SAINT-DENIS, France -- As Team USA sprinters seek to use these Olympics to reaffirm their status as the world's fastest, their mixed 4x400-meter relay sent an early statement Friday evening.
The team of Vernon Norwood, Shamier Little, Kaylyn Brown and Bryce Deadmon did so with an easy first-place finish in the first round of the event, setting a world record in the process with a time of 3:07.41.
"I always knew we were going to run fast," said Little, the second-leg sprinter. "And we talked about, it's gonna take a record to get a medal. But it took a record to win our prelim.