Norman first gained international attention as a high school senior after he defeated reigning USA champion Justin Gatlin in a semi-final heat of the 200 meters at the 2016 Olympic Trials.

[14][15][16] Norman graduated from the University of Southern California in May 2019 and currently competes professionally for Nike under his college coaches Quincy Watts and Caryl Smith Gilbert.

The Vista Murrieta High School junior started his day at the 2015 CIF California State Meet by completely separating from the field on the first leg of the 4×100 meter relay, a performance that PrepCalTrack editor Rich Gonzalez described as "jaw-dropping.

[25] Also worth noting is that, including the preliminary rounds from the previous day, Norman ran 7 races within 28 hours at the CIF California State Meet and still produced some of the top marks in the history of high school athletics.

Norman's placement in this race qualified him to compete at the 2015 Pan American Junior Athletics Championships, but he decided to forgo his spot on the United States team to avoid extending his competitive season by another month.

[29] On March 10, 2018, Norman competed at the NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships and ran an American and collegiate record in the 400 meters with a world best time of 44.52 seconds.

[30] Later that day he, along with the rest of the USC Trojans 4×400 meter relay team, broke the American and collegiate record in a world best time of 3:00.77.

Michael Norman made his pro debut on June 30, 2018 at the 2018 IAAF Diamond League in Paris, winning the (non-scoring) 200 m in a personal best time of 19.84 s, ahead of his USC teammate Rai Benjamin who finished second in 19.99 s.[35][36] On July 20, 2020 while competing in the 100m sprint at the AP Ranch High Performance Invite #2 Track Meet he ran a 9.86s his first sub-10 100m sprint.

With this performance, Michael Norman became the second athlete, after 400m World Record holder Wayde van Niekerk, to join the "Sub 10s, 20s, 44s club for the 100m, 200m & 400m sprints".

He was eliminated in the first round of the USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships in the event and ended his season shortly after.