Karsten Warholm broke the world record and won the Olympic gold in the 400-meter hurdles. This is the 25-year-old’s first Olympic title.
It was a race that will go down in history – the Norwegian athlete’s time was 45,94. Warholm’s rival, Rai Benjamin, strongly approached him on the run-up side on the way to the last hurdle, but Warholm managed to power through and secure a clear victory.
Benjamin came in at 46.17, well below the previous record.
“Is it possible,” Warholm muttered as he strolled around the finish line.
He looked shaken when he saw the time light up from the big screen. Before that, he had torn up his suit in joy and covered his face with his hands, clearly slightly shocked.
“A race that will go down in history,” the speaker at the stadium said.
Perfect
Warholm didn’t disagree.
“I have doubted if there is such a thing as a perfect race, but today I actually think this was it. If I can copy this, then it’s amazing,” he told Discovery.
“This means the whole world to me. Everything I have put in, all the hours I have spent. This is my life, and I want to thank everyone who got up early and spent their time looking at me, everyone who has supported me,” he said.
“I will admit that today tears came down my face, I will not hide it. It’s the biggest thing I’ve experienced on a sports field.”
It was a very special moment for many others as well. The International Athletics Federation wrote on its website that it was one of the best races on an athletics track ever.
Hard to believe
Several websites describe Warholm’s performance “as one of the best in athletics in history, regardless of the discipline.”
Warholm will receive the gold medal at a ceremony at 7:45 PM Japanese time on Tuesday. Earlier in the Olympics, Kristian Blummenfelt won the triathlon for Norway.
The last time Warholm lost a 400 meter hurdles was in the Czech Ostrava on September 8, 2018. He became world champion both in London in 2017 and in Doha in 2019.
Warholm made his Olympic debut in Rio de Janeiro in 2016. At that time, he did not reach the final and was number ten in total.
Source: © NTB Scanpix / #Norway Today / #NorwayTodayNews
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An excellent story of an historic athletic feat. Congratulations, Karsten Warholm and Norway! 🙂
Love this, quoted on Washington Post 🙂 :
“When people look up that race, they’re going to see my name,” said fourth-place finisher Kyron McMaster of the British Virgin Islands.
The greatest pushing each other to ever greater greatness.