Karsten Warholm broke a new Norwegian record over 400 meters when he reached 2nd place during the Diamond League summit in Rome on Thursday.
Warholm, who won the World Championships in London at the same distance last year, got a good start in the finals on Thursday and swept past the competition in the final stages.
In the run-up, there was a duel between the 22 year old from Ulsteinvik and Abderrahman Samba from Qatar.
Samba got the best of him in the last few meters and ran the distance in 47.48, while Warholm put in a time of 47.82.
It was both a personal best and a new Norwegian record in the season’s debut.
‘’It’s amazing. That’s something I hoped to get through during the season, but now I did it on my first try. It’s a very big barrier broken for me personally,’’ Warholm told NRK news after coming in under the magic 48-second limit.
Dug deep
The former Norwegian record was at 48.22, also set by Warholm.
“I always try to go all the way down to the basement, and I think that’s not hard to see,” said Warholm after the race.
“For the first time in my life, I went nine with thirteen steps,and at the last fence I ran for fourteen for the first time,” he said.
Superb Samba
The youngster could, however, do little with the winner Samba.The 22-year-old from Qatar swept into a new Diamond League record with the time 47.48.
“So, of course, I have to give credit to the boss today. It was great what he did.’’
Turkish runner, Yasmani Copello came third in Rome with the time of 48.63.
© NTB scanpix / #Norway Today
