“The ultimate performance, on the ultimate day, from the ultimate warrior”: the commentator went berserk as Norway’s Karsten Warholm left the world stunned, winning the 400 metres men’s hurdles Olympics final at Tokyo’s New National Stadium. The two-time World Athletics Championship gold medallist will now look to make it a hat-trick in Oregon.
On August 2, 2021, on a hot and sultry afternoon in Tokyo, Warholm not only won the Olympic gold but also smashed his own World Record (WR), clocking 45.94 seconds, cutting off 0.76sec from his previous one. Rai Benjamin, who finished second despite breaking Warholm’s preceding WR, rated it the best race in Olympic history.
At the 37th second of the race, Benjamin was almost level with Warholm before the Norwegian moved past at a lightning-quick speed to cover the last few metres. Warholm himself screamed in disbelief and sat on the track holding his face down.
Strangely, as a child, he wasn’t interested in athletics. He found more joy in playing football and scoring goals as a No. 9 at his local club. However, he was quick to realise that he was a better runner. In his first competition in athletics, he won eight golds at the Norwegian Youth Indoors Championships in 2013. In July 2016, he broke the Norwegian national record of 48.84 seconds, and in August, he made the semifinals of the 2016 Rio Olympics.
But going into the World Championships, starting on July 15, the biggest question mark would be over Warholm’s fitness. Although he made himself available for the season’s biggest event, an injury he had suffered in June at the Diamond League in Rabat, has cast a shadow on his chance to defend the Worlds gold. His coach Leif Olav said Warholm is operating at 96 per cent fitness.
With Brazil’s Alison dos Santos, the fastest 400m hurdler of the season, in great form and Benjamin the second-fastest man in 2022, it will be interesting to see where Warholm finishes.
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