Two-time world champion Karsten Warholm broke a 29-year-old world record in the 400-meter hurdles in the Diamond League meet in Oslo. Warholm said he was excited to have broken the record in front of home fans, including family members, at Bislett Stadium.
Warholm, the 25-year-old Norwegian, the world and European champion, clocked 46.70 seconds in his first hurdles race of the season to beat the previous best of 46.78sec set by American Kevin Young back in 1992. Warholm raced to an early lead, having crossed the finishing line ahead of 2019 Pan American Games champion, Alison dos Santos, by less than a second. The result sets up the 400m hurdles as one of the most attractive-looking events at the July 23-August 8 Olympics. Warholm will come up against arch-rival Rai Benjamin in the Japanese capital, the American himself having run a stunning 46.83sec to win the US trials last month, although the pair are also scheduled to meet in Monaco on July 9. Only Warholm, Young,Benjamin and Qatar’s Abderrahmane Samba have dipped below the mythical 47-second barrier.
In July 2016, Warholm broke the Norwegian national record (48.84 seconds) in the semi-final of the 400 m hurdles at the 2016 European Championships. Later on, he made it to the semi-finals in the 400 m hurdles at the 2016 Summer Olympics.
