Former LSU standout Cherry turns in PR in Olympic 400 meters, but narrowly misses out on medal with fourth-place finish

Former LSU standout Michael Cherry of the United States (second from right) turned into a personal best time of 44.21 seconds and finished fourth in the men's 400 meter run in the Tokyo Olympics. Photo by Reuters/Phil Noble.

Former LSU sprinter Michael Cherry was the top American finisher in the finals of the 400 meter dash on Thursday morning at the Tokyo Olympics. Cherry finished fourth with a personal best time of 44.21.

Cherry, in his first Olympic appearance, put up a great race against the world’s fastest runners. He made a big push to earn a medal coming down the home stretch but was narrowly outleaned by former Olympic champ, Kirani James, who finished third with a time of 44.19. Anthony Zambrano (Colombia/44.08) and Steven Gardiner (Bahamas/43.85) took the top two spots in the race.

The Olympics aren’t done just yet for Cherry as he will prepare for the finals of the 4×400 meter relay. The 4×400 meter relay squad for the first round has yet to be announced, but more than likely, Cherry will only run the finals. Fellow LSU sprinter and 4×400 meter mixed relay bronze medalist, Vernon Norwood, has a chance to get the call for the 4×400 meter relay as well. The first round of the 4×400 meter relay is Friday morning at 6:25 a.m. CT, and the final is on Saturday morning at 6:50 a.m. CT.

Cherry, Norwood, Aleia Hobbs, and Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake will be LSU’s final athletes in action. Hobbs anchored the USA 4×100 meter relay to second in their heat on Wednesday night with a time of 41.90. The final for the 4×100 meter relay will be run on Friday morning at 8:30 a.m. CT. Mitchell-Blake anchored Great Britain to a second place finish in their 4×100 meter relay heat as well with a time of 38.02, and the men’s finals will be at 8:50 a.m. CT Friday morning.

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