On the sunny Sunday of June 30, 2024, four athletes from the men’s 4x400m relay pool lined up for a special race. It was Team Jamaica’s last chance to qualify for the 4x400m event at the Paris Olympics. However, on the final day of the JAAA national championships, Reheem Hayles, Sean Bailey, Malik James-King, and Tarees Rhoden failed to qualify.

The team needed to post 2:59.12 seconds to beat Zambia’s time, but clocked in 2:59.87 seconds. The result also broke the streak of their iconic Olympic rivalry with Team USA. For the only second time since 1948, the USA vs. Jamaica rivalry didn’t play out over the 4x400m relay in the Olympics. However, Vernon Norwood revealed their newest rivals, who took Jamaica’s spot in Paris.

“The USA vs. Jamaica is like an iconic rivalry, but I love the idea of USA-Botswana,” said Chris Chavez while interviewing the Olympic gold medalist for Citus Mag. While the Olympic record holder agreed, he also named Great Britain. “Got to give them credit. They ran 2:55,” emphasized the 32-year-old while praising upcoming talents such as Charlie Dobson.

However, he wasn’t confident about Jamaica. The track and field giant performed poorly in nearly every track event. Legends such as Elaine Thompson-Herah and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce got injured. Meanwhile, prospects such as Kishane Thompson and Oblique Seville failed to rise to the occasion. “If they could rebuild, they could get back into that hunt,” said Vernon Norwood.

However, the 4x400m final was an epic showdown between the three nations in the yellow-green bridge’s absence. Despite being a long race, every leg was tense, with fans struggling to pick a winner even during the last stretch of the last leg. While Italy led the race in the first leg, Botswana, GB, and Team USA caught up. Busang Collen Kebitnatshipi gave Botswana the lead in leg 2.

It was Team USA’s Bryce Deadmon who changed everything, putting several body lengths between himself and his newest rivals. However, Botswana had their ace in the anchor leg in the form of Letsile Tebogo, who nipped at Rai Benjamin’s toes until the very end. Team USA had won gold and set an Olympic record, but Vernon Wood couldn’t help but praise the Tebogo-led Team Botswana.

Vernon Norwood’s humble recognition of Botswana’s star athlete

The 4x world champion praised Botswana’s 4x400m team but reserved the most praise for Paris 2024 breakout star Letsile Tebogo. Bowing to the 21-year-old’s versatility, Norwood explained who starts in any leg for the 4x400m. “Tebogo in that mix is dangerous,” admitted the track and field veteran. Norwood also said that the 200m Olympic champion’s best leg would be “second.”

While the current Botswana team has “quality depth,” their star athlete could make all the difference. In fact, after stunning Noah Lyles in the 200m finals, he nearly stunned Benjamin in the anchor leg. Finishing the race with 2:54.53 seconds on the clock put Botswana only 00:00.10 seconds behind Team USA. “To be honest, I’m glad he ain’t in second (leg),” said Vernon Norwood.

“He’s gonna give me some problems,” the Olympic record holder humbly admitted. Unless Jamaica recovers or a new challenger appears, the 32-year-old sees Botswana and GB as Team USA’s main rivals in the 4x400m for the foreseeable future. However, he believes that the five-time consecutive Olympic champions will continue to reign supreme in the future.

“We always going to be in the hunt ’cause we just got the depth,” said Vernon Norwood. Yet, what do you believe? Will Team USA continue to dominate the event, or will a Letsile Tebogo-led Botswana take the crown at LA2028?