FROM, YOU KNOW, SINGLE PARENT, YOU KNOW, NO GUIDANCE. I REALLY HOPE THAT AT THE END OF