EUGENE, OR (WAVY) – Michael Cherry breezed through the semifinal of the men’s 400-meter on Saturday, and with time of 44.50 seconds, qualified for the final on Sunday.

The Chesapeake native and graduate of Oscar Smith High School bested second-place Michael Norman by more than two-tenths of a second, and now needs a top three finish on Sunday in order to qualify for the Olympic games in Tokyo.

Cherry was part of the 4×400 relay team that captured a world championship in Doha, Quatar, and now looks to qualify for his first ever Olympics as an individual.